Archives : 2011 : August
Silence On Vacation Rental Reservation Calls: A Double-Edged Sword
August 25th, 2011Silence may be golden in some situations. Phone sales, however, is not traditionally considered one of those. Certainly silence is powerful over the phone but only when used with intent and precision.
Let’s first explore some pitfalls of silence, to better understand its appropriate use. We’ve all been on the phone with someone who goes silent as they type away, in search of the answer to our question. This silence tends to carry nervous energy and in turn can hinder your opportunity to secure a reservation. Too much silence on a call can make us uneasy because there’s no non-verbal communication over the phone, therefore making it difficult to read the situation. Furthermore, long pauses and silence seem to almost encourage objections and doubt on the calls I listen to. If—as a guest—I feel that you don’t have a firm grasp on your properties or my needs, you are likely to hear “Well, I need to talk this over with my wife.”
The correct and proper use of silence comes after a question is posed; particularly after an agent asks for the reservation. Silence used in this scenario gives the potential guest the opportunity to say “yes.” There is, however, a caveat to this technique. Know that if the agent has not successfully sold the experience that the guest desires, they are likely to receive a “no” in response to their silence. As with any sales technique, setup and delivery are crucial.
Here’s to your success.
Brise Carpenter
Client Advocate
SEO Trumps PPC
August 15th, 2011I realize a lot of attention is being paid to PPC and rightly so. You need to stay on top of it to make sure your hard-earned marketing dollars are being spent on ads that bring in the revenue.
But given that paid links account for about 25% of clicks and organic links for the other 75%, it makes sense that you should focus even greater attention to your SEO.
One of the best things you can do is make sure you are using your primary keywords in the text of your home page and your secondary pages. Don’t overdo it. Just write your copy in such a way that the words are used at least three times.
No need to worry about the keyword meta tags since Google ignores them. But you should make sure to use your primary keywords in your title and description tags.
Lastly, develop rich content that includes photos and videos since Google ranks those sites higher.
Above all, stay on your SEO. Change your copy frequently, measure the results and try again. It will pay off big time.
Bill Schlosser
Vice President – Marketing
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