Who Are the Best Consumers to Convert Into Clients?

There is a population of consumers out there who are in desperate need of your service. They just don’t know it yet. 

The rules of travel have changed and by the time the sun comes up tomorrow, the odds are they will have changed again. But how can you make sure you’re available to the people who need you the most?

During a session led by Glenda Beagle, a former travel advisor who currently serves as a travel sales coach at Art of Selling Travel, that question was raised of how do you convince consumers that it is in their best interest to use a travel advisor? 

The answer? You don’t. You show them. 

“The minute you need to convince someone of something you already lost the game,” Beagle said. 

According to Beagle, there are three types of potential clients out there—those who already have an advisor, those who don’t know about travel advisors, and those who will always want to do it themselves. While advisors tend to go to the third category, that’s not necessarily the best strategy. 

“Advisors tend to go for those third ones because they travel all the time,” Beagle said. “Do you think if someone already knows how to do everything they want your service? No, they probably don’t.” 

Instead, the money for advisors is in that second group, the ones who don’t know about travel advisors and what they can do. Those types of potential clients have a number of things in common—they don’t want to make planning mistakes that will result in a poor experience and they particularly don’t want to overspend and waste their time and money. 

That’s where advisors can come in by showcasing how they can prevent those planning mistakes and prevent that overspending. 

“So often people think clients are moved by pleasure but people are more motivated by avoiding pain than by pleasure,” Beagle added. “Show them how painful it is to be in their position and that is going to help them move forward.” 

Before you can do that even, it’s important to realize that the clients who may not know about your service also don’t know where to find you. 

Get up to date on your website with some recent, glowing reviews from your clients, do what you can to improve your SEO, find the best way to boost your social media reach whether it’s organic or through paid ads, and adapt as your go. Target those clients who aren’t yet aware of your services, in particular those who are in your local area. 

Show your authority and your ability to deliver them an experience without those pain points. 

“Authority is not your certifications, accreditation’s, awards, passion for travel, attention to detail, or your customer service. That is pretty much on every website,” Beagle said.

“Your authority is actually listing how many people you have helped, your years of experience as a travel advisor. Use that specific language—‘we’ve helped more than this amount of people do this,’” she said. 

Tell your personal story on your pages. Write about what you did before you started in the industry. Show any media placements that you may have earned over the years. Have potential clients connect with you as a person instead of a web address. 

And once you have gotten their attention, you can go from there. 

“Potential clients want to express empathy, demonstrate authority, and highlight mistakes,” Beagle said.  

“Show that you understand why they think the way they do. Show them that you understand what their actual problem is,” she said. 

Qualify them correctly so you know whether or not they want to be in destinations far away from other people or they want to be in the middle of the action. Tell them you understand how they feel and the why behind those feelings. 

“You need to make sure that they understand that. Sharing that you have felt the same way,” Beagle said, adding that it’s important not to seem too authoritative, rather show that you are partners in their vacation and you want them to be a part of the process. 

In the end, if they haven’t yet decided to work with you, present the stakes, she added. 

“Show them that if they do not work with you, what do they stand to lose? What will they miss out on? And what will it cost them? People need to see what will happen if they don’t work with you,” she said. “Travel should not be overwhelming it should not be a second job.”