Ever wanted to start selling Regent Seven Seas Cruises but weren’t quite sure how to get started? We asked the company to give us its top selling tips to help you out…
Selling Tips:
• Upgrade Premium clients to the Luxury of Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
There has never been a better time to upgrade your valued clients from a premium to a luxury experience. It’s not all about the price; it’s also about the experience, the adventure and the locations. With Regent, virtually everything is already included in the fare, so your clients are assured a wonderful, relaxing and hassle-free luxury cruise vacation with award-winning spacious suite accommodations, stellar cuisine and highly personalised service on medium-sized ships that carry hundreds, not thousands of guests.
• EARN the MOST Commission
As Regent Seven Seas Cruises has virtually eliminated all NCFs and is paying commission on previously exempt items, such as shore excursions, your earning potential is higher than with any other cruise line. Regent Seven Seas Cruises has laid out in a clear graphical format, a head-to-head comparison versus three popular cruise lines in the premium category, focusing on popular 2012 destinations. In each case, Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ all-inclusive luxury product is a better value than the three premium competitors – it’s a win-win for you and your valued clients.
• Value Selling: Give Them More for Their Money
The Value Equation has been generally positioned as Value = Price + Quality + Experience or, more mathematically accurate, Quality + Experience divided by Price. These days, the savvy traveller considers quality and value as the hallmarks of a successful cruise brand. Regent offers both. While price may not seem a major consideration for luxury cruise clients, even the most affluent of travellers wants the best value for their money, especially in today’s economy. You want to get away from selling based on price. Commodities are sold on price. When you properly sell the value added benefits of a luxury product such as Regent, the Quality + Experience components minimise the impact of price.
Value Selling Do’s and Don’ts
Do:
• Emphasise the quality + Experience components
• Emphasise the value added – FREE Roundtrip Air and transfers, FREE Unlimited Shore Excursions, FREE Luxury Hotel Package, FREE Unlimited beverages including fine wines and premium spirits, etc.
Don’t:
• Sell based on price
• Talk them into something they really can’t afford
• Translate features into benefits – Regent Seven Seas Cruises vs. Premium Lines
Show your clients how Regent Seven Seas Cruises offers better value for the money based on a number of factors, such as:
• Small-ship ambiance, real-cruise feel: Seven Seas Navigator has a capacity of only 490 guests and is just a little more than one-third that of a premium line’s ship. Seven Seas Voyager and Seven Seas Mariner carry only 700 guests.
• More personalised service: The fleet offers a staff-guest ratio of 1 to 1.5; the Premium line’s ratio is 1 to 2.3.
• FREE Unlimited Shore Excursions: Regent Seven Seas Cruises offers savings and convenience of FREE Unlimited Shore Excursions on all cruises; excursions on competitor and premium lines are not included in the price, and with prices from about US$150 to US$250 each, these tack-ons can really add up.
• FREE Alternative Dining: Regent Seven Seas Cruises offers alternative dining choices at no additional charge whereas the premium line will add a per-person supplement.
• FREE Pre-Paid Gratuities: Regent Seven Seas Cruises cover all onboard gratuities (excluding spa), on all sailings; the premium line automatically charges a per-passenger fee to each guest’s shipboard account plus an additional service charge for bar and dining room wine purchases.
• P.S.: All beverages – including fine wine, beer and premium spirits – are always complimentary on Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
You can make similar comparisons between Regent Seven Seas Cruises truly all-inclusive luxury product and other premium cruise lines and itineraries. The degrees of difference may vary, but the value equation favours Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
• Upselling With Butler Service
If your clients are looking at a category D, E or F Deluxe Suite, show them how, for a few hundred dollars more (or a few thousand on the longer cruises), they can upgrade to a Penthouse Suite or higher (categories MS-C), the minimum accommodation that includes butler service and FREE Business Class Air Upgrades to Europe. In most cases, they’ll also gain considerable square footage in their suite.
