How to win bbusiness

TRAVEL Counsellors sales
director, Malcolm Hingley,
walked local TCs through
some practical ways they can
win new business.
Malcolm cautioned against
TCs relying on just a few
large accounts to sustain
their business. His advice
was for TCs to examine their
corporate clientele and see if
they could perhaps approach
them for leisure bookings as
well. Malcolm also suggested
that TCs become more
active on social media, using
accounts such as LinkedIn to
maximise their professional
networking potential.
The acquisition of new
business relied heavily on the
development of relationships,
he said. “There are five
basic rules for creating
relationships: create value
before claiming any; care
more than anyone else; be
intimate; be proactive and be
consistent.”
He suggested that agents
test themselves on how well
they knew their clients and
what they wanted, adding
that word-of-mouth was
the most effective route to
acquiring new business. “It’s
the stories that sell it,” he
said. “TCs need to be vigilant
about including personal
touches throughout their
interactions with the client;
for example, personal thankyous
and texts to welcome
the client home.”