Episode 45:

Building an Authentic Sales System for Travel Advisors with Luis Baez

You can listen directly here. 

Do Sales or implementing a Sales System scare you? 

 

With all that has happened in the world relating to travel businesses, its no wonder that when it comes to promoting and booking clients caution naturally comes into play. 

 

As we kick off this episode, I let down my own guard and talk about my own fear of sales. How Imposter Syndrome can easily creep in and its process to ensure that we work through the challenge to rise above it. 

 

Sales is for the consumer. Sure, you have something to promote. However, your travel business clients want and value your expertise, experience, level of care and guidance. 

 

You are the expert when it comes to travel. 

 

This Sales process is broken down into 4 key areas. Or the 4 I’s as our guest Luis Baez likes to say. Together we walk you through these phases of the sales process to give you specific ideas as to how you can use each in your own travel business. 

 

We can think that we have a B2B or a B2C business (Business to Business, or Business to Consumer) though is that really who YOU are? 

Essentially and at the end of the day, you have an H2H Business. Human to Human. 

 

Owning a travel business has a human connection, trust and relationships. 

No one comes to your front door to buy your product without knowing who you are first. Especially if you are a mobile, work from home travel advisor.  

 

It's important to build a connection with your clients and have that sense of trust. This is how our guest, Luis soared and excelled as a sales professional. 

 

Luis is someone whom I speak with about Sales ALL THE TIME! Not only a soothing soul but My Chief Virtual Revenue Officer. He helps business owners all over the world develop the confidence to grow their business. Sales processes, systems, empowering you to grow and numbers are his superpower. 

 

How will you use the “4 I’s” System in your travel business?  

 

Impress, Inspire, Influence, and Invite - listen in, learn and let’s boost sales performance in your travel business. 

 

Not only is Luis an incredible guest on this episode, but he is also a Guest Expert inside the Achievers Mastermind! The ONLY program that incorporates the training and Education, with Support, How to’s and accountability for Travel Advisors Globally. 

 

If you are wanting to focus on 4 KEY Areas in your travel business, make sure you check out “The Achievers to see where you are at and if it is the right fit for you. 

Placeholder Image

 Links Mentioned in the Episode

 

The Achievers Mastermind - by Travel Agent Achievers  

Achievers in Travel - Accountability group

Video-messaging applications 

Videoask

Bonjoro

Connect with Luis Baez

Luis Baez - The Sales Huddle Website 

 

Quotes from this Episode

"Sales is really about empowering people with this notion of self-advocacy, standing up for yourself, your self-worth, and asking for what you deserve." - Luis Baez

 

"We love that sort of human contact whether you are a b2c business or b2b business, ultimately you are an H to H business - human to human". - Luis Baez

 

"You can do this. Back yourself. Get out there, feel the fear but just do it anyway." - Roslyn Ranse

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Show Transcription: 

Announcer: Welcome to Travel Agent Achievers! The place to learn how to grow your travel business and have fun with it. Join Roslyn and her guests as they walk you through proven steps to a fulfilling and profitable business. 

 

Ros: Hi, everybody. Welcome back to the Travel Agent Achievers podcast. I say every week that I'm super excited when I have a guest on this podcast, but today, I really, really mean it. And yes, I made it every week. But today, I have a very, very important person in my life. And I certainly hope somebody who will also you will welcome in to yours. It's Luis Baez. 

 

Now. I apologise, Luis first of all, because my Australian accent is nothing compared to how you say things even the other day, everybody. I will get back to this. But we were talking about South America, Luis and I and I say buenos Aires. How do you say this?

 

Luis: Buenos Aires

 

Ros: Oh my gosh, this Spanish accent I just get it.

 

Anyhow, Luis is a business strategist and sales trainer, serving entrepreneurs, service providers, and course creators with a particular dedication to empowering underrepresented entrepreneurs through his training and coaching. He also teaches online business owners how to scale their revenues and impact by creating and selling high end offers. 

 

Now Luis has over 14 years experience in sales and marketing for companies including get this LinkedIn, Google, Uber, Tesla, and he brings a breadth of knowledge and experience that spans across digital advertising, software as a service and sustainability with a revenue impact of over $500 million to date. 

