Sales Lessons Learned From a Cruise

Last year we attended our first cruise show which was quite an experience. In case you missed it, you can find out more here.

We chose Celebrity Cruises, the parent company of Royal Caribbean. If you’re going to do something, do it with style 😎 Here’s the experience and the sales lessons learned.

1.     Underpromise and Overdeliver

When you pay a lot for a holiday and have to pay over $200 for wifi, it’s not a good start. Add in the drinks, daily, 20% tipping, daily excursions and spa, the price of the holiday ballooned from £4,000 to over £5,500, approx $7,000. Every day I’ve been getting discount vouchers to rebook and been asked for reviews. When this happens too quickly, it loses the fun of the holiday. You have to earn reviews and rebookings.

2.     Dealing with ADHD and Autism

This was my first holiday since my ADHD diagnoses and dealing with autism. The loud noise of the karoke and bars affected me along with the noise of people, the ship engine, air conditioning, pool areas etc..  meant I spent every afternoon in the library which was empty.

Having calm is important in sales and life, where I regularly have my phone in airplane mode - this is key for mental health, focus and getting more work done.

3.     LinkedIn Flashbacks.

I avoided posting on LinkedIn for a week. That didn’t stop terrible insurance companies from sending copy-and-paste messages, health coaches telling me I could lose weight without knowing my body type or bloody type and sloppy social media companies asking if I thought of using LinkedIn for my business 😂

In Turkey and Greece ports, and at the duty-free boats, we were offered generous discounts before saying hello. Never do this. Ask questions relevant to this situation, “Hi, welcome, where you from?” and tell me how the watches/rugs make me feel is more important. When I buy a car, I don’t care about miles per gallon.  It’s the feel of the car, the ass-warming seats in winter and the smooth drive on long-distance journeys that matter. If you want to do it properly, read my post on selling on LinkedIn the right way.

Although the salon prices were 100% higher than quality salons I’ve been to, the way I was sold to was impressive. Every treatment had at least one benefit. This is how you will feel. This is how your health will improve. This will make you more relaxed. This treatment will give you more energy.

Questions were asked, it wasn’t copy and paste or a rehearsed script. It felt conversational. And yes, we booked more treatments as a result 😄 They deserved it and earned their 20% tip. How you make people feel matters in sales and most people don’t give that enough consideration.

Would I go on a cruise again? Probably. At my age, serving others, experiences, giving back and great health matters. Seeing the Ephesus ruins in Turkey, to the magic of Santorini to 24/7 fresh food on the luxurious cruise ship with a balcony view, means I want to go back next year.

Until then, there’s still Chicago, Graceland and Nashville on the bucket list.