How to write a Travel proposal?

"He gave me the best proposal."

Yes! That's what all your customers should say when talking about you.

They should also feel a sense of excitement and satisfaction long before they go on vacation or travel thanks to you!‍

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Conversely, there's no counting the number of documents published in the wind, and proposals lost in advance...

The proposal you send your prospect will be decisive for your agency's brand.

It's important to pay attention to it, and that's why we will look at how you can make the most of your chances!

So, how do you write a sales proposal to sell your trip better? 👀

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I. What is a sales proposal in Tourism 🎯

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The critical moment in the sales process is the proposal: according to P-Val Conseil and their study carried out on a sample of 150 participants, this accounts for 35% of the traveler's final decision!

Drawing up a sales proposal is therefore a necessary step in the sales process, in order to validate the customer's needs and enable them to project themselves with your services.

The sales proposal is indispensable in customer acquisition.

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‍It's not a quotation, which only mentions the budgetary and contractual aspects, but a presentation of the service that will be offered by the agency's services.‍

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This will be read, compared with your competitors and shared internally, to be studied by those who don't yet have an opinion about your company.‍

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What does it look like in the Tourism industry?‍

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We're talking about selling dreams, so the proposal has to stick to them! ✨‍

This commercial support will give a foretaste of the type of travel proposed, the values conveyed, the care taken in your services and your company's identity.

And since we're buying the expertise of the Professional Organizer, whether it's a traditional Travel Agency, a specialized Tour Operator, a Destination Management Company (DMC), an Event Agency or even a Travel Planner, it's important that this shines through in your proposal, so that it's as convincing as possible.

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‍➡️ In short, the proposal is:‍

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• Specific to each of your customers (summary of needs, context...) ;
• An accessible, shared medium;
• Your agency's identity, know-how and interpersonal skills: your difference;
• The realization of your sale.‍

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II. How to write an effective travel proposal 🚦

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As a general rule, the proposal should be detailed, personalized and reflect your company's image, but certain formats are more appropriate for the type of travel you sell & your target market.
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Depending on the type of trip :

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🔄 Tours‍

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Selling a tour means selling a detailed itinerary and program including transport, accommodation, catering & specific activities.

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To present a tour proposal well, you need to:

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• Describe the recommended program day by day;
• Include a summary, and an interactive map with the route of the trip;
• Highlight several destinations at once;
• Specify what is included and what is not.
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📜 Recommended format :

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In order to describe the course of the trip well, a Portrait document will be favored by presenting with at a minimum, text and images for each stage of the trip.

If the stay is of short duration, then a Landscape document will favor images over text.

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💡Bonus :

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More and more software solutions are making it possible to share the trip in a digital format, as the Voyageurs du Monde agency does, for example.

Ezus is one of these solutions, allowing you to automate the creation of these documents, saving you considerable time, and increasing your conversion by +25%!

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🏖️ Private trips

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Selling a private trip is first and foremost selling a destination, a travel theme coupled with agency services.

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Here, the target is mainly BtoC, with individuals, groups of friends, families or couples with more or less substantial budgets: below is a breakdown of the different budgets per traveler, complementing data from Harris Interactive : 

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Presenting a private travel proposal well means:‍

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• Adapting your visuals to your target and your brand;I
• ncluding quality photos and videos;
• Writing short paragraphs for better memorability;
• Including included services;Proposing different options;
• Highlighting your partners & service providers on site;
• Personalizing the offer according to the brief & specifications;
• Avoiding an overly voluminous proposal: ten or so pages are enough, your prospects are short of time and want to get to the point;
• Accompanying the proposal with appendices if necessary.

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📜 Recommended format :

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In order to impress and project your customer on his journey, form is sometimes better than content. So adopt a landscape format with a minimum of text and a quality design.

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💡Bonus :

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Save your customers time: print out a quote, offer them plane tickets, make it easy for them to sign their registration form/contract of sale.

And don't forget to play up the agency's values & services, which are sometimes akin to concierge services!‍

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💼 Business travel, conferences and incentives
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Selling business travel means presenting a quality commercial proposal, precise and specific to the company's needs. The end customer will be looking for a return on investment with HR, commercial or communication objectives.

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Generally speaking, we're talking about the MICE (Meetings, Incentive, Conferences, Exhibitions) sector, with the possibility of addressing both groups of all sizes (SMEs, ETIs and/or Major Groups), often on the themes of reward travel, team building, seminars, galas or product promotion; and individual workers in the case of Travel Management / Business Trip.

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Presenting a business travel proposal well means :

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• Personalize the content of the proposal according to the customer's needs;
• Demonstrate adaptability, creativity and the "solution to everything";
• Respect the budget provided while presenting a return on investment: "your teams will emerge more united", "boost your sales force with this seminar", etc.;
• Include a summary to navigate easily and quickly through your parts;
• Highlight your specialty, your competitive advantage and the added value of your agency.

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📜 Recommended format :

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Although more modern solutions exist, the traditional tool is Powerpoint, so landscape format will be the norm. It's important to follow the company's codes and adopt a presentation medium that can be shared within the customer's team, accessible on different media (computer, projectors, tablets...)

The form of your document should be more structured than in the case of a BtoC travel proposal.

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💡Bonus :

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Be reactive and available to go back and forth on your proposal during negotiation/validation. And take an interest in your customer's corporate culture, so as to match it as closely as possible.

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👰Honeymoons

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Selling a honeymoon means selling an exceptional, unforgettable experience for the happy couple!

