Most advisors have a sales process the way most people have a filing system: technically, somewhere. Mine has named stages, and the names aren't decoration, every touchpoint is branded, expected, and does one job. The client journey runs: sales call, payment, High Tea call, Champagne call, booking concierge, Bon Voyage call. By the time a client boards, she's been walked down a path that felt like hospitality the whole way.
“So are you ready to get started today? And then you shut up. You pause. It is an awkward pause.”
Qualify before you ever say hello
The funnel starts before the call: my scheduling form collects destination, party size, budget, and occasion. If ten calls land in one week, I can see at a glance which conversations fit, and politely move or decline the ones that don't. Your calendar is inventory. Protect it like inventory.
Claire's own numbers
The framework, step by step
- 1
When the planning fee gets a raised eyebrow, I explain
what it buys, dedicated planning and concierge service covering the dozens of moving pieces between now and wheels-up, and I never talk anyone into it
- 2
The close is one question
"So, are you ready to get started today?" And then you shut up. It is an awkward pause. Don't speak. What they say next tells you everything.
- 3
The confirmation email carries testimonials
the moment right after payment is when buyers most want evidence they chose well.
Claire's own framework from this essay, in the order she teaches it.
Source: Claire B. Soares, from her own travel business and live trainings.
The payment email lands during the call
Here's the move that changes close rates: while I'm still on the phone, the payment email goes out, and I say, "can you check your email?" The decision happens while the excitement is real and I'm right there to answer anything. Waiting until after the call is where deals go to die politely.
State the value. Then be quiet.
- When the planning fee gets a raised eyebrow, I explain what it buys, dedicated planning and concierge service covering the dozens of moving pieces between now and wheels-up, and I never talk anyone into it. Convincing attracts clients who need convincing forever.
- The close is one question: "So, are you ready to get started today?" And then you shut up. It is an awkward pause. Don't speak. What they say next tells you everything.
- The confirmation email carries testimonials, the moment right after payment is when buyers most want evidence they chose well.
Name your stages. Script your ask. And let AI draft every email in the chain in your voice, that part used to take me weekends; now it's an afternoon inside Travel AI University.
Common Questions
What are the stages of a luxury travel sales funnel?
Claire's runs a sales call, payment during that call, a discovery call for preferences, a reveal call presenting the proposal, booking concierge, and a bon voyage call before departure.
When should you send the payment link on a sales call?
While you are still on the phone. The decision happens while the excitement is real and you are there to answer questions, rather than after the call when momentum fades.
How do you handle a planning fee objection?
Explain what the fee buys, the dedicated planning and concierge work across the dozens of moving parts before departure, then stop talking. Claire never talks anyone into it.
Written By
Claire B. Soares
Claire B. Soares is the founder of Travel AI University, a 6x Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist, and a Certified AI Consultant with a B.S. in Computer Science. A top 10% enterprise sales executive, she sold $3.4B+ in enterprise software to Google, Microsoft, IBM, Boeing, the federal government, and the DoD, then built $16M+ in luxury travel sales.
About Claire