 

Like that just blows me away. Right? 

 

So Luis has been invited to speak about leadership, personal branding at business schools across America, including Stanford, UC Berkeley and bad and has served as a sales mentor for the likes of one of my mentors, Amy Porterfield, and others. He's been a guest on many podcasts. And he now lives in Northern California, one of my favourite places, Luis, you are so much more than your bio. 

 

So I also want to add in here that to me, who are also incredibly generous with your knowledge and your time, you're incredibly supportive and a wonderful cheerleader. And I love that you are also my virtual chief revenue officer. Now, having known you for the last few years, and now I see how much you help others. And I do hope that you also know that I'm here for you. And I love sharing your journey as well. So thank you so much for being here.

 

Luis: Thank you so very much for having me. I am just like having an out of body moment right now as I'm listening to you. And you're just like, Is that me? Am I that person? I am so happy to be here.

 

Ros: Thank you.

 

Now today we're talking about the four I’s of authentic selling. But before we even start that is could you share a little bit about yourself and your own sales background. Because every time I hear you and we connect, I learned something new. I'm absolutely glued to what you share. And you know, and I love the stories that you share from your own experience in sales and the companies and the journey that you've had so far. So can you tell, you know, the Travel Agent Achievers community a little bit about you?

 

Luis: Yeah, I appreciate this opportunity. I want to take a step back. And that's it. I go all the way regressed in my childhood or anything, but I think it's really important when you asked me like, how do I think about sales or the kind of impact that sales can have on your life and your livelihood. It's ultimately for me a matter of self advocacy. I am someone who grew up in poverty in New York City. I am out gay, I am Latino. 

 

I'm someone who has never really been traditionally in the spaces that I've walked through. And so I've had to really advocate for myself against all odds for people to respect what I have to say, respect my presence, the knowledge, the expertise and the things that I bring to the table. 

 

And so when we talk about this sort of like corporate experience, everything that I've had I can't discuss that without also including all of myself, because that is actually what's taken me on this journey, I have been trying to figure out where I belong, where I can just be just the whole person that I am bring all facets of myself, my experience, my personality, into the work that I do, and into the impact that I make. 

 

And that's actually what led me down the path of working in Silicon Valley. Because I had before that worked in a career in law, I went and pursued that path being first in my family that have an education, you know, you go down the checklist, doctor didn't want to be that. But you know, the lawyer thing didn't work out either I did the law school thing and dropped out, right? Business person, let's see how this looks. Let's try this. 

 

And that just led me down this whole path, you know, moving from the east coast to the west coast of the US, looking to work in a space where again, I could be my whole self, and in the process, just being like, just completely wowed by the experiences that I've had the doors that I've walked through the people that I've surrounded myself with, but I would not have had these experiences and opportunities, if I didn't speak up for myself if I wasn't that squeaky wheel that insisted on the oil, right. 

 

And that is actually something that's carried me in my entrepreneurial life. Because entrepreneurship, for me was something that happened accidentally, it was in response and in reaction to stepping into spaces where I thought I could be my whole self, but then found myself not being, you know, in that position. 

 

So I ended up pursuing entrepreneurship as an intellectual outlet, as a way of supporting and supplementing my income. And ultimately, it put me in a position to walk away from jobs and experiences that didn't serve me. And so it empowered me to walk away from, you know, experiences of discrimination and things like that, that I just I didn't anticipate that entrepreneurship could do for me. 

 

And so that led me down this path of, hey, what happens if everyone had this opportunity, or everyone knew that this was available to them? You know, whether you are a woman, whether you are a VIP, OC LGBTQIA, like whatever your background might be, however, you've been excluded or other? What if you just knew that this path existed for you to build something meaningful to show up as your whole self in the work that you do? 

 

That is ultimately what continues to drive me. So it isn't a quest for let's change the way that we elevate the sales game? I mean, yes, that is, that is what I want to do. But it's really about empowering people with this notion of self advocacy, standing up for yourself, your self worth, and asking for what you deserve.

 

Ros: I love that there is so much heart in everything that you do. And you certainly, you know, you speak to so many different people, and hearing your journey and some of the places that you've worked like for me, I go, Wow, that's absolutely incredible. But I also know that you've come through challenges in those workplaces. Why sales? Like why did you choose sales? Because that's really hard core. 

