Archives : 2011 : May
Higher Reservation Conversion – Part 2: Sell The Experience
May 23rd, 2011I know it may come as a surprise, but your reservation agents could be scaring your perspective guests away by doing what we call “Feature Flooding.” This usually occurs when an agent doesn’t understand what the guest truly wants. Basically, the agent hasn’t asked enough questions to uncover why that guest is coming to your location. So, they read…and read…and read features or amenities from the property page right under their nose.
It happens a lot, and not just with new agents. The real danger is that they are not identifying any of the deep visceral reasons that a guest might be coming to the location. Reasons like…enjoying a challenging game of golf with their brothers on one of your three championship courses, or lounging poolside all afternoon soaking up the sun and enjoying world class cuisine, or how about snorkeling and exploring the sea with their kids. We vacation to create unforgettable moments, not to enjoy amenities.
A room is a room is a room. OK, I know that’s not entirely true but the big reason your guests are coming is for the experience. Sell it, not the features.
Brise Carpenter
Client Advocate
For Higher Reservation Conversion, Get The Caller’s Name
May 6th, 2011If you’ve ever been eavesdropping on one of your reservation agents and cringed when they offered a 20% discount up front, or winced when they hurried a prospect off the phone; you won’t want to miss this 3 part blog series.
Let’s talk about the greeting your agents are using, more specifically let’s discuss how NOT asking for the caller’s name will reduce your conversion.
I know it seems easy, right? Easy maybe but frequently not practiced. Critical – absolutely.
Most greetings are pretty straight forward but I often get pushback from agents on asking for the caller’s name. Most agents don’t feel comfortable asking for the prospects name. But why? ‘Cause it’s kind of awkward right? We’re used to stating our names when we meet in person but for some reason traditional introductory etiquette goes out the window on the phone – pretty ridiculous considering that getting their name is critical, as it sets you up to build a relationship over the phone.
They know your name – you know theirs. Now you’re ready to move forward. Asking their name also sets you up for success throughout the call, why? Because now you’ve established permission to ask questions, you’ve set this call as a dialogue not a monologue. Dialogue and open-ended questions are critical to finding out what the caller wants, giving them exactly what they want and making the sale.
Not asking for their name reduces the likelihood of booking the reservation on this call. Trust me – we have the data to prove it. My suggestion: practice. There’s no secret to asking, just practice, and get comfortable doing it. That being said, I especially like the phrase, “May I have your name please?” It’s simple and it works.
Stay tuned for part 2, the danger of feature flooding.
Brise Carpenter
Client Advocate
Need Some Ideas?
May 2nd, 2011If you haven’t already discovered this site, and you’re looking for some ideas for your website, then do yourself a favor and check out StumbleUpon. This is the best of the best on the web, as voted by others on the web. Once you start Stumbling, you will be amazed at what you didn’t know was there.
Bill Schlosser
Vice President – Marketing
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