Sales Mastery: Lessons from Antigua's Beachside Entrepreneur

Antigua’s bright blue Dickenson Bay was the perfect backdrop for relaxing in the sun. Geraldine towed her wagon of wares towards our beach loungers. Immersed in my book, I wasn’t exactly excited to see her. Just a few precious unplugged days, I didn’t want to waste a minute. Certainly not for some tourist trinkets. Geraldine moved closer and offered a bright smile and a genuine good morning. She radiated the island’s warmth. I didn’t know that Geraldine was about to give me a masterclass in sales.

A successful travel professional must possess some degree of sales skill. This doesn’t mean being pushy, but to maximize your revenue for your time invested, you must move prospects through the phases of a deal as efficiently as possible. You must also seek to increase your average sale value. You shouldn’t try to sell your client something they do not need or want, however, you also shouldn’t fail to offer something they may want because you deem it too expensive, too extravagant, or because it is beyond their stated budget.

Here it comes. People lie. Perhaps not intentionally, but for a long list of reasons people do not share the full truth, especially when it comes to money.

Geraldine stood at the edge of our umbrella holding up a bright orange Antigua t-shirt. Unremarkable in every way, it represented every t-shirt you’ve ever seen from any island destination. My wife Jillian is a saint, but even she politely said, ‘No thank you.’

Most local vendors along the beach respected a wave of ‘no thanks’ and moved along. Geraldine took a different approach. After receiving the initial no-go, she just smiled, put the t-shirt back into the wagon, then stepped in closer, now fully under the umbrella. Normally I might become agitated by this invasion of our personal space, but something was different. Geraldine wasn’t selling anymore. She pulled her wagon close in behind her and rested against it. She asked ‘What has been the past part of your vacation so far?’. She was no longer selling, just talking. Her body language even relaxed and her position leaning against the wagon signaled that she was just taking a short break from the sun under our umbrella.

The threat of an unwanted solicitation abated, I returned to my book. Jillian, always happy for a chat—with anyone, anywhere, anytime—conversed with Geraldine about the resort, the beach, our children, her children, and so on. Before I knew what was happening, Geraldine was holding some of her t-shirts high on display in a personal fashion show for my wife.

I quieted, closed my book, and curiously watched the exchange.

“The hats are $15, the t-shirts $10 and up, and the bracelets are $20,” Geraldine explained. Seeing that Jillian didn’t balk at the prices, she began unpacking more items from the wagon, allowing Jillian to examine her t-shirts, and look at different colors, designs, and fabrics. How many shirts did she have in the wagon?

“Now, I told you the t-shirts start at $10. That is for these simple t-shirts. They’re very nice, but they only have a design printed on the back. These here,” holding up another shirt, “with a front and back design are made from a more expensive fabric and are $25 each,” she explained. “The resort gift shop sells these shirts for $45, so this is a great bargain!”

Geraldine executed two excellent sales tactics in her pitch.

First, and most importantly, before she spent too much more time showing each of the t-shirts, she established a price floor. If Jillian had balked at the $10 t-shirt price, why bother? Just move on to the next prospect.

Second, seeing that Jillian was receptive, she moved to the upsell. She showed Jillian her best shirts. She explained the $25 shirts not only had better designs, but the fabric was a higher quality.

By establishing a price floor at $10 per shirt, and focusing Jillian’s attention on the $25 shirt, Geraldine gave herself room to come down from $25 and still make a tidy profit if Jillian tried to negotiate the price. Geraldine could always retreat to the $10 shirt if she mis-assessed Jillian’s desire for the $25 shirt and the deal was slipping away. Better to sell a $10 shirt than no shirt.

Even though price was mentioned, Geraldine focused the bulk of her sales pitch on the value received by going into detail about the fabric construction, washing care, and overall quality of the $25 shirts. Adding the $45 gift shop price reference point only added to her value story and made the more expensive shirts feel less expensive.

As Jillian handed over $75 for three t-shirts, I was in awe. Not of the t-shirts our teenage daughters would soon receive, but of the amazing sales skill I witnessed on that Antiguan beach.

Establishing a price floor, then selling value, is a strategy that you can employ as a travel professional. Here’s an example.

You have a prospect interested in a 7-day cruise (it could be an all-inclusive resort vacation, a tour, or anything). You haven’t qualified the prospect yet, and they don’t know what their budget is, or more likely, they just won’t tell you yet.

You tell them that cruise prices can vary dramatically, but for a 7-day Caribbean cruise on a value cruise line, prices will start at roughly $500 per person for an inside cabin and go up from there to several thousand per person for more luxurious lines and larger staterooms with better views. ‘Does an interior cabin around $500 per person sound like something you’re interested in?’ you ask. The prospect says no, they’d like a balcony cabin, and now tells you that they are comfortable spending more than $500 each. They still won’t give you an exact budget.

To give them a general sense, you describe a 7-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary in a balcony cabin on a value-oriented cruise line that you can get them into for $1,500 if their dates are flexible. You also share two higher-end options, including a balcony cabin on a premium line at $3,200 that includes wi-fi and the drinks package.

You explain the differences between each of the cruise line experiences, the difference in dining options, and the various onboard amenities and entertainment. You remember that you should never close the door on a travel option for the client in case you need to retreat back to the lower-priced alternative, so you are careful NOT to paint the lower-priced options as bad or inferior, just different. It all depends on what they’re looking for.

Your prospect shows interest in the premium cruise line and doesn’t object to the $3,200 price tag. They respond positively to the value story you told about their vacation experience, and they book it.

It could have gone the other way. The client could have pulled back at the mention of the premium line’s more expensive price and ghosted you, but because you kept the lower-priced option door open, and painted it as a good value vacation option, the client could have felt more comfortable at that price point and happily purchased the $1,500 balcony cabin on the value line.

As travel advisors, we’re quick to say a particular product is no good, or one is so much better than the next. We’re not lying when we say these things. Based on our personal experience, and in our view, those statements are true. But each client is different, and our role is to match an option to a client’s desires and budget based on the things they place value on. We can’t shut doors for our clients, they do that all on their own often enough without our help. We must open the doors and help them to walk through the right one.

Best success,

Jason