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Business Development

Business Development Summary

General Qualification of an Enquiry / Request

Some requests will come in to us with very specific information – this is very helpful. We do of course receive other requests where we have little information to work from and this is less helpful.

 

For us to respond in the very best way to our clients, ideally we would need to know:

 

  1. Is the company a New or Existing Client

  2. Is the client new for Ireland / UK or just for Abbey?

  3. If they work with a competitor – who is this?

  4. If request is for Ireland – we should be aware that we need to check if they also have business for the UK

  5. Are they groups only / FIT / Incentive / all of these?

 

  • Look at the agent’s website, this will help you understand better the company you are dealing with: big/medium/small company, tour operator or travel agency, values of the company which could help you in your dealings with the agent

  • Think about the questions in advance, plan the call, prepare your questions

  • Don’t be afraid to ask questions

 

Qualifying the Request: CALLING THE CLIENT

 

Preparation

Before calling the client, depending on the type of request received, check the travel date to understand how busy it is:

  • Have a look at our Allocation availability report, space held by Accommodation (CH/XX report) to evaluate how busy the date is or how likely it is for us to provide accommodate easily.

  • If the client is looking for a city stay during a busy period and we do not have allocation available, check already another possible weekend where the city stay would cost less and where we would be able to offer a better hotel.

  • Check list of difficult dates and events in the destination requested

  • Once you have done this preparation, it will be easier to talk to the client, understand their requirements and being able to offer already solutions

 

Phone call

The following information is required for us to provide a comprehensive reply:

  • Budget or a range or how much our client is expecting the offer to cost

  • Actual or approx. travel dates, Year and month of travel. How flexible the dates are

  • Number of days / nights clients wish to spend in the destination

  • Expected number of pax on the group (an enquiry for 100 pax would be looked at differently to an enquiry for 25 pax)

  • Expected or approx. room breakdown (an enquiry with a lot of singles will be priced differently from one with all twins)

  • Accommodation:

    • Standard/star rating of accommodation required

    • Type of accommodation and location (modern or traditional / central or non-central)

    • Flexibility with locations

    • Late placement v real availability

    • Do they publish exact hotel names? Can they use “or similar”? when do they usually advise their group the exact names of hotels

  • Type of group / how is it sold: adhoc or GD type

  • When are the individuals expected to sign up on the trip, is there a deadline for it

  • What is the min number they require in order to guarantee the departure

  • FOC: is there a tour leader that expects to have a FOC

  • Guide requirements: language, level or field of expertise, badged or non-badged

  • Meal requirements (depending on market, manage expectations)

  • Some background on the group, if available:

    • age profile 

    • first timers to the destination

    • any specific interests (religious / cultural or other)

    • or are they general sightseers 

    • any special requirements (disabilities / food or other)

    • Adult only, Adults & Children

 

  • Deadline: try to understand when the client needs our offer by and also how long it will take the client to get the final answer from the group. This can help us handling the request in the best way

 

IMPORTANT:

  • All above questions and information need to be asked and discussed during a phone call with the client. It’s important that we talk with clients on the phone, especially at the beginning of the quote process. This helps establishing, developing and strengthening the relationship with clients.

  • It’s advisable not to put all above as a list of questions in an email to the client. It will not have the same result.

  • The client might not have all the answers or all the information and this is acceptable. However if the information missing is a fundamental requirement to prepare the offer, don’t be afraid to ask the client if they can get that information for you and when.

  • Be always polite, professional, don’t sound too insistent

 

No is always the wrong answer!

Sometimes our clients will request programmes that are not feasible or doable (days too long etc). Rather than advising that the programmes are ‘impossible’, we must clearly explain the challenges with their request and then put forward some good alternatives. Always look for good solutions for our partners as ‘No’ is always the wrong answer!

 

Your Manager is always available to assist & support

Enquiries are very valuable to Abbey! Don’t be afraid to seek help or advice when dealing with enquiries….2 heads can be better & faster than one!

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Handling a General Enquiry from an Existing Client

1. READ

  • Read the request thoroughly, know and understand what the client is looking for. 

  • If anything is unclear, ask for support from experienced colleagues, if still unclear or missing information call the client

 

2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  • Respond to the client within 24 hours of receiving the request (silence is never good) –

  • Thank them for sending through the request and advise that you are starting to prepare the offer. 

  • If any queries on the request, ask now. 

  • If you note that group plan to travel at a time that can cause problems for their programme, advise client now of the challenges. 

  • Give timeline for when client can expect to receive the offer and then stick to that timeline.

 

3. PREPARE

  • Prepare offer

  • Make suggestions that could improve overall programme / experience

  • Put yourself in the clients’ shoes – put yourself on that tour, what would you like to see

  • If appropriate, offer optional visits / evenings and items that could be considered for the programme and would fit with the client profile (if proposed travel dates incorporate festivals / events that could be of interest, point out the possibilities to the client)

  • Ensure you check previous quotes to this client and follow margin % guidelines.