 

Luis: I came up in sales through the advertising world in New York City, which is its own unique culture and sort of, I think training ground relative to you know, how you can enter the sales world. And again, it was a very competitive sort of environment. It required you to be very extroverted, even if you weren't, and it really just pushed me and pushed me beyond like any boundary that I've ever kind of presented myself with. 

 

And I love the rush of it. I'm an adrenaline junkies, I'm like, you give me a challenge. You know, you told me to jump I'll do it. And you know, How high are we Let's go. And, and I got that thrill, being in sales. But then I also found this really interesting profession where I could use both sides of my brain. 

 

And I could use the analytical side, I'm great with the numbers and seeing the patterns and the trends and calling out what's next. But then also the creative side of my brain where I could marry, you know, the sort of interests of the customer, the interests of the business, the design experience, etc. And I could speak exec and tech and customer, you know, and in a way that I wasn't able to in other positions.

 

Ros: Hmm, yeah, that makes so much sense. The, I always say to the travel agent community and what I've known in my sales background is you have to know your numbers. So hearing that it's, that's your one side, the analytical side of the brain, yet, there is so much heart and this is where I love that you are and I are aligned in this with understanding the customers and their process and the customer journey and what you can do to help them get through, you know, the pipelines, the funnels, all those sorts of things, but to go from being an inquiry through to a conversion and sale. 

 

So, today, I mean, we add in my background, is also in sales and marketing. And I have a quick question for you. Because I think that I believe that sales and marketing are two different things like we can be working on marketing, and that's to drive people in. But the sales is focusing on the numbers as well. Now, I still have moments and I hear that you say, you know, you were pushed in the challenges. I don't know whether I would see you as an extrovert, though, from what I know, you would consider yourself as an extrovert?

 

Luis: I think I have aspirations of being, you know, like, I think when no one's watching, and it's just me in the mirror. Yeah, I'm like out here, you know, but yeah, let's face it, like 1000 people. I have a moment where I need to catch my breath. Yeah. 

 

Ros: I hear you because I can be similar to that as well. And I really value my own time, and the quietness and the space, we've got a friend in common Christina that I know, she says to me, when I go to a conference, I can be on all day, but then I have to have my own hotel room and just leave me alone for the night so that I can have my own meal and those sorts of things. And I can certainly relate to that as well. Would you say that?

 

But I have a question around imposter syndrome. Because for sales, I also have my own fears come up, you know, just asking for the sale. And then travel we get, we are so passionate about what we do. And we love the booking of the trips and encouraging people to go on these incredible experiences and journeys and creating memories like that is something that is in our heart to encourage people to explore this incredible planet that we live on. But coming up and actually asking for someone for sale. 

 

I mean, there can be imposter syndrome, or these little monkey or whoever it is that sits on my shoulder. So just a quick question. Before we even dive into today's actual topic. How do you or what do you tell people who are too scared to ask for the sale? I hear that you've got cutthroat experience in New York? Like, what what do you say to those people that are too scared to ask?

 

Luis: I think that, you know, let's contextualise as the majority of the people that I work with are very much like your audience, right? These are people that are passionate about what they do their mission and purpose driven. They love that sort of human contact, whether I tell folks whether you're b2c business or b2b business, ultimately, you're an H to H business human to human.

 

But you know, for me, I think it's it's about making sure that you show up so that someone else doesn't come in and take not only that opportunity from you engaging with that person, but then making sure that that customer has a worthwhile experience, right. Like, I think that if you are very committed to especially as a travel agent, for example, showcasing the best of your continental your country, right, you want to make sure that folks are safe, that they're partnering with good, you know, folks on the field, good excursions and experiences and restaurants, etc. Right. Those are things that are under your purview, and in your control those recommendations that you trust, and you want to make sure that whomever especially in light of everything that we've all been through around this planet, right, we're all just itching for a new experience for that next adventure. 

