At Luxury Travel Advisor’s Ultra Summit in late July, we gathered top advisors and luxury suppliers for two-and-a-half days of networking, collaborating and meeting one-to-one to establish new and profitable relationships. Ultra was held at Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in Manalapan, FL, where attendees were able to enjoy the new renovations in all areas of the resort, and its especially high caliber of service.
A true highlight was an afternoon of luxury travel advisor panels where participants shared best practices in how they develop relationships with clients and how they are fine tuning operations internally.
In the panel entitled “How Travel Advisors Exceed Expectations,” the need to communicate with clients, and listen carefully, was the prevailing message to making a client’s vacation a true home run.
Luxury Travel Advisor’s Matt Turner moderated the panel comprising Tammy Levent, owner, Elite Travel Management Group; Jamie Jones, president, WhirlAway Travel; Anne Scully, partner, Embark Beyond and Ted Bradpiece, president, Explorer Travel Services.
Here are some of the highlights of the discussion, which has been condensed for brevity:
Matt Turner, Luxury Travel Advisor: What type of questions do you like to ask clients to actually get to know them better?
Ted Bradpiece, Explorer Travel Services: That’s probably the most important step, regardless of whether it’s a new client or an existing client. You’ve got to understand the psychology. It’s more about the “why.” It’s about how much they’re willing to invest in themselves. It’s not what they have budgeted for the trip. It’s an investment in them. It’s an investment in their family or in their business, so more investment makes them feel more comfortable because all of a sudden, it’s not something that they have to line item, they can actually be a little freer and more open in what they’re willing to spend. Obviously, it’s also about what they’ve done in the past, what they like and what they don’t like, but it’s really about getting to know the client, and as you get the answer to that one question, that should open you up to more questions and more answers.
Anne Scully, Embark Beyond: I think we’re biographers of our client’s life stories...And all those have beginnings, a middle, and an end. The beginning is when we learn a little bit about them. The middle is the most important part of the relationship with the client because that’s when you’re developing that character. And the end, is there ever really an end? We want a client to not to want their journey to end. That’s when we know we’re successful. It’s also the best time to start the next journey because all books have chapters, and to me, each chapter would be one of those trips, a lifetime of travel for that client. So, we’re kind of biographers.
Tammy Levent, Elite Travel Management Group, Inc.: One thing that’s personal to me…I want to meet the clients on a Zoom call. I’ll have the husband and wife on there, and sometimes I’ll say, “Are you going with the kids? I’d love to meet the kids.” So maybe then it’s a 20-minute call, and the next thing you know, I could end up an hour with them on Zoom, talking about everything with their family, and then they’re a lot more comfortable with me. So that’s something that I really suggest that you do differently; we just want to make a bigger and more impactful connection so that we understand our clients better.
Jamie Jones, WhirlAway Travel: I can add that we’re in a helping business. And while we’re also in sales, it’s really imperative to find out what clients’ pain points are, and how we can help them. What are they afraid of when planning a trip? What are they afraid of when going to their destination? What are they hesitant about? Then you really gear how you’re going to provide solutions for all that. So it’s about asking a lot more questions past the “who’s going, where are you going, where do you want to go and when do you want to go?”
It’s about understanding what they are most looking forward to, what they are envisioning their days to look like, and what they are hesitant about on this trip…what are some of the things that they’re concerned about? It’s about being able to pull those out of the client, to really understand who they are as travelers and what type of experience they’re looking for.
Matt Turner, Luxury Travel Advisor: Jamie, have any of those qualifiers changed in the past two-and-a-half years?
Jamie Jones, WhirlAway Travel: The qualifiers are now more about understanding what their comfort level is for traveling. And unfortunately, we have to ask these questions, “Are you vaccinated?” “How you feel about getting COVID tested before you travel?” That’s still a necessity. But it’s also really asking the questions to make sure that not only are we a good fit for them, but are they a good fit for us? Is this going to be a client that is going to call me every 30 minutes because they’ve got questions and ridiculous concerns, and their expectation levels are unrealistic? Or is this somebody that’s going to be a good traveler at this time? So it goes much further beyond the trip itself. It’s really about setting the expectations and understanding who they are as travelers, and understanding the roles that we have as travel providers to them.
Matt Turner, Luxury Travel Advisor: Does the “getting to know your client“ process change if it’s a new client versus an existing client?
Tammy Levent, Elite Travel Management: For existing clients, it depends on when they traveled last. So if somebody traveled with you five years ago, remember that a six-year-old is now a preteen, the 10-year-old is now a teenager, so the family’s lifestyle has changed. So that’s something that you have to consider. Or if the kids are older, maybe now you don’t need one room anymore, maybe it’s two rooms. So everything has changed and you have to go through the same process as if they are new…you just can’t assume they want the same trip.
Matt Turner, Luxury Travel Advisor: What are some of the questions you ask a client when they return home from a trip?
Anne Scully, Embark Beyond: When a client comes home, they tend not to want to tell you something small that went wrong. But the reality is, you want to know because it’s such a picture into who they are. So I will say to a client after they go on and on about the trip: “If there’s one thing you would change, what would that be?” And then get your pen out because they will tell you. And you know what I think is fascinating? So many times, I’ll say before a trip, that “a two-night stay in the city is only testing it, a three-to-four-night stay is an experience.” I’ll have clients come back and say, “You were right. We needed more time.”
I’ve also had clients say, “Next time, we’re going to take the bigger room.”
Jamie Jones, WhirlAway Travel: Just to add onto that is personally, I’ve always gotten in the habit of talking, talking, talking and talking to clients. And I have found when I shut up and listen, it goes so far and you learn so much. So just giving them the opportunity to reflect a little bit will get them to share more than what you thought they would.
Ted Bradpiece, Explorer Travel Services: I’m very guilty of over-talking to my clients sometimes, too. And that’s the hardest thing, because you have so much information you want to give them, but we really need to take a step back and listen to what they’re saying. And in a lot of cases, repeat it back to them so they know you’re understanding what is important to them.
Matt Turner, Luxury Travel Advisor: Do you prefer to meet clients over a Zoom call or in person?
Ted Bradpiece, Explorer Travel Services: In person is far superior to anything you can do. I also think that it’s important to meet a client where they are comfortable. Don’t force them into your office. Don’t force them somewhere where they’re not comfortable. You’ll read it in their body language. They won’t be as forthcoming with the information. Go to their favorite restaurant. If they invite you to their home, go to their home. Go where they’re comfortable because you’ll get so much more valuable information from them. And again, listen to what’s being said. Listen to the questions they’re asking you, because sometimes there’s no easy answer, and it makes it simple as, “I’m sorry, I have to look into that.” But listen and acknowledge what’s being said to you.
To learn more, check out Part 2, covering “Plotting 2023 and Beyond; An Advisor Think Tank for Strategies for a New World.”
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