Inghams’ head of agency sales says homeworkers are “missing a trick” not selling its new walking product and has pledged a new focus on home-based business owners.
Julie Franklin (right) said the operator’s repositioning of its Lakes & Mountains programme to Inghams Walking had moved it “from mass market to specialist” and said this was now a perfect product for homeworkers who like to sell holidays that are perceived to “not be available on the high street”.
“Homeworkers are business owners who are passionate influencers and we think we can do more with them now our product is more specialist,” she said.
“It’s been a bit of a lightbulb moment. High street agents were stronger selling Lakes & Mountains, while homeworkers are stronger selling our more specialist ski and Lapland programmes, so we need to be a bit more strategic and really target them as we have to find new customers for our business.”
Sales director Christie Green (left) said there was a real switch-sell opportunity for homeworkers and added “the demographic [of walking customers] made a real difference”.
“If the homeworker has already got a ski customer, they are switching them over to walking in the summer. Also, the average age of walking customers in our new, repositioned business is coming down and younger people are more prepared to ring a homeworker to book,” she said.
Franklin said agents were starting to understand Inghams Walking product – where customers stay in one place and explore from there each day, rather than trekking point to point, but said the education of the trade was “an ongoing piece”.
She is also running focus groups, coffee mornings and ‘walks and talks’ for homeworkers to keep spreading the word.
“We’re doing a lot of the right things,” said Green. “We just need to expand it.”
Franklin said her team was providing homeworkers with social media posts for them “to lift and share” about Inghams Walking and is revamping its walking guide, which explains what it is, the destinations the programme features, how to sell it and who to sell it to, including groups, solos, and families.
Some of these focus on Inghams Walking’s offer for children to fly free for May half-term, July and August next year, which Franklin said lots of families were taking advantage of.
“The destinations are better for families,” she said. “The climate is less hot. The offer means a family of four, with two adults and two children, can travel for £3,800 in the middle of the school holidays.”
Inghams is also producing a new ski guide to help high street agents.
“70% of our ski business comes from six ski specialists but we want to work with more agents on the high street so this should help them,” she said.
Franklin said her team would soon be embarking on a series of roadshows, from Scotland down to Exeter, some also in conjunction with sister adventure brand Explore. There will be four in November and 11 in December, each for 30-50 agents.
“We encourage homeworking business owners to join these as well as retail agents,” she added.
Inghams Ski will also host a 90th birthday fam trip to the French ski resort of Tignes for three nights from December 10 for a mix of high street, ski specialist and homeworker partners.
Green added: “As a team, we’ve just restructured ourselves and refocused what we do, to work with those agents that really want to work with us.”