 

But we also need to be safe. And that's really important. And so when you think about like, Okay, I've got this like imposter syndrome, I feel weird asking for the sale. Like, I'm not sure if people even have money with everything going on. Or, you know, who am I to ask for so much, or, you know, what do I bring to the table? Like what you know, I think that number one, you overcome all of this by taking inventory, right? I tell people all the time, pen to paper, don't write your name on the paper, write everything, all the experiences, credentials, relationships, everything that you stack, say walk value, like the value that you offer.

 

If I think about the kind of conduit You are the connector, you are the relationships you have the certifications, experiences, etc, right? Like, take inventory of that. Walk away, after you've done that sort of brain dump on the page, have coffee, whatever, come back to that page and look at it and look at those credentials and ask yourself, Is this someone that I would hire? 

 

Is this someone that I would trust? The answer most likely is yes. Because you'll take a moment and say, You know what, I worked really hard on myself. I worked really hard to get to this point. And I am not going to allow someone else who doesn't have the heart that I do that doesn't care about these destinations and the people then the businesses, you know that I'm not going to allow someone else to misguide these customers. 

 

I have a responsibility to show up and they deserve. These customers deserve to work with someone that is as trustworthy as I am. And that that realisation, that self value, that veil being lifted, it can't happen until you have that moment of real reflection with yourself, and then when you bring to the table, but I think that the other thing is, you have to also ask yourself, what's the alternative for this customer? If I don't show up? If I don't reach out, if I don't introduce myself and let them know that this even exists? Will they have the experiences that they deserve? Right? And the answer is always going to be no, if you don't show up, then they won't.

 

Ros: And that is true. I love that you've mentioned this, because that's a big reminder for me, as well. And I've only recently done this, and I may have done it a few years ago, but I've recently done it again. And you are absolutely right. Because I was able to step away, and I've come back to it, and I've gone you know what you are right, like, my clients deserve all of this. 

 

My clients need to know that I am the expert for them. And I'm purely, I definitely believe that there is enough business out there for everybody. We all specialise and we are all unique, and we all conserve their own clients. But by understanding yourself and backing yourself, you know that that's really a great place to start and understanding the value that you provide. Because that can immediately for me gets that imposter syndrome off my shoulder. And I just say, you know what, you're Roslyn, you have right, you wrote that about yourself. And you are right, you can do this. Back yourself. Get out there, feel that fear, but just do it anyway.

 

Luis: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that the problem with the conundrum about imposter syndrome is whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're absolutely right. The ultimate, you know, sort of monster in the closet. It's just you that's that's what you're up against when we're talking about imposter syndrome. Because you know, at your core, that what brought you to this place in the first place? Is that real instinct that you know, you could do better than someone else, you know, that you could uplevel this experience? It's why you showed up for doing business in the first place. Not so don't lose sight of that.

 

Ros: Yeah, coming back to your why in business? Like why did you even get here in the first place? Why did you start your own business? Why did you, you know, want to do this? It's really coming back to all of that. Right? Okay. So now, at the moment, I know, with your corporate background, and also being an entrepreneur yourself, what do you see as your role now? Like, what do you do now? For me, you're my chief revenue officer, you kick my butt and you challenge? So what is it that you now see as your role? What do you what do you do?

 

Luis: That's an excellent question. So my goal, ultimately, is to bring all this big thinking big strategy and everything that's just been infused into the way that my brain is wired now. And I want to give people access to this kind of strategic thinking, right? Like, I've set up a table with fortune 500, C level executives, talking sales and marketing strategies, back end funnels, customer engagement, retention, all these things. 

 

And I have this way of thinking that I know can be really valuable to the next generation of leaders, that next wave of businesses, that will make a bigger impact. And I've also been in the weeds trying to figure this out. Because even though I have this fancy background, I had to cut my teeth when I went into entrepreneurship, because I went into conversations and saying that I worked at LinkedIn, and Google and all these places only got me so far, I still had to develop a brand, a message a position, I still had to get out there and pitch myself, etc. Right. 

 

And I still found myself in meeting as much as I had all these strategies and everything in place, I still found myself needing support. And so I sought a business coach. And when I saw how that radically changed the game for me, then I saw the opportunity to then take that experience, and start delivering it and creating that opportunity for more and more people. 

