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How to Work
Your Online Travel Leads
Michael Cottam
President, Visual Itineraries
9 April 2015

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Agenda
 A little bit about Michael
 What makes an internet lead different
 Top mistakes when working internet leads
 Best practices for working internet leads

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About Michael

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About Michael
 Co-founded TheBigDay honeymoon registry
 Started in 2001; sold in 2008
 Dispatching leads to 130+ travel agents
 Measured EVERYTHING against close rates
 Founded Visual Itineraries
 Started in 2010
 Almost 400 agents using these tools
 Truckloads of lessons learned!

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Internet Leads are Different
 They’re not monogamous
 They’re talking to other travel agents too
 They’re also shopping direct, and via OTAs
 They have no loyalty to you (at least at first)
 It’s like online dating for them
 They won’t initially see your value
 Unless you educate them:
 It’s all about price
 Booking through an agent costs more

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How They Shop
 It’s like they’re walking through
stores at the mall, flipping over
price tags on whatever catches
their eye
 Generally when they ask “how much”:
 They don’t REALLY want a quote/itinerary
 They’re trying to figure out what’s there that they
like and is in their price range
 What’s a good close rate on “new to you” leads?

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How They Learn
 They found YOU on the internet
 Because they like to search, learn, explore
online
 Pictures & videos matter
 Reviews matter
 Most people seem to understand the quality
issues with TripAdvisor, Google reviews, etc.
 FYI: www.oyster.com

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Top mistakes
 Getting quotes for clients who aren’t ready
 Failing to establish your credibility
 Failing to establish your value vs. OTAs
 Not recognizing where they are in the
process
 They often will ask about specific resorts
before they’ve decided on the destination
 Spending too much time assembling
“brochures”
 Trying to show them resorts without
sending them to the resorts’ websites
 Not giving enough info on the resorts
 So clients go to Google, find the resort, book
direct or with an OTA

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Best Practices:
Make it Personal!

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Best Practices - Personal
 Get personal
 Your photo: on your website, in your emails
 Let them hear your voice: get them on the phone
 Even better: use Skype
 Ask, ask, and ask again
 Seeing you & hearing you makes you human!

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Best Practices - Pricing
 Educate them on how pricing works:
 They don’t know about price matching
 They think booking direct must be cheaper
 They don’t understand taxes, airport fees, etc.
(what’s included/what’s not)

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Best Practices - Credibility
 Establish your credibility
 They haven’t read your
bio—they were looking at
the awesome overwater
bungalow
 Be brief, but impress them!
 Destination training &
certifications
 FAM trips/site inspections

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Best Practices – Your Value
 Educate them on your value:
 Your contacts at the destination
 Handling re-bookings/changes/etc.
 “I wish all the hotels looked as good as they do in
their pictures”
 When problems happen, which clients get bumped?
 Get an expert & personal assistant at little or no
extra cost
 Tell stories of how you’ve helped clients in a bind

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Best Practices – The Process
 Be clear on the process:
 We’re going to establish a rough budget
 I’m going to learn your style, likes & dislikes,
what’s most important to you
 I’ll show you many places I recommend
 Give you an idea of nightly rates/airfare ranges
 Let you whittle it down to a few that feel just right
 Once you have it narrowed down:
 Now, I’ll look for specials, best pricing, etc. from all
my various suppliers

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Best Practices:
Show me! Show me! Show me!

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Best Practices – Visual Tools
 Use visual tools to show the client choices
 Photos, videos, virtual tours, maps, etc.
 They’ll usually do a little bit of reading, but a
whole lot of looking
 Try not to send them to the resorts’ websites
 But expect that they will go there themselves anyway
 Give plenty of choices at first (5 or even 10!)
 If you use VI, put all the resorts in 1 itinerary so
they can look at them side-by-side

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Best Practices – Your Tools
 Use online tools to get specials/rough
pricing quickly, early in the sales process
 Use online pricing from your favorite supplier to get an idea
 If you use VI, use the travel specials search tool:

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Best Practices – Your Tools
 Use CRM tools or a system to organize your
work with each client
 ClientBase, Outlook folders, calendar reminders
 Don’t wait for them to get back to you
 Follow up more than you think you should
 If you use VI, use the reminders tool

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Summary
 Build the relationship: make it personal
 Educate the client early
 Don’t quote till it’s really time
 Leverage tools:
 Be more professional
 Keep the client excited about their options
 Spend less time pushing paper/emails, and you
can work more leads at once

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Questions?