认识安吉·赖斯(Angie Rice),其CPA根部使她推动而不是拉力
经过Cheryl Rosen/
You could say that Angie Rice’s business plan turns the traditional travel agency model on its head. Instead of asking where her clients want to go, she goes to places she wants to sell them — and then pushes them out to her customer base.
“我们的客户正在向我们寻求建议;他们想反映我们经历的旅行类型,并选择突出显示。”赖斯说。“通过促进吸引我们的目的地,beplay银行卡我们可以控制和影响我们为客户预订的旅行。”
如果您认为这听起来像是一个社会影响者,请再考虑一下。赖斯(Rice)也许是从影响者剧本(The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The Playbook)上借了一页的豪华旅行社,他是前CPA,两年前决定跟随她的梦想并开设自己的旅行业务。她和前任护士从业者珍妮特·塞梅诺瓦(Janet Semenova)今年正在销售200万美元,主要是他们向客户建议的目的地,而不是相反。beplay银行卡例如,自从她最近去克罗地亚之旅以来,顾客询问或想关注她的行程。
“It’s not being pushy to suggest things,” she says. Like going to a doctor for a diagnosis or a decorator for a makeover, they expect advice. Many people don’t have a picture of their perfect vacation and need you to create that dream. They want you to bring the creative process to life.”
建立业务
赖斯(Rice)和塞姆诺瓦(Semenova)在推出时是新朋友是精品旅行顾问,但他们与医生和会计师分享了信任的关系,并且“在社区中被认可为与家人一起旅行的人。我们俩都认为旅行是一项承诺。您不能在家庭时间上定价。”
They focused on trying to connect with three different audiences through three different touchpoints — and using hard data to track their success.
他们试图满足客户的人,但如果不是,they reach out through Facebook and women’s groups, events at family-friendly workout facilities they attend, and co-hosting events like a Round the World event with a lifestyle company and travel suppliers. “We do a little bit of everything and then document how each person who calls got in touch, and track the ROI of everything we do,” she says.
The data show that her top 10 clients bring in about half of all referrals; three or four deliver 10 new clients a year. Rather than sending a gift card, they offer up a heartfelt thank-you note outlining just how important these referrals have been to the growth of their company. “Aligning yourself with influencers is very important; we make sure that we show appreciation, that we thank them and recognize them every time,” she said.
物以类聚,人以群分
When it comes to planning a trip, they carefully curate each step for the individual customer. For the seasoned traveler, for example, they often look for “eco-friendly and sustainable and off-the-beaten-path destinations; someone who really believes in that type of travel will say, ‘That’s the type of agent I want to work with.’”
赖斯(Rice)强调了她的CPA背景,营销了真正有组织的旅行顾问来处理所有活动部件的需求。她说:“有一项计划集体旅行的艺术性 - 这就是我们的区别。”
That CPA background naturally gives Rice a focus on the bottom line, and she often touches on financial advice long-term planning. She often suggests that clients include travel in their long-term planning with financial advisors, “getting them to recognize that our relationship isn’t just about one year, but about three or five years, to bring diversity to their travel and be aware of what they are spending.”
And even for individual trips, she often offers budgeting advice. “You can’t spend 60% of your budget on air; if you can’t do anything when you get there, you won’t have fun,” she might say. “I’m not suggesting they spend more than they can afford, but understand how to create the best experience with the budget they have. If they are a foodie or are in a region known for kayaking, those are the experiences worth compromising for.”
“When a potential client asks about five days in Europe, for example, I say, ‘That’s not enough time; you are investing a lot of money. If you are not able to take off 10 days, maybe you should postpone the trip until you can. Please rethink that and come back to me.’ And they often do.”
对于一个预算紧张的客户来说,赖斯整理了一个包装,其中包括所有四星级酒店 - 除了在城市最富有的酒店举行的一夜挥霍。她说:“如果我提出的整体预算不包括在内,他们就永远不会同意室内费用,但是现在他们认识到整个行程都在排队的价值。”
寻找未来
Moving forward, Rice is planning to partner with other professional service providers, delivering expanded services to both customer bases. She is considering a financial advisor, a local party planner to put together fun travel experiences, and a jeweler to package a coupon for free travel planning services with every sale.
She also has successfully connected with a Pied Piper at a local corporation that offers paid sabbaticals; planning his extended vacation has resulted in a whole new niche. “A seven-week sabbatical vacation involves a lot of planning; you have to figure out how much time to spend in each destination, and have the right flow in the itinerary,” she said. Thanks to him, “we have done many six-week trips.”
总体目标是创建“不是旅行社,而是我们市场上的旅行社区,即我们在我们30分钟内和在线的人。当地市场为我们提供了品牌,在线社区驱动了流量。”
找出目的地,大米仔细选择beplay银行卡each fam trip, going only to places she expects to sell in the next 12-18 months. That first-hand experience is what really differentiates her service — and is especially important in the family and intergenerational markets. “You have to be sure the kids will adapt to Eastern Europe or Japan; you have to look at whether the kids are adventurous and open-minded and eat something other than chicken nuggets, or whether they would be better off doing a Tauck tour with other families.”
She is headed to Russia in the fall and Semenova will travel to Australia — but both also see opportunities closer to home.
She recently arranged an extended vacation for four families in Jackson Hole, fly fishing and kayaking and rifle shooting. “As a travel advisor, we think people want to go overseas, but a great niche is doing large groups that break up to do different things,” she says. “So, Canada and the national parks, and backroads tours in Hawaii, and maybe Costa Rica, are on my itinerary. For families, it’s worth the extra expense to have a travel professional organize the meals and the guides.”
最后,她热爱自己的新职业。“旅行是关于与他人分享您的经验并结识世界各地的新朋友。如果您有那个错误,那是共同的意义,没有什么比它这样。”她说。