 

Right. And so when I think about like, what is my role now my role is to help people develop that confidence to grow their businesses, that personal confidence, the fiscal and revenue, sort of confidence around the numbers, and the positioning of the product, etc. I help people confront the things that they avoid, because what I've also seen that happening in the industry is people come in, they complete their programmes, as certifications, you know, another credential to run a business of their own, and they jump into these online programmes that are intended to help them scale their businesses, but the heavy the sort of emphasis of these programmes is all marketing. 

 

And the way that I think about things is you know, as marketing comes last, you need to have something to sell first the product comes first, then you need to have a process for introducing it to someone and inviting them to collaborate with you that sales. And then we start to operationalize things right? 

 

Like how do we implement the tools and processes in place to keep that customer happy and make sure that we also preserve your sanity and energy, we have to have those processes in place, that's operations. 

 

Then once all that is sort of cleaned up in house, go have fun and TikTok and Instagram whatever it is like to hang out, right. But until you aren't like really that buttoned up, I don't think that you're in a position to really see the benefits of the energy that you'll expend in marketing. 

 

And so I had to really, as I saw was happening in the industry and all the trends. And I even felt the burn of spending 235 $1,000 on these online programmes and still not see results. I gave myself permission, because I too, found myself back again, even in my own business in that seat of imposter syndrome, feeling like I needed to somehow follow someone follow their recipe, their method, etc. In order to see results in my business, and I got fed up with that. I don't want to do business on my terms. 

 

Right, and I am a human to human hearts are kind of in person. I don't enjoy automations in and as far as like my customer experience with other people's businesses, and also in my own business, right. Like I really tried to make sure that the way that I show up and the experience that people have is really just personalised, as much as possible.

 

Ros: Yeah, I agree human to human. And certainly when it comes to marketing and sales, I agree with you, you have to understand your numbers, you do need to have a product to sell. But you also need to know who you're going to sell to. There's a lot of other stuff that I believe as well you need to have in place. And it's where we start within the Travel Agent Achievers community is actually looking at, you know, who is it you even want to work with? What are the products that you want to sell before you even start getting out there and marketing any of that you need to have these things in place. So I'm, I'm 100% in with you there. And I am totally on the same page as you which I love. 

 

But today's topic is really on authentic selling, and selling with soul. And to break it down even more, you have a four step system. So it's called the four I’s system. Can you run, run us through this? And what are the four eyes?

 

And what do they mean?

 

Luis: Yeah, that's an excellent question. So I think of relationship building online, like anything else, it is a process, someone isn't just going to, you know, not know you and all of a sudden see your ad or your social media posts and decide to open up their wallets to you to be able to engage with the right, that seems. Right. But it's not realistic. And I think that's the frustration a lot of people feel like they need an investment or something real quick, right? 

 

Now you've got to pay your dues to the process. So when you are building a relationship with someone, you begin by impressing them, right, and that's about how you show up your contribution, etc. I'll get that into the specifics in a second. But then once you've succeeded in impressing someone, and you've gotten their attention, you've got to sustain their attention by inspiring them. And that's about how you continue to show up beyond that first initial contribution. Right? 

 

When you've done this two the level of certain consistency and commitment, you then start to become someone who's influential, right, that person starts to move closer into your gravitational pull. Right? And suddenly they start considering your offers and the work that you do a little more seriously. They'll start asking questions, dropping comments, etc. that is then the opportunity to extend an invitation to someone to then have a conversation. 

 

So taking it from the top, like how can we like, implement this, you know, practically for someone in your audience as a travel agent and someone who is running on micro business, you know, 10 or less people in their business, right? You don't have all the resources you don't have all the time. How do you do this effectively, that you implement the framework like this one. 

 

So let's talk about what it means to impress. Think about becoming a subject matter expert, rather than just showing up in let's say, a Facebook group. Think about what it means to be an expert within that group, owning the answer to a question being the connector between people in that group, being someone who applauds and cheers other people on and also being someone that continually contributes content within that group, whether it's like dropping you know, information that you've learned, sharing behind the scenes, you know, things that you've been testing in your own business, let's say or, you know, destinations and things that are coming in, right think about like within this group, how can you become the subject matter expert so as a traveller. 

