1. Offer turnkey products
A coach operator or agency doesn’t have time to assemble your destination piece by piece. Make life easy for them: group days and stays, themed tours, seminar packages with accommodation, meals and activities, at net prices and with clear terms.
2. Give them a proper way in
- A “Groups and trade” page visible from your home page.
- Downloadable product sheets, with prices and terms.
- A royalty-free photo library for their brochures.
- A direct contact, with a stated (and honoured) response time.
3. Go and find them
Waiting for enquiries is rarely enough. Identify the tour operators and coach operators already featuring destinations close to yours, contact them, suggest a meeting, invite them on a fam trip. If you are a destination, bring your suppliers (accommodation, restaurants, attractions) together around shared group rates: professionals love having a single point of contact.
4. Prepare your workshops like a match
- Research each tour operator: its customers, destinations and best-sellers.
- Prepare a tailored proposal for each one rather than a one-size-fits-all pitch.
- Have your trade rates, terms and availability ready to send.
- Set one objective per meeting: a quote, a fam trip, a place in the brochure.
5. On the day, get straight to the point
Start by listening: their customers, their tours, what isn’t working. Then present two or three products that match their needs exactly, with what makes them easy to sell: duration, price, access, a unique experience. A great photo and a one-page sheet are worth far more than a forty-page brochure.
What do they want to hear? An experience their competitors don’t offer, a product that is easy to programme, clear terms (commission, allocations, cancellation) and a contact who replies quickly, in French or English.
6. Seal the deal
Within 48 hours, send a personal message summing up what you discussed, with the documents you promised, and suggest a concrete next step. Then keep in touch: follow up before each programming season and ask for feedback after every group you host. A satisfied professional comes back, and tells others.
