Getting “Earmarked” is a pinnacle of accomplishment that sure journey advisors shoot for, spending years constructing their data about Disney trip locations, and honing their advertising and marketing and gross sales abilities to allow them to attain the elite degree affording them particular perks and insider entry.
However attending to that unique degree could be a problem. Disney is thought for less than paying a straight 10% fee on the vast majority of its trip merchandise. Moreover, some advisors say, after studying insider suggestions from an agent-assisted reserving, many vacationers select to e book their subsequent Disney holidays on their very own.
So, what does it take to succeed in Earmarked standing, and the way can an agent profitably construct their Disney gross sales? Journey Market Report reached out to a gaggle of elite Disney journey advisors to ask them their greatest suggestions for fulfillment.
1. It can require a really private love for all issues Disney.
“I grew up going to Walt Disney World,” mentioned Tracy McCoy, with Journeys to the Mouse, in Austin, Texas. “Each November, we might load up the station wagon and drive right down to Florida from Chicago. I’ve handed that love onto all 4 of my youngsters. We have now traveled to Disney World at the very least yearly since my oldest (now 19) was born. I consider so strongly in Disney locations that promoting my shoppers on a Disney trip is simpler — my ardour and data is real.”
“I’ve the Disney Obsession. I don’t know clarify it. It’s my ardour,” mentioned Sonya Toole Little, of Sandcastle Needs Journey, in Kimberly, Alabama. She visits professionally, and personally along with her youngsters and husband, 10-12 instances a yr. “The evening earlier than I’m heading to Disney for a visit, I can’t sleep. My children can’t sleep. Disney is the one factor we are going to stand up at three within the morning for.”
“The largest motive we have been profitable with promoting Disney is as a result of we’re captivated with it,” mentioned Kelly O’Brien Ortiz, proprietor of Guru Journey, an Earmarked company in Elgin, Illinois. Her company has been promoting Disney for about 10 years. “We care a lot, we get up to make FastPass and eating reservations in the course of the evening, after they first turn into accessible. We actively journey to Disney locations a number of instances a yr, not only for work, however for pleasure … we all know it, we adore it and we wish to share it.”
2. Discover ways to promote up, particularly as your clientele matures.
“As a rookie agent, your largest mistake is to cite and worth out of your personal pocketbook,” Toole Little mentioned. Benefiting from Earmarked perks like complimentary admission passes and fams, Toole Little has been in a position to educate herself extra on Disney’s higher-end properties, and describes herself now as a “deluxe resort snob.”
“Give your shoppers the number of choices, and describe to them the advantages of staying at a deluxe resort,” she mentioned. “Assist them perceive how the Modern Resort is nice for households with young children in strollers, as a result of they don’t seem to be going to waste hours going forwards and backwards to the Magic Kingdom on buses.”
O’Brien Ortiz recounted how, when her company first began off, “We have been promoting to largely worth, first-time shoppers. As our enterprise has grown, so have our shoppers. Now we’ve a mixture of worth first-timers and bigger multigenerational teams staying in Disney Villas or deluxe rooms.”
“It may be arduous serving to shoppers perceive why they want to remain on-property versus off,” O’Brien Ortiz mentioned, “however the expertise is that rather more.”
Kimberly Anwar, proprietor and president at Magic Household Getaways, mentioned, “For shoppers who need a hassle-free household trip, I’ll promote the advantages of the Magical Disney Categorical (airport to resort transportation), and the way it’s accessible solely to visitors staying at Walt Disney World Resorts.”
three. Go to as typically as you’ll be able to.
“As a result of I journey there so typically, I’m all the time updated with the ever-changing parks,” mentioned McCoy. “I do know the parks just like the again of my hand. I’ve really obtained texts from shoppers, mid-trip, asking the place the closest toilet was to the place they at present have been, and I may reply with out skipping a beat.”
McCoy has traveled with youngsters of assorted ages (from three months as much as 19 years), in addition to prolonged household. “I’ve honeymooned at Disney World. And I’ve escaped on lengthy weekends with the ladies,” she mentioned, “so I do know what works and what doesn’t for quite a lot of shoppers.”