 

Just think about a specific destination, maybe it's your favourite one, or it's the one where you've got the deepest relationships locally, think about jumping into, you know, one or two of those local Facebook groups, you know, and think about establishing yourself there or think about, you know, wherever your ideal customer hangs out lifestyle groups, you know, parenting groups, you know, and specifically parenting groups, everyone is overdue for a family vacation or vacation from their family.

 

Ros: I think when I look at the Travel Agent Achievers community, there are so many different niches or niches that people work within, and really serve and are the subject matter expert, but a lot of them don't even realise that they're their subject matter expert, they don't, they don't either believe in themselves, or they like, Oh, no, this is just who I take care of. And this is the group that I help travel or organise their bookings for. 

 

So I would love for everybody to really think about this and go deep within yourself and say, Hey, I am the expert, I can provide value here. And this isn't about you by and I say this, you know, in a loving point, loving way, you know, when we are taking care of our clients, this is about them. 

 

And I see this on social media all the time, that you know, whoever you are, you we sometimes come from a place of Oh, but they're not liking my comments, or they're not engaging with me. But, uh, you're actually doing it the other way around, you know, if you're not doing if you're not sharing, or you're not commenting on other people's things, exactly, as you said, is helping being helpful. 

 

And, you know, providing the experience or the expertise in those groups. You're, you're making it about yourself. And this isn't what what we're talking about, were impressing upon. Because the the first step being the expert and sharing your knowledge and expertise, but also providing value.

 

Luis: And I think shifting the spotlight from yourself to the people that you serve, like imagine if you showed up in a Facebook group, and rather than being that person that's like, hey, look at me, look what I can do. Yeah, instead you focused on someone else applauding someone else, amplifying whatever it is that might be sharing, right. 

 

Or even just, you know, for your travel agents and for the people that they serve, like they need to make their customers the heroes right, the ones that save the day book, the weekend getaway, that week vacation, that staycation or whatever it might be you need to empower that person to make a positive ripple effect in their personal life or, you know, with their family. 

 

So be that person that inspires that right. And that's the next step. Right. So you take that moment to be that subject matter expert, rather than spreading your attention all over the place, hone in on the places where you know, your people are hanging out love upon them consistently. 

 

Be very focused with your time and energy and effort. That's part of what I'm also insisting on when you impress be focused. And then that leads to you becoming someone who is inspirational, suddenly, people start paying more attention to you, right, because you've been someone who's impressed them with valuable advice and knowledge and things like that. 

 

And they're inspired by you. So that's when they start to let's say, using the Facebook group as an example. Click on your profile, see your profile photo, look at any links that you might have dropped within that profile, click through to those links, click through to your other social media presence, right, they start to size you up. And you want to make sure that wherever it is that you exist, your business exists as they go down this rabbit hole that we all go down.

 

Ros: Oh my gosh, that rabbit hole. Yeah, I'm not even gonna start on that.

 

Luis: We all go down this rabbit hole. So when they do you want to be impressive. You want to be thinking about you know, what is your presence? Are you prepared to receive guests? Is your website optimised? Is your social media, you know, really consistent, etc? Like what is the kind of way that you inspire these audiences to consider even taking a first step whether it's sort of like imagery words, etc. 

 

And then you start thinking about once they are in your orbit, and they decide, Hmm, I am interested in your packages, or I'm interested in these relationships that you have at this specific destination or I'm interested in you know, this getaway that you're offering etc, right. Like, I want to understand like how, how do I get in on all this joy that I see on your content, right? 

 

They start to opt into your freebies. This is where again, you and your sphere of influence, they are opting in sharing their email address with you. They're getting that travel checklist or they've signed up to hear about the deals and the getaways and the specials, etc. And once that person is signed up and said, Hey, I want to keep in touch with you. You want to continue to be an influential sort of part of their experience by being consistently present in their inboxes on their social media feed, you know, it's because we talked about you going out in this Facebook group, right and contributing content. But now they're in your house. 

 

Right now they're in your circle and your sphere of influence. And so now you've got to think about the kind of content you deliver there the way that you show up there. And I always invite, you know, when you think about, like, how can I, you know, become more of an influential person hang out with folks go live. I know, that's very scary talking about imposter syndrome. 

 

This is this is the summit that we all sort of reach, we have got to show face, we have got to be a person that shows up for people in this day and age, especially after everything that everyone has been through, and no one is going to trust or the people are going to be less likely to trust an automated sort of booking process to travel to a new destination, right? 

