Take Off the Boxing Gloves...

Use Your Brain

By Les-Lee Roland

Oh my goodness, the E-mails I received about my article in last month’s Home Based Trade, “Who Do Your Clients Belong To?”
Agents don’t always agree on everything, but clearly this is not a red state, blue state issue. This is black and white — agents are in an uproar about not just losing business to the Internet. They are even more irritated about losing their clients to the cruise lines.
The top complaint is the cruise lines that are marketing to OUR clients. People we book on their ships, and once they are in the system of the cruise line, who do they really belong to? The cruise lines are mailing discounts and promos to them, and will take direct bookings.
We have done the work selling the cruise, arranging their transfers and sometimes air independent of the cruise line. We have arranged their bon voyage gift, maybe ordered the birthday cake and we do the follow-up to see how their cruise went. And, I don’t know about you, but I always have a little apprehension when I call Mr. and Mrs. Cruise Passenger to ask how things went.
It’s that short interval after I ask and then wait for their answer. Here’s where we the agents have to hear that the pasta wasn’t good enough. The shore excursion was overpriced. The cabin was smaller than they expected. The shows were nothing spectacular. They ate too much. It rained. The sea was choppy.
Mostly, I hear that the cruise was better than expected (usually from a first-time cruiser). They served the best martinis, the clients finally had a chance to relax and just enjoy.
Either way, good or bad, most of the time the cruise line never gets the real lowdown on what our passengers liked or didn’t like. I really don’t think people put on the comment card, “Why don’t your slot machines pay off?” Or maybe, “My Mom’s linguine tastes better — do you want her recipe? It shouldn’t be hard to recalculate the ingredients for 3,400 people.”
The cruise line forgets how the majority of the time, we closed the sale. We suggested their product and their itinerary. We were the ones who know what will turn our clients on: Large ship, smaller ship, are they tired of certain destinations, do they want to be on a ship with lots of kids, do they want flexible dining — and we are the ones who understand their budgets.
Sometimes, it’s a no-brainer. You may get a call from a shopper, a do-it-yourselfer, who tells you they want the April 27 sailing, balcony. They may already know the price and are ready to book if the price is right. Then the caller says they are checking out the cruise on the Internet. Ughh! I pull up the rate, and calculate to see if I can do something better than the norm.
Then, if I am in a feisty mood, I ask, “Do you ever watch QVC or the Home Shopping Network?” If it’s a woman, usually they say yes. Then I say, just like those shows, my price for the next 15 minutes is such and such, but I’ll throw in a shore excursion, or a shipboard credit or the transfers, whatever. But, I add, the rate may go up 30 minutes from now.
Okay, some may call it a rebate. Isn’t that a no-no now with some lines? But if you compare things on the Internet, many sites are offering something similar. And they charge for shipping the documents, as well.
Remember, I have to be in a feisty mood. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Whatever response I give, I NEVER say, “and if you find it at a lower rate, call me and I will match it or beat it.” That is a no-win situation. Why would anyone want to call you back when you had your chance to sell it originally. If they do get a lower rate, they can tell that person that they have an agent who promises to beat their rate, so why play ping pong?
Some suggestions I received in response to last month’s column were for agents to band together and send a flurry of letters to the corporate headquarters of cruise lines demanding changes. And, shouldn’t the organizations we belong to fight for us?
For you long-timers out there, we went through airlines lowering our commissions from 10% to 8% to 5% to zip. Whoever fought for us then, didn’t win the commission battle for agents. So don’t expect anyone to fight our battles now.
If you thought this article was going to provide the panacea for the situation, sorry. This should not be a battle. The cruise lines are not even our sparring partners. How many berths have to be filled every single week — 30,000-50,000, more? How many bookings do you make each week? Agencies are dwindling down across the country. Home Based agents are increasing. If you’re reading this article, you are one of the more determined sellers of travel. Doesn’t it make sense that if agents cannot fill the berths, then the cruise lines either have to go after business or raise their rates to compensate for the losses?
Cruise lines do TV and print ads and direct mail. It’s a given. Accept it. You have a choice. You can fill out their pre-doc forms and use your office address as the contact. All the future advertising will come to you. Or you can start a pseudo E-mail account, so you can get that deluge of promos.
Or you can make sure that you, as a civilian and not as a travel agent, are registered as a member of Mariner, Crown and Anchor, Captain’s Circle, Latitudes, Crystal Society, etc. with every major cruise line. Most agents have sailed at least once on these lines.
You’ll get a mailing, just like your clients. You’ll know the promos. If you are a member of a consortium, you know the savings offered in advance. You are now in the driver’s seat.
When you receive your frequent cruiser newsletter, go to your database for everyone you have booked on their ships. You do your E-mail blast, your mailing or your phone calls, and contact these clients. You tell them, they are getting a $100 off coupon for certain sailings and would they want to take advantage of this offer. You know they mentioned they might be interested in a European cruise and you happen to have some group space, plus the savings on the coupon.
In other words, you take charge. Bottom line, it always comes down to customer service. If you are mad because one of your clients booked directly with the cruise line, take a look in the mirror before you put your fist through the wall. Did you stay in touch with the client in a timely fashion? Is your database set up to be calendar friendly?
Scenario. A prospective client calls you in March to book an August cruise. They like to take the kids away just before school starts. When you book them, you ask if they are celebrating any special occasion. Nothing in August, but they will celebrate their anniversary in November. And, of course you ask for their birthdates. Mr. Client was born in 1967.
You’ve got what you need. You set up a calendar for 2007. You make sure you contact these people, for promos for every time school is out, for November sailings, or maybe just a weekend getaway for their anniversary. And since the mister is celebrating his 40th birthday next year, chances are the wife may want to plan something.
Your database is your bible. As you start to record the dates on the calendar, you will see patterns begin to form. This can be your signal as to when to book group space, when to promote.
I always tell my clients that they may get promos and offers from the cruise lines, but I get even more and better promos.
I appreciated all the correspondence sent to me about last month’s article. And I commiserate with each and every agent about the writing on the wall.
My answer is to strip off the mental wallpaper, repaint, put on your thinking caps — not the boxing gloves — and use your expertise in marketing to your clients.

Les-Lee Roland is a writer and motivational speaker and has been Home Based for more than 10 years. Her company, The Package Deal, is in Sarasota, FL. Contact Les-Lee at packagedeals@comcast.net.