Money is something that can make even the most confident of sales professionals uncomfortable. Especially when asking people to pay a premium for a service.
Travel is no exception. Never make the mistake of thinking your customers can’t get this online. Everything is bookable with the right amount of time and persistence.
So why do you deserve a service fee? How do you get people to say yes to paying for it?
In order to get people to say yes to buying something they need to feel something. They need to believe that you are the best solution to their problem. You can give them time, money, health or relationship of some form. Then they need to believe that you offer more value than it will cost them to do it themselves.
For travel pros, getting someone to say yes to paying a service fee can be as simple as getting them to believe fully that you will save them time. As we all know time is money. If you are working with a professional who draws a wage of $50/hour and it will take them 15-20 hours to get everything set up - charging $500 for a service is a no brainer. The reason people aren’t paying it is because you haven’t conveyed that value. For myself, I can clean my home for “Free” but is it really free? If I could be creating programs, coaching clients or building my marketing funnel - all things that generate revenues in my business, is it really “free” to take that valuable time to clean my home? For example if I were to calculate my production time to be equivalent to $150/hour and I have the choice to hire a housekeeper for $25/hour or do it myself, am I really saving money to do it myself -- or did I just cost myself $125? There is no such thing as free, it’s only a realignment of profit and loss when it comes to our most valuable resource - time.
Travel professionals who can’t convey a cost to their customers of not hiring them that is higher than the cost of hiring them, won’t actually be able to get people to say yes to paying a fee.
Here’s three quick tips for creating an offer that will show your clients why you’re worth your fee (ten times over).
You will save them time - how can you demonstrate the value of the time you can provide to your customers?
You will save them stress - What stress are your customers facing and what can you do to remove that stress from them throughout the process?
You will give them .... - What are you going to give them? People love to get something in exchange for giving you their money. What is it that you’re going to give?
Once you know what the offer looks like, you then have to be clear on how you ask for the sale. Taking a big breath before you deliver is NOT going to instill confidence in your client. Avoid the long dramatic pause, they don’t work in sales when you’re the one asking for the sale. This isn’t the results show on America’s Got Talent.
Lean In - like all the way. When we ask someone for something that makes us uncomfortable, we tend to pull back, look away or fidget. When you are asking for a sale, have the confidence to be in control of your body language. If you don’t have the confidence (yet) then have the courage to do it. If you’re in person or on a virtual video chat physically lean in ever so slightly. When you pull back you subconsciously trigger your prospect that you don’t have the confidence in what you are offering. When you lean in, you will subconsciously trigger them to lean in as well. When your customer leans in, they are more open to purchasing.
Be Unapologetic In Your Worth
Confidence in the value you bring to the table is ultimately the real objection. Until you unapologetically see the value that you offer and what that value is worth, your customers never will. If you second guess your value so will your customers.