Open Jaw- Cruise News. June 20, 2005 What Does It Take To Be A Good Cruise Seller? Knowledge, Professionalism, Experience and Passion Makes A Good Start Bruce Parkinson What does it take to be a good cruise seller? That’s an increasingly important question these days, as cruising has emerged as a highly popular travel mode and a potentially lucrative source of revenue for the travel agency community. Open Jaw obtained two seasoned perspectives on the issue. One is from Lori Patterson, District Sales Manager for Holland America Line. Patterson spends a significant portion of her time helping agents gain the skills and knowledge required to be a competent cruise seller. Open Jaw also spoke with Mary Jean Tully, the first lady of Canadian cruise retailing. Her company Cruise Professionals is not just a Canadian leader, but a global force in the luxury cruise market. Cruise Professionals is the top producing agency worldwide for several luxury cruise lines, and the agency recently learned that it is back on the Condé Nast Travel list of ‘World’s Top Travel Specialists’ for the 6th consecutive year. Despite the differing perspectives of our two sources, there was significant overlap in their answers. For ease of comprehension, this story is broken into themes and applicable quotes. Knowledge, Knowledge, Knowledge Mary Jean Tully: “People are incredibly savvy these days. I can’t tell you how often we hear a client say: ‘It’s so nice to meet someone who knows more than me.’ Consumers do a lot of research and have a lot of knowledge. It’s our job to facilitate and guide. I invest a lot of money in my agents experiencing the product, and not just the cruise. They need to experience five-star hotels and dining. They need to be able to tell the client: ‘When you’re in Nice...’ “This is an industry that’s evolving incredibly quickly. Your staff has to be on the ships all the time, getting passenger feedback all the time, just to stay abreast. New agents with us start off selling 7-day Caribbean or Alaska cruises and move up as they learn. People think they know a lot before they walk in our doors. Then they’re shocked at the depth of knowledge.” Lori Patterson: “Education is critical, and cruise lines do a lot to help agents learn. We have an excellent online education/training program, as do most of the major lines. Just our web sites alone are packed with information, and a young agent could do well to spend time studying them. Agents need to know what’s out there – and it’s constantly changing and evolving – and they need to know what every cruiser is looking for, and then match them to the right line, ship and destinations. There’s more too: a really good agent is a destination expert as well, and with more and more exotic destinations, that’s even more important. You can’t just sell a South American cruise off the cuff.” Learn To Sell, Dammit! Mary Jean Tully: “There’s no talent in selling a cruise from point A to point B. Anyone can hang a shingle and call themselves a travel agent. I don’t want order-takers. I want people who know how to listen, people who are caring, compassionate and well read. People who can learn the product inside out, so they can match the needs of the client to the right line, the right ship, the right ports. We need to exceed expectations.” Lori Patterson: “Be a seller. Don’t wait for business to come through the door, because you’ll be waiting a long time. People don’t want to book a $10,000 cruise on the Internet. They want to be looked after. They’re willing to pay for good service, because they don’t have time. Good service beats discounting every time. The customers who only care about price won’t be loyal customers anyway. So find good customers and upsell them, service them, market to them – those are keys to success. Also, focus your efforts on specific lines – it gives you more clout and more value-adds that translate into happy customers.” Talk To Your Clients...And Prospective Clients Lori Patterson: “We recently hosted training at The Boulevard Club in Toronto. At the end, we polled agents on their client databases. We were shocked how few even had them. If you’re not getting in your clients’ faces, you might as well close your doors. The good news is that agencies are hungry to improve, and they’re gobbling up training these days. It’s hard to step back from the day to day, but it’s worth the investment. “Direct mail has become our biggest marketing method, and does it ever pay off. E-mail marketing is inexpensive and effective. We offer fabulous collateral and even pay the postage. All agencies have to do is slap a name on it and get it out the door. But you had better have those names!” Mary Jean Tully: “We have a very detailed database and we connect frequently with our customers in a variety of ways. We get to know their tastes, past travels, their desires. We talk to them on their birthdays. There’s a lot of passion in the staff we’ve assembled and it makes us really good at what we do.” You don’t have to take Tully’s word for that. Cruise Professionals is the top producer for Radisson Seven Seas Cruise Line, and President and CEO Mark Conroy has high praise. “We’ve learned a lot from them,” he says. “Once you’ve done business with them, you’ll be a customer for life.” Bill Smith, Senior Vice President for Crystal Cruises, says Cruise Professionals is in tune with traveller demands. “Consumers are bombarded with options and choices. They want to know ‘Who can help me sort it out? Put it all together.’ That’s what Cruise Professionals does so well.” “We rely very heavily on agents,” says Patterson. “And we will continue to do so. There’s a lot of opportunity for agencies to earn revenue, and a lot of support from cruise lines to learn how to be a great cruise seller and marketer. Agencies need to grab it and run with it.”   Back         Top of Page

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