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Trade shows are excellent promotion tools, but you will often find that direct sales calls have more immediate results. For all DMC’s a sales trip is an expensive and time consuming operation, therefore such sales calls must be well prepared for producing a maximum of results.
One can no longer simply take the plane and just go knock on doors for cold calls. You need a minimum preparation and consideration should be given to the following factors:
- Are you doing a trip to open a completely new market?
- Are you doing a trip to acquire new clients in a market in which you are already present?
- Are you doing a trip to maintain your position with actual clients?
The planning, tactics, and results vary according to the above three objectives that sometimes can also be combined.
Whatever the purpose, make sure your trip is planned ahead. In tourist business one can make very successful “cold calls” but it is not the same for incentives and meetings for which an appointment is not only highly recommended but necessary. Remember you do not want just to see anybody. You want to see somebody who makes decisions and spend some time with him to convince him about your company or destination.
Again you have three options:
- Prepare the trip yourself and make the necessary appointments.
- Ask your local National Tourist Board office or national airline to make appointments for you.
- Hire the services of a local representative to set up your appointments and introduce you to the key accounts.
The first option is the best for visiting regular clients or working in an area with which you are very familiar. The second is a very good option for areas with which you are not very familiar, or you need help and some inside information. The third option is the best for opening new markets, but the most expensive.
Whatever option you use make sure you are ready to meet with the prospective client. Send a fax or email and present in short your company and the reasons for your visit. Before you visit an old client or a new one consult your records and find out everything you can about the company.
- When did the client work with you last time?
- Was he satisfied?
- Were there any problems?
- What is his ratio of materialisation?
- Has he ever made a request
- What was the result?
- Who made the request?
- Is he working with your competition?
- When did you contact him last time?
All these elements will help you to keep the discussion alive.
During your call briefly introduce your company and then ask the prospect the questions you want to ask. If he is talkative, let him talk, do not interrupt him before finishing his sentence. Listen to what he has to say about his business, your destination or his experiences in your destination.
One important question to ask if he works with the destination is: Is he happy with the DMC he is using? If the reply is positive, there is no need to prolong your visit unnecessarily. Let the prospect know that you are interested in his business and that you will be available whenever he needs a new DMC.
Above all do not make any negative comments about your competition. “Badmouthing” the competition is not usually appreciated by your prospective clients and will not bring you any advantages. You should try to sell the strong points of your company and not the weak points of your competition… Even if the client will ask for your opinion about your competitors it is wise to avoid expressing a negative opinion.
Unless the client has a concrete project in mind and wants to know rates, there is no point at this stage to enter in a lengthy sale speech about “your good rates.” For an experienced buyer “ good rates are not good enough,” and these is always somebody else who can undercut you.
What you should try to sell is the image of your company and your USP (unique sales points).
- Make the prospect client feel comfortable with you.
- Make him feel that you will be able to come up with better solutions to his problems.
- Make him know that you will be available when he needs you.
- Communicate to him that his requests will be treated in top priority.
- Give him some examples of your creativity and show visuals of what you have done.
- Mention some good local references that can be easily checked.
- Ideally bring him to the position where “he wants to work with you more than you want to work with him…”
At the next issue: Follow up your Sales Trips and Trade Shows
© Tasso Pappas CITE
Tasso Pappas is President of the SITE Greek Chapter and served as President of SITE Intl. in 2000. This article is an extract from his book “To be or not to be a DMC” which he wrote in 1996 as his thesis for the certification CITE (Certified Incentive Travel Executive). More information about Tasso Pappas you can find at http://sites.google.com/site/tassopappasconsultancy/
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
