Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com 8 | ATF OFFICIAL SUPPORTING DAILIES product focus\\\Cruise By Tom Stieghorst Trafalgar USA president Paul Wiseman believes too many agents are only comfortable selling to people like themselves. That means they're passing up a lot of sales. Modifying behaviour to reach out to prospects who behave and process the world differently isn't that hard, Wiseman said. Wiseman's advice is based on a typology of behaviour developed by Harvard psychologist William Marsden, who also invented the lie detector and created the Wonder Woman comic superhero. Marsden's DISC model says people tend towards one of four behaviour modes: Dominant, Influencing, Steadiness, or Conscientious and Compliant. To make them easier to remember, Wiseman makes each type a bird: Eagles (Dominant), Peacocks (Influencing), Doves (Steadiness), and Owls (Conscientious and Compliant). Most travel agents are Doves, Wiseman asserts. But if they only sell to other Doves, they miss out. For example, a good share of rich people are Eagles. "These people own the world," Wiseman said. So for a Dove to make the sale to an Eagle, it helps if the Dove can speak the Eagle's language and modify its behaviour to make an Eagle comfortable. "Sales is not about you; it's about them and making a connection to them," Wiseman said. A TOUR OPERATOR'S ADVICE TO CRUISE SELLERS Eagles are commanding types that relate to goals and results. Their intent is to "overcome and conquer," Wiseman said. Their communication style is to tell. Doves relate to service and teams – their intent is to be supportive and their communication style is to listen. So to make the sale to an Eagle, Doves need to modify their behaviour. "Eagle up. Be relentless. Anybody can do it," Wiseman said. In a similar fashion, an agent Peacock making a sale to an accountant client might be advised to "tone it down some." Most people are not pure or "high" examples of the type. "All the birds are in the nest," Wiseman said. It's mostly a question of which predominates. By taking a little time to speed-read clients and assign them the type that seems strongest, then modifying behaviour so that client feels at home, agents can sell to every type of person and not just those they are instinctively comfortable with, Wiseman said. PHOT0S CREDIT: ISTOCK What kind of travel agent are you? A dove or an eagle? A peacock or an owl? Whatever kind of 'bird' you are, you must to learn to fly with other flocks, says a respected tour operater, who believes birds of a feather shouldn't always stick together. DOMINANT INFLUENCING CONSCIENTIOUS AND COMPLIANT STEADINESS

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