Business Lessons I Learnt During My Holiday
This week I am going to showcase some real life examples of business in operation and what I learnt from my recent 2 week Cruise Holiday around the Mediterranean.
Cruise ships are like giant hotels floating on the sea. Over 1000 staff members take care of over 5000 guests on board 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On board you will find numerous restaurants, bars, theatres, pools, a cinema and lots of entertainment. It really is a major operation.
So here are the business lessons I learnt during my holiday:
1. You cannot please everyone
No matter how amazing your service or offer is, there will always be someone who complains. On board I heard all sorts of crazy complaints such as the sun was too bright, the ship was going too fast, their favourite beer was not on board. One thing I noticed was the staff and how they handled these complaints. It was always with a smile, can do attitude and desire to improve.
So no matter what the complaint is - never let it get you down, smile through it, and learn from it to always be improving your service and offer.
2. Always find an opportunity to upsell
During the cruise there were lots of interesting free talks. Some were on diamonds, art, health, beauty - you name it they did it. During and after the talks, there was always some kind of sales pitch but it was never direct or pushy. So for example, following a free beauty talk and demonstration, the speaker would detail what she had used and where you could buy it....and it would often have a discount for coming to the talk. Guess what...it worked and many in the room would buy something following a talk.
My learning from this is that even if you are offering a free event, talk, or sample, always make sure you promote your service and product and push for orders there and then in the room. If you leave it for a day or two, the interest will be gone.
3. Offer something free and they will come
The most attended talks were always the ones where they offered a free glass of champagne, whisky or gin. I was amazed at how many would attend just for this perk.
So next time you are struggling to get people to attend a talk or event, think about what you could offer for free as a thank you for turning up.
4. Be personal to sell
The cruise had its own Spa. We had a look when we arrived but didn’t really fancy anything or book anything. However, on day 3, we received a personal letter in our cabin postbox which stated that we had a £30 discount to use on any treatment of our choice. Firstly, it was personal which instantly made us feel special and secondly it was a physical letter. How often do you actually get a letter in the post these days? Not very, but when you do it makes you take notice.
The result - we booked something and they had a new customer. In fact, as the service was so good we went back a further two times....all on the back of one personalised letter and offer.
5. Be present
On a more personal note it was great to be disconnected and free of wifi. Spending time away from the business and spending some quality time with the family, gave the opportunity to unwind, fill the energy tank up, and free my creative mind. Sometimes, we are so bogged down with the next meeting, deadlines, client proposals that we forget to enjoy one of the main reasons we became self-employed in the first place. If you haven't been on holiday for a while then make sure you do. You deserve it.