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Presenting a honeymoon proposal well means :

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• Sell the dream, create the impression of the trip of a lifetime that will remain engraved in the memories ;
• Offer all-inclusive, unusual and the best standard (according to the budget) ;
• Integrate the needs of both people to best customize and satisfy both participants ;
• Highlight its history, expertise in this subject that requires certain values & skills ;
• Offer gifts included, romantic moments & impeccable organization.

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📜 Recommended format :

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Just as in a private travel format, the landscape format is widely favored because of its visual prominence.

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💡Bonus :

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Highlight testimonials from former customers. A tool like TripAdvisor, Google Reviews or Trustpilot lets you centralize your reviews.

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🚍 GIRs or organized departures

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Selling an organized departure is above all selling an organization, an event to a group of individuals united by the same passion.

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To present GIRs or organized departure proposals properly, you need to :

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• Make the Program easy to read and allow participants to quickly validate their participation or registration;
• Show the advantages of the group: social network, enthusiasts, etc.;
• Allow everyone to have extras on request;
• Specify what is and isn't included in the sales conditions;
• Highlight your specialty, your logistical expertise on this subject.

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📜 Recommended format :

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A portrait document is recommended in the case of GIRs with a detailed program, especially as sales can often be made via specific distribution networks: associations, local authorities, existing groups, etc.

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💡Bonus :

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Enable easy sharing of travel documents (so that one participant can invite another, all the more viral if a discount is applied).

Manage registration directly on your website.

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🙇 Associative trip

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Selling an associative trip means selling a group trip based on a particular theme or need, usually with a contact who has already identified the ins and outs of his trip.‍

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Presenting a proposal for an associative trip means:‍

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• Personalize it as much as possible according to your needs and the chosen theme;
• Reassure you about the logistics and services included;
• Introduce the service providers on site;
• Identify what falls to the management team and support them in their tasks.
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📜 Recommended format :

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Depending on your target audience, opt for landscape format for professional or student associations, or portrait format for thematic associations (sports, cultural). In the first case, the visual is more important, in the second, it's often the description of the steps that's important.

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💡Bonus :

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Keeping good track of the history of exchanges and establishing a relationship of trust over time is the key to success.

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Depending on your target :

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Logically, your travel sales proposal will have to be adapted in content and form to suit your target, and to establish a personalized customer relationship.‍

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A few tips in this regard:

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• For companies, differentiate your services from the competition by developing specific, creative themes or destination expertise.
• For associations, develop a long-term relationship of trust by understanding your customer's specific needs.
• For senior citizens, pay attention to details and include all your guarantees, included and non-included services in your proposal.
• For families & groups of friends, identify who your main contact is and help them share your trip with the other participants. The financial aspect will often be decisive compared to your competitors.

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III. The 10 commandments of a travel proposal ⚡️
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1. Respect the deadline without rushing your work.
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For a simple proposal, send a reply within 24 hours. You can take longer for a complex proposal. To be faster than your competitors, make sure you've set up quick and easy templates for generating sales proposals.

‍Ezus offers several templates you can draw inspiration from, or customize to your image. For more information and precise illustrations of our services, book a demo!

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2. Take your customers on a journey right from the first page!

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Use high-quality visuals to stand out and sell the dream from the very first seconds of reading, allowing potential travelers to project themselves into the proposed experience.

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3. Don't neglect a summary page.

If there's one page to read, it's this one, summarizing everything from the quotation to the various excursions.

The people who will read your proposal haven't necessarily followed the sales process from the beginning. It should therefore include all the information exchanged during the project study phase, so that they can easily understand the proposal.

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4. The best prices are not enough.

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Your prospect needs to assess whether you've understood his or her needs, and to understand what added value you provide over and above the selected service providers.

This is the trickiest part for you, as it involves assessing your service as best you can so that it's accepted by the customer, without making concessions on your rates.

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5. Customized, made-to-measure travel!

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Try replacing your customer's name with another. If your document looks interchangeable, it's not targeted enough!‍

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So tailor your products and services to your customer's requirements. Now's the time to showcase your expertise as a project manager to present the right provider or services to your prospect.

Some of your customers already know in detail what they want for their trip, while others don't. For those who don't, you can give them the opportunity to think outside the box by creating their own personalized travel project using Typeform and Ezus. Find out more in this article.

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6. Project your customer quickly.

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The proposal must enable you to take action quickly, and optimize the customer experience. It must therefore contain all the necessary elements in a single document: terms and conditions, direct debit mandate, etc. And above all, the next steps must be clear.

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7. Encourage visual content.

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Illustrate your proposal as fully as possible, with schedules, tours, photos, videos, etc.

To avoid weighing down the content of your sales proposal, complete it with documents in appendices.

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8. Reassure your customer.

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Don't forget to include all the elements included and those not included in your proposal. Include your history, expertise and references to lend credibility to your proposal. Sales conditions are also important.

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9. Prioritize your customers.

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Don't waste too much time on a new customer who has contacted the whole market, or who is not yet sure of leaving. Always assess your real chances beforehand, so as not to waste your time.

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10. Enjoy.

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Interpersonal skills are essential in the travel agent's profession, giving you confidence in your skills as a travel specialist.

Pass on your passion, your commitment and your passion for this sector!

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Discover our examples of professional travel journals 👀

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They're easy to create, automated and reusable.

Surprise yourself with examples of travel documents made with Ezus on our Case Study page, or during a demo which will allow you at the same time to discover our software solution, enabling you to divide your document creation times by 2 and have all your personalized documents and travel management in one place.