Running a travel business isn’t just about planning beautiful trips. It’s also about confidently leading clients through a clear, thoughtful sales journey. In Episode 184 of TIQUE Talks, we welcomed back sales strategist Sara Murray to discuss what it really means for travel advisors to manage their sales pipeline with intention and clarity.
Sara brings a deep background in luxury hospitality and sales training, and in this conversation, she shares the mindset shifts, systems, and strategies that help advisors convert more leads without falling into the trap of feeling pushy or overwhelmed. Whether you’re new to the industry or managing a full client roster, her approach will help you shift from reactive selling to intentional leadership.
Sales Doesn’t Have to Feel Salesy
Let’s start with the mindset. So many travel advisors enter this business because they love travel, not because they love “selling.” That’s where Sara reframes things entirely. Sales, at its core, is about creating opportunities, moving people through a pipeline, and closing deals, but with empathy and authority. When you lead with those two qualities, the client experience feels guided and elevated, not transactional.
Travel advisors are in the perfect position to build meaningful relationships with clients. You’re not pushing a product. You’re helping them create life experiences, and that’s a noble reason to sell. Embrace your role as the guide, not just the service provider.
You’re Managing Two Pipelines — Here’s Why It Matters
A big part of creating a scalable, consistent client experience is recognizing that you’re managing two separate sales pipelines at any given time: the prospecting pipeline and the booking pipeline.
Your prospecting pipeline is where future clients live. These might be the folks who mentioned a dream trip at a soccer game, the ones watching your Instagram Stories, or someone referred by a past client. They’re not ready to book yet, but they’re watching. Having a system (even as simple as a Google Sheet) to log these prospects and stay top-of-mind with them ensures that you’re always keeping the top of your funnel warm.
The booking pipeline, on the other hand, is where you’re actively converting leads into clients. From the moment someone submits an inquiry, they enter a process, and you, as the expert, should be leading that process. That means defining what success looks like at each stage: What is the goal of the discovery call? What happens after the proposal is sent? How are you moving them toward booking without chasing?
Sara emphasizes that knowing the goal of each step and communicating it clearly puts you in the driver’s seat. And that’s where you belong.
Structure Creates Confidence
There’s no one-size-fits-all pipeline, but travel advisors benefit enormously from mapping out the process of working with them. What happens after someone inquires? What comes after the discovery call? When are you collecting a planning fee, and how do you position that value?
Even something as simple as scheduling the next step before the current call ends builds momentum and sets expectations. As Sara pointed out, high-ticket clients are often busy and operating in a decision-making role all day. They want to be guided. And they want to know you have a plan.
Using tools like Calendly to automate scheduling or Loom to walk clients through proposals helps reinforce your authority and reduces back-and-forth. It also creates space for more thoughtful interactions, especially if your business model leans toward high-touch, high-investment bookings.
Be the Guide, Not the Passenger
One of the most powerful shifts Sara teaches is moving from a reactive to a proactive sales approach. If you’ve ever gotten off a client call thinking you “nailed it,” only to be ghosted later, this is for you. You may have answered every question, but if you weren’t leading the conversation with purpose, it’s easy for clients to wander, delay, or lose confidence.
This is where Sara’s volleyball metaphor comes in: instead of waiting on the sidelines, you want the ball. Objections aren’t problems; they’re opportunities to demonstrate your expertise.
When a client hesitates or asks a pointed question, lean in. Sara suggests asking, “Is there an unexpected roadblock that’s preventing you from taking action?” That language invites honesty and opens the door for collaboration, not confrontation. It keeps you on the same team, working toward a shared goal.
Qualify With Care and Clarity
If you want to work with high-intent clients, you need to qualify leads early. That doesn’t mean interrogating your prospects. It means educating them through each stage of engagement, from your website to your inquiry form to your automated emails.
Your website should function as an extension of your sales process. It should make it clear what your services include, what investment levels you work within, and how the process works. That transparency acts as a filter. The right clients will lean in; the rest will move on and that’s a win.
By the time someone schedules a call, your system should have helped them understand your value. Tools like Calendly can help reinforce this by collecting clarifying info before a meeting, including budget range and whether all decision-makers will be present. And if someone resists this process? That’s a sign they might not be the right fit.
Create Urgency Without Pressure
Let’s be real: travel advisors need to move quickly. Hotel space disappears. Rates go up. But urgency doesn’t need to come off as pressure, not when you communicate it early.
The secret is to set expectations from the start. During your discovery call, let clients know that you’ll be working with time-sensitive proposals. Emphasize that you’re here to help them make decisions in the window when the options are best, not because you’re trying to “close,” but because you’re protecting their investment.
When urgency is framed as service, as part of your role as their guide, clients respect it. They trust that you’re looking out for them, not rushing them.
Inside the Niche Community: Where Sales Strategy Meets Support
If this conversation resonated with you, you’ll want to join us inside the TIQUE Niche Community. Each month, we host expert-led trainings on the very topics that move your business forward, including Sara’s session on The Art of the Effortless Upsell.
You don’t have to build your business alone. The Niche Community is where clarity, strategy, and support come together.
And if you’re ready to create structure around your sales process, consider the Scaling with Systems masterclass.
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