Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Product knowledge is crucial to success in this part of
the selling process. Staff must familiarise themselves
with the features of particular products and take every
opportunity to experience the products and facilities for
themselves, in order to be able to speak with authority
and confi dence.
Overcoming objections
Having explained the features and benefi ts of products,
you may have to overcome objections from the
customers. These may be genuine, perhaps based on
price or availability of services, or they may be the result
of a customer being offered insuffi cient choice by the
salesperson. Alternatively, there may be an additional
need not already identifi ed to the member of sales staff.
They may, for example, not like the particular hotel you
have chosen for them or the resort you have selected.
This is when you will need to ask more questions to
discover precisely why the customers are not happy and
use your powers of persuasion to turn their objections
around. For example, the fact that a villa is 5 miles from
a resort may not really be a problem because a holiday
may include free car hire. Whatever the reason for the
objection, it is important to respect the wishes of the
customer and investigate further in order to fully match
the product to their particular requirements.
Telephone sales at TUI Travel
staff are often showing the customer brochures and web
pages to help them make a decision. This indicates the
crucial importance of well-designed promotional items
to help boost sales in travel and tourism.
The key to success in this stage of the sales process is
to concentrate on the features and benefi ts of a range
of products, using three types of statements during the
product presentation, namely:
•
Features statement - involves highlighting the
Activity 4.12
features of a particular product or service to the
customer, for example the number of rooms in a
hotel or the facilities on offer in a holiday centre.
Often the customer's reaction is one of indifference
at this stage;
Working with a partner, make a list of 5 objections
that an elderly couple might make when you are
trying to sell them a package holiday to Tenerife.
Suggest how you might be able to turn each of their
objections around and persuade the couple to book
the holiday.
•
Advantages statement - indicates what the product
or service can do in general for the customer. For
example, the fact that a departure time of 15.30hrs
for a fl ight means that the client will not have to get
up early to get to the airport. Again the reaction may
be that the customer needs a little more specifi c
information and persuasion;
This activity is designed to provide evidence for P3.
Closing the sale
•
Benefi ts statement - expresses specifi cally what
the product can do for the individual customer.
The information is selected on the basis of the
customer's needs and is seen to be entirely relevant
and easier to absorb.
'Closing the sale' is all about persuading the customer
to make a commitment. Throughout all the stages of the
sales process, sales staff use their product knowledge
and communication skills to match customer needs
and expectations with identifi ed products and services.
