Written By: Jesse Morris, Owner – We Book Travel, LLC
I was reading a story recently that said that two-thirds of Americans have never been on a cruise. (Interestingly, roughly the same number of Americans without a passport) When asked, nearly half of those polled stated that they felt it was cost prohibitive. That’s pretty surprising when you consider how affordable cruising tends to be but as they say, perception is reality. Ten percent were afraid of sea sickness, eight percent were scared of norovirus or other illnesses, six percent were afraid of being closed in (claustrophobia) and seven percent were afraid of shipwrecks. The rest cited fear from incidents like ships breaking down. Overall, fear is the number one concern of people when deciding if they want to take a cruise or not followed closely by price.
As agents, we hear a lot of excuses for why people don’t want to cruise. Things like “I am afraid it will be boring” and “Its so crowded” and “Cruises are for the newlywed and the nearly dead, not me.” We spend much of our time overcoming objections and correcting false narratives for our prospects. Our job isn’t to sell nearly as much as it is to educate. Few vacations provide the variety that cruising does, especially for such a great value.
Still, two-thirds of Americans haven’t been on a cruise. How do we create buyers? How do we educate and convince these people to take a chance on what we know will be a wonderful experience? Social Media gives us a unique opportunity to spread our message. Each of us can create daily posts to engage our prospects on the benefits of cruising and help to debunk the biggest fears that people have. People are driven by two base feelings, pleasure and pain. When the pain of an activity exceeds the pleasure of the activity, people avoid the activity. The reverse is equally true. It is on us to create buyers and help people to overcome irrational fears.
Another option is to interview your clients and post their testimonials on Social Media. Ask them how they feel as it relates to the common objections that you hear. Having your clients share their experience allows you to overcome an objection without having to be the one doing the convincing.
How do you help clients overcome their fears? What’s your number one benefit to cruising that you share with your clients? Let me know at [email protected] and I will compile and share with everyone. Until next time, happy selling!