I do not see what all the fuss is all about. Who said that building a business had to be difficult? Certainly not me. Like everything worth pursuing, it is the fundamentals along with the basics that will get you to where you are trying to go.
In an attempt to simplify your journey, I’ve outlined five steps that will have you feeling like a pro in very short order. The work stems from the concept of “consistency,” and not from tedious and laborious “work.”
Let’s break this thing down to its component parts.
First, identify a market consisting of people who want what you have/do.
This may be a hard pill to swallow, but current cruisers are more attractive than the larger group who has never donned an orange jacket in a mandatory lifeboat drill.
Next, you introduce yourself to this identified market. (No buckshot approach here. You know exactly who you need to know. You have targeted them and positioned them on your “dartboard.”)
Third, you qualify this group to make certain that what you have is what will solve their problem. There simply is no future in trying to force a square peg into a round hole.
Next, you make yourself visible and available. You make it easy for them to contact you. It is your job to remain visible. And when they do contact you, you pretend that you are actually pleased that they called. In truth, this should not be an exercise in make-believe.
And in time, you will be given an opportunity to strut your stuff… to showcase your wares… to earn your stripes.
That’s it. That is all you need to do… every day… with consistency… with personality… with a sense of professionalism.
That’s easy enough, isn’t it?
So, why are not more people successful? That is an easy question to answer. Because most people fail to buy-in to this formula. They feel that if they build a better mousetrap, the market will find its way to their door. This is outdated thinking. This is mindless thinking. “How so, Mike?” you ask.
The entry demands for selling travel are simple. You don’t have to buy anything. All you need to do is to learn to say “me-too,” and go print yourself a business card with some fancy travel-related logo and a clever saying next to a pretty picture of a palm tree.
The options all consumers have today are limitless. At last count, there was 25 bazillion ways to book a trip to Europe, or a room with an ocean-view in Cancun. The fastest way to failure is to do what everybody else does when it comes to selling travel. The fastest way to success is to adopt without hesitation the formula I outlined above.
I once asked a Xerox sales professional if their the force actually did what they were taught during their early sales training sessions. Without missing a beat, she responded, “The Good Ones Do.”
Here is an idea. Before crossing my formula off as another piece of marketing mumbo-jumbo, give it a shot. Try it. Adapt this formula to fit your own personality and see for yourself if it is a waste of time. Become one of the “good ones.”
Mike Marchev is always looking for a few more proactive travel professionals to join his Sales and Marketing Club. mike@mikemarchev.com.
*** You want more to think about? Check out my weekly podcast (Mike’d Up Marchev). Also listed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, and iHeartRadio.
