Become a Home Based Travel Agent

The 3 main ingredients for “Customers for Life”…
(Which ones do you posses?)
By Cory Andrichuk

An ongoing goal for many travel entrepreneurs is acquiring and maintaining a “Customer for Life”.   Customer retention is paramount to any business’s success!  It cannot be stressed enough and should be woven into the very entrepreneurial fabric that gave you the spark to start your own business.    We’ve all heard the saying in business… “It costs so much more to find a new customer, than to keep and retain an existing one”.  So if it is so important to our ongoing businesses success, why do so many of us fail to retain our customers’ business over time? 

A customer for life has 3 ingredients.  Let’s look at them closer and you can judge for yourself if you posses one, a combination of two, or possibly all 3.

The first ingredient to a “Customer for Life” begins with you it’s called your brand.  Your brand is the sum total of who you are and how you connect to your target market.  How you present yourself (your first impression) to the world will determine how and why your customers will buy OR not buy from you.  People buy from people they like and have something in common with.  So when you have a good understanding of who you are (your brand), and then sell yourself accordingly, your chances of earning a sale increases dramatically! 

Now that you understand that you are the product for sale, and that the prospect (someone who has not yet bought something from you) needs to buy YOU before they buy FROM you, you are now ready to understand how to increase your sales and grow your business. 

The second ingredient to a “Customer for Life” is the relationship.  First of all… please be patient!  Sometimes it can takes six months to develop a relationship, and you need seven NO’s to get a YES.  A relationship is all about trust.  It takes time to establish rapport, develop a commonality, qualify with open-ended questions, and then move into a position of value where you service your customer’s needs by providing them with features and benefits, overcoming their objectives, and finally asking for their business.  Bottom line… it takes time, good listening skills, determination and perseverance to continue to earn that…”YES I trust you” with a smile of approval. 

The third and final ingredient to creating a “Customer for Life” is no surprise to any professional salesperson.  It’s called the follow-up-follow-through!  No it’s not a golf-swing training term.  Following-up and Following-through is the natural and ONGOING process that occurs after you develop the relationship… the sale.  It’s natural because you want what’s best for your new-found and earned friends… your customers (note: they are not a prospect any longer because they bought you and your brand, and trust you enough, which lead to a relationship!).  

A customer for life is an earned treasure chest of emotions – including the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I have personally found that the more adversity I have faced together with my customers, the more trust I have earned from my customers.  (Selling an American cruise line in Hawaii, was not easy, and taught me many sales lessons!).  Being open to sales adversity, conflict, and change creates more of a stronger bond between you and your customers than shying away from sales challenges.  The strength of your overall business is determined, in large part, by how strong your current relationships are with all your customers.  Follow up consistently with your customers and follow through with everything you say you will do, and you should have a database of “Customers for Life. 

Professionally speaking, there is nothing more rewarding than a “Customer for Life” in business.  I see it as a professional reward!  It is a testament to the personal and professional time invested in yourself (your brand), the time invested in a meaningful relationship, and the ongoing process of attending to your customers needs.