 

So how can you more personally start to get someone to consider you know, that that opportunity to work with you and travel safely, etc. That's that invitation. So that is the fourth part of the framework. 

 

So you have impressed them by being their subject matter expert, you've inspired them as they went down that rabbit hole checking you out with all the ways that you show up for your folks, the you've succeeded in influencing them because they are part of your follower followership. And you continue to nurture that relationship with your consistent presence. The last part is extending an invitation. 

And one of the tools that I love, love, love using is Video Ask. So for anyone that's like, I don't like the idea of going live on social media. I agree with you that I've got to be here for people. But I don't agree that I want to stand in front of 1000s of people to do this right. continue the conversation one to one, think about if you're sending out weekly emails, think about in one of your weekly emails, dropping something like a video, ask it's a personalised video, where you talk to your audience, there are interactive buttons on the screen that invite them to reply to you, they can record a video and audio or just type text out to you. 

 

But that shifts the conversation from them passively consuming content, to not actively engaging with you. And that naturally lends itself to an invitation to a conversation with you, that will then you know, lead to bookings and everything else that you desire and that they desire, right. 

 

But that can't just happen out the gate, if they don't know who you are what you have to offer. If you aren't trustworthy, if you can't guarantee and assured their safety while they travel, they're not going to get on that call with you. Right. So you've got to allow this process to unfold, impress, inspire, influence, and then invite.

 

Ros: I love it. And I know that you use Video Ask so what we'll do is we'll add all of your details and how people can explore video ask and the other things on in our show notes and how they can connect with you as well. But I do think it's important that in this day and age, like we would previously go and meet with a client for coffee, and you can't necessarily do that now. 

 

So there needs to be a shift, there needs to be an alternative and an option that you can still have human connection with others, or in a live you know, environment. And Videoask is a great tool that you can actually do that and engage with your clients or potential clients and bring them into your button and establish, strengthen and build that relationship. 

 

Because that's what it comes down to is those relationships and human connections where the people will trust you and book with you, and then come back to you as well. Because our goal is always to get repeat and referral clients. That's one thing that I think is you know, is wonderful in the travel industry that you are surprising delighting taking care of these people and loving upon them, there's a lot of client love there that they will come back to you. 

 

And they will come back to you because of you and the service that you provide and you deliver. So if you make that experience about them, and really show up for them, that will come back to you no matter what. Just continue to love up on them. 

 

So there's a lot of tools that you can use, I know that I use Bonjoro and you know, have that first video connection with someone show up as I am. And that's another thing I think we get caught up with when we invite somebody to a conversation. And if you're thinking about doing a Facebook Live or an Instagram Live or whatever it is showing up on camera can be scary. And the fear comes back to us ourselves. 

 

However, one thing that I encourage everybody to really think about is this isn't about you. Your clients see you without makeup. They see you without your hair done may see you you know, not being in an instagrammable, perfect location, they see you as you, whether that is in your jeans and jumper or down at the supermarket, or it's having a coffee with them, they still see you as you. 

 

So for you to show up live, they hear your voice. Normally, if you worry about what you sound like what you look like, they see you as you. So get rid of that fear because you know, they're coming to you for you not for something picture perfect that you're so worried about having to impress upon them, so just do. 

 

Okay, so is there anything else that you want to add into those four I’s? For that, that topic or any extra tips that you could provide to anybody? 

 

Luis: I think that, you know, beyond this, think about how you can implement this process in the way that you operate in your business. So we talked about, you know, being a subject matter expert, you know, making sure you're buttoned up as people start to go down that rabbit hole, being influential, and then extending that invitation. You know, we've talked about this using this framework from nurturing a really a lead from like, not knowing you to convert into a sale, but think about also implementing this within your sort of standard operating procedures. 

 

So, you know, how can you personally extend an invitation, you know, to everyone across your business to be connecting with you directly? So one of the things that I encourage is, as people are signing up for your masterclasses, your guides, your checklists, your freebies, your newsletters, etc. Yes, on the back end, I'm sure you have an email sequence that starts to trigger you to fire off emails over a period of time.

