Engaging New Leads with Custom Itineraries
This streamlined approach keeps the email concise while clearly explaining its purpose, inviting collaboration, and highlighting your expertise. It creates a balance between professionalism, personalization, and brevity - which encourages customer engagement.
Goal in formatting / messaging of introduction emails
Get customers to reply to the introduction emails with feedback and/or set up a discovery call. Let them know you're specialized in [Destination], share a simple, short draft itinerary.
**Note: We’re not asking you to use the template verbatim, if anything, we hope it helps when you think about these elements in your approach. If you have any suggestions for improvement, please share and email us at partners@travelstride.com.
Why is this approach effective?
The team at Travelstride has studied 100’s of different tour operator’s approaches, we’ve found the below reasoning and email template to be a well thought out guide to getting a response in the initial day/s of receiving a new customer’s lead opportunity.
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Personal Introduction - The email opens by establishing why the customer is receiving the message (via Travelstride’s referral) and introduces you as a destination expert, clarifying the trip is personalized for them.
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Communicate Draft Itinerary - By sharing from the outset you’ve already drafted a custom itinerary (even if an example), you immediately engage the customer and show you’ve put thought into their trip, with a tangible starting point.
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Invitation for Feedback - The email encourages the customer to provide feedback, making it clear that the trip can be further personalized to suit their preferences. This collaborative approach empowers the customer to feel involved in the process - and to book a 15-minute discovery call (giving the call a time limit).
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Section for Comments/Questions - A dedicated section for your comments or suggestions adds a personal touch. Whether it’s asking for more details or offering specific recommendations, it shows that you’re actively thinking about their trip and considering their preferences.
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Why is your company special - Closing with a brief introduction of your company, its specialization, and what makes it unique helps build trust. This final touch reinforces your expertise and positions your company as the ideal choice for planning their journey. An embedded link to your website can have a great impact, so the customer can get a "feel" for who they'll be working with on the trip.
How to structure the intro email
Subject: Re: Trip Planner Match! ✈️ Your Custom Trip to Greece (Request ID - #100053378)
Note: It's best to reply to our introduction, the customer will recognize the email (open it), and the email is less likely to end up in their spam folder given it's a reply to email (@travelstride.com) - and Google knows they've been to the travelstride.com website.
Body:
Yassou [Customer Name] (Hello) from Greece!
Thank you for your trip request for a handcrafted custom trip to Greece [First Name]!
My name is [First Name] and I am a travel advisor at [Tour Operator w/ embedded link to your home page], a [Destination local travel expert] working with Travelstride to ensure your trip is planned and operated by professionals. We're extremely passionate at fulfilling your uniquely curated travel experience, and I am delighted to craft an amazing trip for you perfectly adjusted to your preferences and wishes!
Here is the first draft itinerary based on what we currently know:
Tailored Experience in the [Destination/Highlights] for [First Name]'s & Family
**The above "Trip Name" can be a link to a web itinerary, or mention a "(PDF is attached)"
We can customize this draft itinerary further and help to create a truly unique experience based on your preferences and feedback, including your selected destinations and activities. What are your thoughts on the initial draft itinerary above?
A quick conversation sometimes works better than many emails back and forth, you can book a time to arrange a 15-minute discovery phone/video call. Here's a link to my calendar availability [[Embedded link to calendar to book 15-min discovery call with your team], we could also simply stick to emails, you're choice!
Our comments and suggestions:
[Your personal notes or comments on the itinerary, season traveling, questions about specifics you may need from pax]
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Why [Tour Operator Company Name]?
At [Tour Operator Company Name], we specialize in planning […Who are you, and why are your travel experiences special]
I look forward to hearing from you and tailoring a unique trip [Destination], we'd love to hear your feedback!
Kind Regards,
[First Name]