Shayla Northcutt, proprietor of the Northcutt Journey Company, a Journey Leaders Community affiliate company primarily based in Houston, Texas, has 18 impartial contractors working at her company. “All of my ICs who promote Disney, and visited at the very least two to a few instances in 2019,” she mentioned. “If you will do an excellent job serving your shoppers, you must go yearly. It doesn’t matter what number of instances I’ve been there; I see one thing new yearly that makes me a greater Disney agent.”
four. Develop your private experience.
Disney bookings are about 60-75% of the gross sales base for Jamie Santillo, proprietor and founder at Adventures by Jamie, in Wesley Chapel, Florida. Santillo lives about one-and-a-half hours from Disney World, and is striving to be Earmarked.
Santillo not too long ago took benefit of discounted agent charges to remain on the Caribbean Seashore Resort to get firsthand data about promote it to shoppers who use a wheelchair, like she does.
“After I went to the resort, I made certain I did a Fb Reside of my room, to display the accessibility options. The room I used to be in was an upgraded pirate-theme room, for me. That room would have been exterior of my very own finances,” she mentioned. “Consequently, I may see the room, do the tour, and over three days, do a lot of Fb Lives, seize pictures and video to explain an expertise I couldn’t have alone.”
Ashley Parker, proprietor at Key to Journey Journey, in Clare, Michigan, the place about 70% of their bookings are with Disney, tries to tell apart herself by selling how she is aware of the ins and outs of maximizing a consumer’s time.
“It may not sound like an enormous factor, however an advisor who understands the distinction between a household stopping at a quick-service restaurant on the park, versus desk service, may affect their day relying on what they wish to do, or when their FastPass reservations are,” Parker mentioned.
“I additionally educate my shoppers on issues like transportation choices for a eating reservation at a resort, when they will be within the park all day,” she mentioned. “Or in case your little one completely desires the Cinderella’s Fortress eating expertise, however there isn’t any availability. So long as you’re okay with a backup plan, I’d direct you to the Norway part at Epcot, the place you’ll be able to nonetheless have dinner with the princesses.”
5. Develop your private service worth proposition.
For Toole Little, leveraging her CRM, TESS, to set off reminder emails for reserving her shoppers’ eating and FastPass reservations, helps her ship on her service promise of protecting the entire little particulars.
“It will get arduous generally, as a result of it’s so aggressive attempting to retain your shoppers, to seek out loyalty for Disney reservations. I’ve seen shoppers lured away by a $25 present card. So, you must outline why somebody should buy from you,” Toole Little mentioned.
“There are some brokers who will hand shoppers an itinerary and ship them on their means,” Anwar mentioned. “We wish our shoppers downloading the [My Disney Experience] app on their cellphone, and we’ll spend time educating them use it. It’s a part of our reserving course of. I believe it’s that king of handholding that results in our referrals. I’ve seen individuals write on social media: ‘I booked with Kim. They are going to educate you the information and tips.’”
6. Discover different trip types Disney shoppers will buy.
Northcutt sees Disney as a means to herald new shoppers. “You’ll be able to’t promote simply Disney. I need a consumer who I can plan each trip for them, somebody who is also open to going someplace unique.”
So, she leverages Disney’s recognition as a solution to meet and wow prospects searching for the additional service and a focus that may convey them again for ocean cruises and different increased fee holidays.
O’Brien Ortiz agrees. “Disney is sort of a ceremony of passage. When a toddler is born, most dad and mom start dreaming of their first journey to Disney with their little one,” she mentioned. Anwar upsells land-only shoppers to Disney cruises when she feels the time is true.
7. Be persistent and progress will come.
“Have endurance,” mentioned Anwar. “It took me three to 4 years of arduous work, on daily basis, yearly, to get to this degree. It took me reaching out to my BDMs to sponsor film nights, run postcard campaigns, learn to use Disney’s e-brochures successfully.”
“It’s simpler to promote it now, with the entire progress in properties and sights,” mentioned Northcutt. “Now, it’s largely about qualifying the consumer for his or her finances, the place they wish to keep. The variability presents each agent alternative, as a result of with so many choices, shoppers want an informed agent to assist them put collectively the proper parts.”
