Wave Season: Get Rich Quick!

 

Terry McKinney, Cheryl Darwell, Monica Pollack and Maria Tilton
Cruise Planners CEO Michelle Fee and new franchise owners Terry McKinney, Cheryl Darwell, Monica Pollack and Maria Tilton.

 

Being successful in business requires more than simply tapping into Wave Season promotions. Put another way, the age-old question of “How do I get rich quick?” was tackled recently at the annual Cruise Planners conference in Hollywood, FL

Michelle Fee, co-founder and CEO of Cruise Planners, moderated a discussion by four new franchise owners—all in business for less than three years. They’ve posted cumulative sales of $330,000 to $1.1 million. 

But what’s the secret sauce? Here’s a look at two of the stories from these superb sellers. 

Cheryl Darwell

Since May 2011, Cheryl Darwell, Cruise Planners in West End, NC, has put nearly a third of a million dollars in sales on the books. Not previously involved in travel, Darwell’s background is in computer sales and printing. 

When she moved to Pinehurst, NC, a few years back, she didn’t know a soul, was considering a travel career, but while mulling that over took a job at a bank. “It beats slinging burgers at McDonalds,” Darwell thought. 

From Fee’s perspective, it was a bold tactic by Darwell, because “she learned who did what, what businesses were successful and who ran them.” She built a foundation for her future travel business, including an understanding of strategic partnerships. Later, she received referrals from bank employees and customers. 

Darwell also spent $800 to join two chambers and says she’s long ago recouped the investments. “It gave me the ability to network at numerous events for free,” she says.

 

Weddings, Romance and Celebratory Travel
Weddings, romance and celebratory travel are a large part of McKinney’s sales focus.

 

Print mailings and e-promotions are also crucial, she believes. Darwell has 2,600 names on her mailing list and an e-mail list of more than 800 addresses. Darwell acknowledges that she shares her agency’s promotional information with “absolutely everyone she’s ever met.” That includes all those chamber members and everyone she’s ever given a quote to—even if they have never booked.

“You just never know [who will book],” she notes. “God draws straight with crooked lines.” In turn, Darwell markets on all fronts—whether that’s speaking at a Kiwanis Club meeting, writing an article for a local newspaper or stuffing Cruise Planners magazines into automobile show packages. 

One newspaper story she wrote landed her bookings for six people on an Alaska cruise and 13 clients on an anniversary cruise. More interestingly, one woman spread out the newspaper’s business page on a table so she could ripen peaches. In doing so, she noticed Darwell’s write-up and called about a 60th anniversary group cruise.

Initially, the group was to be about 25 people but, ultimately, Darwell took 65 names and did the legwork. She really worked the group sales project, not simply relying on the pied piper. Those who sailed returned happy, several group members have rebooked and one original prospect (who didn’t take the anniversary cruise) later booked a $20,000 trip to Australia.

Being personable is critical. One woman who now uses Darwell had been on 46 previous cruises, had another agent, liked that agent as did one relative, but they both liked Darwell and her service even better. “She had been only doing it [selling travel] a couple of months but took something away from a seasoned agent,” emphasized Fee. 

Terry McKinney

A former vice president of legal services, Terry McKinney of Magnolia, TX, had no previous travel experience. She launched her business in July 2011 and sold $402,000 in travel during her first 16 months of business. 

McKinney cited education as the key; it created confidence and that elicited customer trust. In a three-part approach, she first sold cruises from her local home port—Galveston, TX. Just three ships sailed from the port at the time, but she learned every single, tiny little fact about those cruises, ships and itineraries. 

She also chose one all-inclusive to sell, picking Sandals. She went on a Sandals wedding fam before she even opened her business. Then she looked at airlines that flew nonstop, as “clients don’t like to make stops,” she said. Initially, she focused on those three factors for promotion. 

She exhibited at her first bridal show in January, three months after she opened. She let her passion and enthusiasm show. “It was almost like I was on stage, like I was performing,” she said. People grasped that, trusted her, and at that first show she garnered bookings for 152 passengers, including four luxury cruises, a cruise wedding group of 56, seven land packages, and more. 

McKinney recommends asking spouses and others to help sell, particularly if those folks are in the corporate world. Her husband gave her a card to a business contact, who booked a 50th birthday cruise to Alaska. While she didn’t know the clients at all, she agreed to meet them at the man’s office, not requiring the couple to come to hers. 

Recognizing they liked the finer things in life, she suggested Norwegian Pearl’s Garden Villa “would be absolutely perfect for you.” They booked with less than six months to sailing, and she walked out with a $50,000 sale.

Customers want and need immediate action and attention. Prior to a Disney cruise vacation, McKinney had sold a Sandals suite booking to a honeymoon couple. While she was on her cruise, the couple asked about a New York City package. She worked up the initial proposal for them, sent it from the ship and told them she’d add more detail upon her Saturday return; she didn’t say, “I’ll be back on Monday.” 

At 10:30 p.m. Saturday, she sent the client a revised and more thorough response as promised. Soon the client answered: “Terry, I got it cheaper on Priceline.” 

Her first reaction was to shake her head, and say, “Really? Come on!” But she nicely responded that this was absolutely the best New Year’s package and best pricing that she could offer, and that she actually included such extras as a place from which to view the gala Times Square ball drop. “I always offer more than what the client asks for,” she stressed. 

So she told the client: “You’ve worked with me before. You know that I’m going to provide exceptional customer service, and I will be there for you…Priceline, if you have a problem…you’re going to be routed to a call center.” In a humorous moment, McKinney said: “I really wanted to say, but I didn’t: ‘I guarantee you William Shatner is not going to be on the other end of the phone.’ ” 

Instead, she sent a tactful note to the client, and three minutes later the client e-mailed back: “Terry, quite honestly I would rather pay a little bit more so I can work with you.” She sold herself and it worked. 

In summarizing the demeanor and actions of these and two other successful agents (Monica Pollack with $592,000 in sales over 20 months, and Maria Tilton with $1.1 million in sales over three years), Fee says they “don’t give up.” Action is the fundamental key to success. 

During the Get Rich Quick program, Cruise Planners showed one slide that aptly describes all these agents: “Today, I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I will do what others can’t.”