Definition of a Guru
You are a passionate certified local DMC or local day tour operator who knows the destination better than anyone. By living there or by having devoted your life to exploring it and its people, you know where and when to go, who to meet, what to see, and how to experience the unbeaten path.
You are a guide yourself, or you work with the best guides, know the best places to eat, where to shop and how to avoid the crowds. You know when is the best time to visit a destination and why. You can give incredibly detailed information, personalized attention, and one-on-one travel advice based on the travelers’ requests.
Being a travelers’ friend
To improve the engagement as well as to increase your final conversion rate, think of yourself as a local friend when communicating with the travelers.
You are not aiming to strike the best deal for your company, but rather help the traveler to figure out the best combination between the available options. To build a trusting relationship with the traveler, it is essential that the client understands that you are there to help and not, essentially, to get rich on top of their back.
Asking the right questions
It is crucial to ask the right questions to avoid losing the clients between too much back and forth. Ask well-thought questions to trigger the brains’ imagination and creative thinking, encouraging deeper thoughts, which in turn will bring a whole new set of useful insights. This is how you can easily change the flow of a conversation, improve connection and increase engagement & revenue.
Offering the right expertise
As you probably already know, very often people do not understand the destination they want to travel to, they are just looking for advice and someone that understands them and helps them figure out a fantastic travel plan.
By sharing ideas and laying out the many possibilities available (based on their initial profile and travel request) you will gather important feedback that will help you better identify the clients’ profile, while at the same time “educate” them on the final destination.
And as you share your ideas, share local knowledge and relatable experiences to further build trust and increase engagement.
Managing the sales experience
It is important to always have a clear idea of where the conversation with the traveler is going and where you want to take it. You must be able to give clear guidance towards the next steps to take to be able to bring the conversation to a successful final booking.