 

But I think the other thing you can do is when people sign up is just drop a video, ask, just say, Hey, you know, I'm really excited that you are interested in this getaway, I would love to introduce you to you know, these options, I'd love to answer any questions that you might have. Or if you want to hear about my experience travelling to this destination, let me know, I've got tonnes of recommendations, right. I think just just showing up that way, even if you don't get a response still makes an impression, it still leaves that person with the whole. 

 

Okay, so I'm not even going to respond right now. But I'm glad that I could, I'm glad that there is a human being at the end of this line. Because as they're in the world of you know, conveniences and apps and, you know, instant gratification, etc. We don't often interact with people or have an opportunity to we don't even know like, I think about customer service experiences. 

 

Yeah, during the pandemic packages and things getting lost and all that I couldn't even get a chatbot to connect with people at some of these bigger companies that I ordered from right. Yeah, it's on that level, right? 

There's so many people were unwilling to show up for people, and leaving just really awful experiences and tastes and people's mouth. So think about the kind of business you want to operate if it really is important for you to be so heart centred. Or to be so you know, involved in this sort of journey for people then insert yourself strategically get in front of these automations with these personalised touch points. 

 

They also save you time, I think that if someone has an opportunity to ask a quick question, it spares you from jumping on the phone for 30 minutes, 60 minutes, talking them through everything. I think that's the other thing is is time is very important. And these quick snippet videos, also spare people from me to jump on zooms, there's a real fatigue, that is a real fatigue around you know, being on zoom for extended periods of time. 

 

So make things you know, that sort of asynchronous communication can actually help you show up for customers when it's convenient for them.

 

Ros: When it's convenient for them, as well, again, not making it about you, it's all about them. I love it. I love it. Thank you so, so much for this. I love everything that you've spoken about today. And I'm sure that we could have multiple podcast episodes on sales. 

 

I know that everyone is going to gain so much value from this. But what's even more exciting is and for me and our Achievers mastermind members, you are going to be our very special sales expert inside the Achievers mastermind in April. 

 

I'm super pumped about this. Now this is a group of travel professionals who want to increase their business knowledge and grow their travel business with skills and tools. So I'm super excited for that you coming in and talking about sales strategies for small email list as well which is going to be awesome. 

 

If you want any details out there on today's podcast episode, make sure that you visit www.travelagentachievers.com check out the show notes. Now, Luis, I would love for more people to know about you what you have to offer be part of your world. too, so where's the best place that people can find you?

 

Luis: You know, you could hang out with me on social media, but then you'll be distracted by all the puppy pictures. You know, I really want to make sure if you're serious about seeing the results you deserve, I want to invite you to come hang out with me at www.luisbaez.com/learn. I've got resources to help you get started, get unstuck, and start seeing the breakthrough revenue that you deserve.

 

Ros: Awesome. So we will have all the information right on our webs website as well or the links back to Luis and everything that he has to offer. So make sure you check it out. Now, Luis, thank you for being here. today. I am forever grateful for your insight, your wisdom, your encouragement to just continuously keep an eye on sales and love having you as part of my life and also as my virtual chief revenue officer. Thank you so much.

 

Luis: Thank you, I am so so honoured that you had me here today. And for anyone that's listening and still on the fence, jump, just jump we'll be here for you. We're gonna catch you applaud you support you. But just do it, my friend. You deserve all the results that you want. And there are people out here who deserve these amazing experiences that you can offer.

 

Ros: Absolutely. So don't forget to jump onto the Travel Agent achievers Website for more information on Luis, our Achievers Mastermind, and of course, all of the information and the tools and tips and resources that you need to grow your travel business. Thank you so much once again, for being here. I really appreciate your time and serving our community here. I love you to bits.

 

Luis: Love you. Love you Love you.

 

Ros: Thank you everybody. I look forward to talking to you soon. 

 

Thank you for listening to this episode of Travel Agent Achievers. If you love it, please share it on Instagram or Facebook. Make sure you tag us too so that we can shout out to you and share with you as well as well as your friends and colleagues. 

 

We are here to help as many travel professionals as we possibly can. Don't forget to check out www.travelagentachievers.com website for loads of resources and tools to help you grow your travel business. 

 

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