Coming up empty on travel leads? India is known as a vacation-deprived country, coming in fifth place in a recent study by Expedia. The study found that nearly 40% of Indians don’t take a vacation at all. And while that’s an alarmingly high number, you shouldn’t ignore the fact that 60% of Indians do manage to take a getaway.
If you want to capitalize on Indian’s travel market, this guide is for you. Here’s how to find better travel leads and what to do with them once they enter your sales funnel:
4 Ways to Get Quality Travel Leads
First things first: you can’t sell your travel agency services if you don’t have an audience. Consider these four tried and true techniques to generate leads:
Keyword Optimization
Optimizing your website and content for search engines is one of the most effective ways to generate travel leads. Those who are vying for a vacation will usually head straight to the internet to start looking for deals and destinations. By optimizing your content, you’ll have a better chance of ranking high in their search results.
If you’re not familiar with SEO best practices, it’s in your best interest to partner with someone who knows the ins and outs and can help you leverage your content. It might cost you a little, but the results of doing SEO the right way the first time will more than pay off in the long term.
Social Media Content
Social media is free to use, but travel agents may find it beneficial to pay for ads to widen their reach. Lead magnets like ebooks and travel guides can help you grow your email list and begin a content marketing lifecycle. Or, you can create an attractive ad that advertises one of your amazing deals and lead visitors directly to your website or landing page.
Take a look at how Tripoto.com is targeting their leads with this alluring and, at the same time, very informative Facebook ad.
Referral Marketing
Your current or former clients are excellent resources for leads. Consider starting an incentive program that rewards anyone who sends you a referral. People will be more likely to refer if there’s something in it for them. Plus, referrals can help you reduce marketing and acquisition costs, so pass along some of the savings to the people who bring you leads.
Lead Programs
There are a number of travel lead programs you can pay for to generate leads, such as Travel Triangle, Clear Holidays, Hello Safar, or Holiday IQ. The biggest benefit here is that these are genuine travel websites and the leads are people who are actively searching for travel info. Each program has a slightly different model, and you’ll want to investigate the pros and cons of each one to know exactly what you’re paying for, how much each lead cost, and what to expect from your investment.
I Have Travel Leads. Now What?
You worked hard to get those travel leads, but you’ll need to work even harder to close them. Here’s how to manage your leads to boost your chances of conversion:
Qualify, Score, and Distribute
Qualifying leads helps you weed out the ones that aren’t ready to talk with a sales rep so you don’t waste as much time on them. Qualified leads can then be scored based on their perceived readiness to buy. The higher the score, the “hotter” the lead, which means sales reps should prioritize those leads over others.
From there, you can distribute leads to the most qualified salesperson. Some companies distribute leads equally. Others may assign sales reps to certain products, and then all leads for that product go to the corresponding sales rep.
If you’re using a lead management platform like LeadSquared, you’ll be able to qualify, score, and distribute leads the moment they enter your funnel. The entire process is automated to save time and give you confidence on how to move forward.
Follow Up with Leads
One of the worst things you could do after all that hard work of generating travel leads is to reach out once and then give up.
Studies show that it takes an average of 16 touchpoints per prospect to move the needle and that most sales happen after the 5th point of contact. Unfortunately, the average sales rep only makes two attempts to reach a prospect, which leaves a ton of opportunity on the table.
This is why it’s important to qualify, score, and distribute leads accordingly. Each sales rep can see their best opportunities at a glance and prioritize their follow up strategy rather than wasting precious time guessing about what to do next.
Ideally, you’ll follow up with leads within five minutes of receiving them. Response time is critical, as most leads will go with the first company that contacts them back. Responding within five minutes makes you nine times more likely to connect with them so you can start (and hopefully complete) the sales cycle.
For more lead generation wisdom and know-how, head back to Unschool.
