Tom Stieghorst
Selling to a luxury clientele is a very appealing idea for many travel agents, but it has its own rules.
At a CruiseOne/Cruises Inc/Dream Vacations seminar on luxury travel in Miami, Rosemarie Reed, vice president of marketing, said that the main difference in selling luxury cruises is the lack of focus on price.
"They buy on emotion, remember that," said Reed to about 65 agents at CruiseOne's Luxury Summit at the Colonnade Hotel in Coral Gables. "They do not buy on price, so get that out of your head."
It isn't easy to do. For most of us, price is an ever-present reality that limits our vacation choices. But it is not usually a consideration for the rich.
Reed suggested that to sell to them, agents should lead on emotional decision triggers such as:
- Exclusivity: This cruise isn't available to everyone.
- Features: What you're buying is the exciting, beautiful, and any unique amenities on this particular line, ship or itinerary.
- Status: This cruise makes you one of the elite.
- Recognition: You've worked hard to get where you are and this cruise is going to acknowledge all you've done.
Price isn't a primary factor in the sales equation for luxury clients because they can afford almost anything you can sell them. The closest thing to price that appeals to luxury passengers is value, the close companion to price.
Value is something that even luxury clients have an interest in. They don't worry so much about the price if they feel they're getting some sort of return on the money spent that justifies the sticker price.
"You want to take an offer and show value and lead with the value, but definitely give them something that says why they should call you and why they would want to book with you," Reed said.
Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald said that "The rich are different from you and me," to which Earnest Hemingway is said to have replied "Yes, they have more money."
The truism doesn't erase the idea that even if the rich aren't fundamentally different, the way that they respond to sales pitches may be different precisely because they have more money. Sales are always made to some degree on emotion, but for luxury sales, the normal focus on price takes a back seat to sentiment.
It's a good thing to keep in mind.