TRAINING AS A SELLING TOOL

ONE of our major focuses at CLIA is training. Travel consultants who are serious about the growth and development of their cruise business will continue to invest in training, so it’s important to us to expand the education options we offer, making them more accessible and appealing. I have always been of the view that ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’, so to be successful you must remain committed to your ongoing education. This means keeping up to speed with industry knowledge and keeping pace with cruise lines that are continually innovating and refining their products. A primary benefit of CLIA membership is access to our highly respected industry training and certification. CLIA training has one primary purpose in mind – that is to deliver a level of industry certification which will enable you to promote yourself as a cruise expert amongst your existing clients and in your own marketing when prospecting for new business. Last month I mentioned that we had moved our mandatory training programs online. We’ve since made another major change by introducing a new cruise ambassador level to our accreditation program. The new tier is positioned between accredited cruise consultants and master cruise consultants and aims to recognise and reward agents who continue to improve their cruise knowledge after becoming an accredited cruise consultant. So why is this self-promotion so important? Put yourself in the shoes of a consumer; they get their hair done at a hairdresser, their health checked by a GP and their drains cleared by a plumber – so where should they be looking to book their next cruise holiday? If you don’t hold CLIA accreditation and think you are beyond training, maybe it is time to reconsider – there are still a lot of people out there that are yet to experience a cruise. Training can put you in a very strong position to widen your customer base in the fastest growing segment of the travel industry. When dealing with clients, it’s always good to tap into consumer trends and, personally I think a key one at the moment is the focus on food. Dining is fast becoming a major drawcard for cruise lines to attract first-time cruisers and so it’s important that agents are very clear in their understanding of what each different brand has on offer. European river cruise operators do an outstanding job of pairing themed dinners with local wines and we are now seeing ocean vessels aligning with different breweries as they deliver their own unique craft beers. And of course there’s a wonderful array of celebrity chef dining options also available on cruise ships – from the cuisine of Jamie Oliver to Luke Mangan.