  • The margin % you quote in Feb or March may be different to that which you quote in high season, the volume of business will also influence the margin

  • Your cover e mail should be friendly and advise them that you will follow up

  • If the client has asked you 10 questions, then you need to answer all 10

 

4. FOLLOW UP

  • Within 1 week of sending your offer (or less/more as appropriate), follow up with your client – goal is to win the business. 

  • Best way to do this is to pick up the telephone where feasible– be friendly (you already know the client), ask how they are and give them any news from your side.

  • Ask if they have received our offer, is everything clear, do they have any query

  • Try to get them to engage with you on the piece of business and see if you can get any feedback from them on clients reaction

  • If they advise that the end client has concerns (price / destination or other), tell our partner that you are happy to review and customize to suit clients budget – ask what budget they expect for the land arrangements and hopefully you can progress from there 

  • If you cannot find a way to meet the budget, see your Manager (in their absence TG or VC) and they will support on decision making process

  • If the client asks any question during a follow up telephone call, try to give them the response over the phone however if you don’t know the answer, advise the partner that you need to check something and that you will be back to them asap with the answer.

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DON’T BE AFRAID TO USE THE TELEPHONE…PEOPLE DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE…GIVE A PERSONAL TOUCH / FRIENDLINESS…IT WILL BE REMEMBERED BY THE CLIENT.

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Handling a Volume Enquiry / Off Season Request from an Existing Client

  • Bring to the immediate attention of your Manager (who will also advise Vanessa / Teresa / Dermot as appropriate) and discuss best approach

  • Pricing will be important for this type of business.

  • This piece of business may require special negotiated rates.

  • Unlikely that you would use standard generic rates for this piece of business as contract rates would possibly be too high.

 

CALL THE CLIENT

  • Read the request thoroughly

  • Call the client and ensure you fully understand the requirement. (refer to “How to Quality an Enquiry” questions)

  • Try to establish potential in terms of number of pax / likely revenue

  • Understand approx. budget for the piece of business

  • Ask if the particular client has ever moved volume to other destinations – check what destinations they have gone to previously and prepare a varied programme

 

CONFIRM SERVICES

  • Confirm required services with best space & rate (speak with Accommodation area ref need to negotiate best terms with hotels, see what opportunities you have on best offers for guides / coaches / entrances etc – if good volume, rates for all services should be negotiated)

 

CLARITY

  • Send clear offer with best possible prices - with a friendly J touch 

 

FOLLOW UP

  • Follow up within 5 days - by email and/or telephone as appropriate

 

BUILD RELATIONSHIP / INVITATION

  • Always invite client on inspection trip. This can be either professional inspection or personal weekend visit, whichever is considered most appropriate. For new volume potential, we may be prepared to host all or most of the land arrangements for any FAMs – speak with your manager and/or TG or VC.


DON’T BE AFRAID TO USE THE TELEPHONE…PEOPLE DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE…GIVE A PERSONAL TOUCH / FRIENDLINESS…IT WILL BE REMEMBERED BY THE CLIENT.

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Handling an Enquiry from a New Client (company has not worked with Abbey previously

BACKGROUND

  • Where possible, get some information on their company and services they provide via their website.

  • Please refer to “how to qualify a request” for all the preparation, information and questions needed.

 

CALL THE CLIENT

  • Call the client to introduce yourself and the Abbey Group (introduce all services provided by us for Ireland and UK).

  • Ask how they got our contact if not already clear. 

  • Our company size may be off putting to some smaller clients so inform them of our ‘market teams’ as part of your introduction.

 

RESEARCH

  • Try and find out if they have worked on Ireland/UK previously, if so try and find out with whom they worked and why they are now looking for a new partner

 

PREPARE OFFER

  • Prepare offer once you have a clear understanding of requirement

 

PROPOSAL FOR CO-OPERATION - WIP

  • This document highlights who Abbey are / why work with Abbey / the team they will work with / our USPs / what differentiates us from others. 

  • This should be sent to new clients with first correspondence

 

FOLLOW UP

  • Follow up within 5 days - by email and/or telephone as appropriate

 

OVERSEAS REPS

  • Advise client of our market based rep and give contact details if applicable

 

BUILD RELATIONSHIP / INVITATION

  • If appropriate invite client on inspection trip. This can be either professional inspection or personal weekend visit -whichever is considered most appropriate.

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ESSENTIAL TO USE THE TELEPHONE…PEOPLE DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE…GIVE A PERSONAL TOUCH / FRIENDLINESS…IT WILL BE REMEMBERED BY THE CLIENT.

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Tourism Ireland / Visit Britain Reps

  • Be aware if there is a TI/VB rep / office in the market

  • For a new piece of business – contact them and ask if they are familiar with the client?

  • Can they put the client on their database to receive circulars?

  • Can they call the client and offer their support on programming Ireland/UK – it might assist with information or with funding

  • Can they go to visit the client and do a general Ireland/UK presentation?

  • Keep them informed of opportunities with existing clients as well

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