It sounds super simple, doesn’t it? Just, follow-up! Well, it’s never as simple as it seems.
The follow-up process is all in the follow-through. Many travel advisors get so busy managing their client portfolio that they forget one of the most crucial parts of the sales process, the follow-up!
This is your chance to prove your worth and also build the relationship with your client. Following up with clients does not just happen once, and it shouldn’t stop after the first, second, or even the third phase of the trip planning process either. You should follow up with your clients even after they return from their vacation, and again a few months later.
Creating a follow-up strategy is easy. Start by looking at your Workflow System. Your workflow process should move your client through several stages of your sales funnel. During each stage, you should be following up with your client a MINIMUM of 3 times (the current average is 7-11 times before getting a client to commit to booking a vacation). These touchpoints can be phone calls, emails, text messages, meeting at the office, or even asking them to meet at a local Starbucks.
If you don’t have a sales funnel workflow, here’s a quick one that you can easily follow—
- Initial Outreach
- Quote / Proposal
- Confirmation
- Pre-Travel
- During Travel
- Post-Travel
- 3-6 Months After Travel
Be sure to consider your workflow system (link puzzle piece here) when creating your sales funnel and follow-up strategy!