• Per Diem Selling
Breaking down the price of a Regent Seven Seas Cruises voyage on a per diem basis can help you sell in many ways. If you have a client who may be wavering, it will make the price seem less daunting and more manageable. It will also make for favourable comparisons with both resort holidays and premium cruise products, especially when you point out the value of everything that is included on a daily basis, from fine dining, shore excursions and enrichment experiences to run-of-the-ship use of facilities (pool, gaming, spa and more) to complimentary drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) 24/7-plus a new port of call to visit virtually every day.
• Niche Selling: Catering to Your Clients’ Passions
Catering to niche markets can be a lucrative way to expand and diversify your business, so make sure you are well versed in your clients’ interests, hobbies, etc., and keep this information handy in your database. A niche is a hook you can use to lure current and prospective clients to consider booking a Regent Seven Seas cruise, even if they have never cruised before.
Niche markets are all around you. To use one of the largest niche markets as an example, baby boomers reportedly control more than two-thirds of the total net worth of American households and account for some 40 percent of total consumer demand – even in a recession.
Niche clients can be teachers from local schools, professors from your city’s universities, photographers, naturalists, musicians and cooks, as well as anyone with a passion for exploring new cultures. They have probably gone online to research the region of the world they are interested in exploring, so make sure you do your homework, too. They travel for the destination and the adventure of learning and are prime candidates for Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Spotlight sailings. These select cruises feature enrichment programs pegged to special interests such as:
• Food, Wine and Spirits: Workshops, Spotlight on Chocolate and other programmes focus on the food, wine and spirits of the area of the world being visited on the cruise.
• Fine Arts: Programmes include renowned experts giving lectures on art and photography, top cabaret and opera performances, or accomplished local musicians playing for guests while they learn an indigenous style of dance.
• Discovery and Exploration: Respected scientists and explorers share their unique perspectives about the history and culture of a region.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises doesn’t merely transport your clients to fascinating parts of the world; it offers them enrichment so guests can return home having gained a deeper knowledge and appreciation of the places they have visited. In addition to the comprehensive array of shore excursions and overland tours, the line offers the knowledge and experience of uniquely qualified Destination Specialists
• Honeymoons
A luxury cruise is also the ideal product for tapping into the US$12 billion-a-year honeymoon industry. On average, couples spend three times as much as the average U.S. adult spends on a vacation, so they should be receptive to a Regent Seven Seas Cruises voyage. The all-inclusive nature of the company’s cruises means a totally carefree experience, allowing couples to focus all their attention on each other. Repeat bookings constitute more than half of our business, which means your honeymoon clients will be prime candidates for another cruise to celebrate their first, fifth, 10th or other significant anniversary. When selling a Regent Seven Seas Cruises holiday to any client – but most especially honeymooners – strike the words ‘cabin’ and “stateroom” from your vocabulary. All accommodations are spacious suites with separate living and sleeping areas.
• Sell Through ‘Regent Ambassadors’
When your clients return from their cruise, encourage them to become a Regent Ambassador, telling their friends and family about The Regent Experience. Suggest that they put their cruise photos on Facebook or other social networking sites to help generate interest. As a Regent Ambassador, they will receive a US$200 future cruise credit when a new Regent Seven Seas Cruises guest whom they refer books their first Regent Seven Seas Cruises voyage. The referred guest will also get a US$200 shipboard credit.
• Cross-Selling
Network with other luxury-oriented businesses in your area to promote one another’s products. Advertise on each other’s websites, where applicable, or engage in co-op print advertising. Arrange to have Regent Seven Seas Cruises brochures – with your agency’s contact information stamped on or your business card attached – displayed alongside the high-end champagne at the local wine merchant, by the checkout at a gourmet food store, on sales counters of luxury car dealerships and coat-check rooms at fine-dining restaurants. In turn you may display their business cards on your desk or flyers in your storefront window. Home-based agents can agree to include information about their fellow luxury merchants in their brochure mailings.
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