Travel Agent - June 23, 2008 - (Page TA-54) CRUISES Communication with clients is key to closing a sale FIRST TAKES Novice cruisers offer special challenges for agents THE ART OF SELLING A CRUISE VARIES AMONG AGENTS. What doesn’t change is that as a travel agent, you have one opportunity to make a first impression. So, like the Boy Scouts, you must “always be prepared.” Potential first-time cruisers are most impor54 | TravelAgent June 23, 2008 BY DAVID EISEN tant to sustaining the life of the cruise industry: Without them the industry stumbles, with them, it flourishes. That being the case, the segment is also important to suppliers and travel agents. And what do new cruisers typically ask first? According to Sherry Laskin Kennedy, owner of Cruise One in Satellite Beach, FL, the typical first question is, “What do you think of this itinerary and cruise line and this time of year?” That’s a handful and it’s up to the agent to not only give an honest reply, but to also qualify the customer and inject their own opinion if that particular cruise is right for them. “While they know they want a cruise vacation, they still need reassurance from the person whom they consider to be a cruise expert,” Laskin Kennedy says. Delivering the potential customer to the agent is just as important as the initial conversation itself. “A direct-mail piece or an agent-hosted cruise night can get that first-time cruiser,” says Dondra Ritzenthaler, senior vice president of sales for Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises. “That generates the first CONTINUED ON PAGE 56
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