Ad-ology Research recently updated their Industry Marketing Insights report for Airline Services. The following are the predicted Top 5 Opportunities/Challenges from the report for this industry for the upcoming 12 months:

• E-tickets make up over 90% of purchased tickets, and industry officials estimate paper tickets may be obsolete in the near future.
• Over the past two years, the number of mishandled bags dropped by 40% , while customer complaints dropped by 25 percent.
• Many airlines plan to begin offering free in-flight Wi-Fi service to fliers.
• Airlines are increasingly imposing or expanding fees for passengers to offset losses.
• Fuel prices continue to rise, causing airlines to not fill planes to capacity and cancel longer routes.

The Industry Marketing Insights report for Airline Services is available on Ad-ology.com (Research Store) for $195 USD with local market data for any U.S. market.

[Source: Ad-ology Research. December 16, 2009]

Is your agency experiencing the so-called “necessary paranoia” that is raging through the industry? A recent Adweek article explores the catch-22 that many advertising professionals are facing: Protect the business but risk angering clients over changing pricing structure or other safeguards. Some agencies are asking for up-front payments, while others are changing the language in contracts to ensure protection if a client goes bankrupt.

A CEO of a New York agency is quoted as saying, “Before, if you had a great, long-standing client, and they said, ‘You’ll get paid in a week, but we need to start the job now,’ you would extend the credit as a courtesy. Now, that’s not the case. You cannot afford to make any exceptions. It’s a necessary paranoia with which we need to manage our business.”

Necessary or not, industry professionals are urging shops to tread carefully and avoid alienating clients or scaring away prospects. Read the article in its entirety here.

When speaking with prospects, do you have a go-question that always manages to get valuable information? If not, maybe you can borrow from Stone Payton, a sales consultant who, on a recent blog post, shared what he calls “one of the most powerful, productive questions” a salesperson can ask. According to Payton, a salesperson can reap many benefits by posing this question: “What’s changing?” This simple, two-word phrase can provide valuable insight into a prospect’s needs because, according to Payton:

• There’s always an answer
• The answer is different enough for each company
• The answer is so subjective (uncovers perception unique to the individual) that I can ask it of everyone in the company
• The question provides the (much-needed) opportunity for the prospect to practice articulating some key change messages
• The question so naturally breeds important conversation around implications and consequences
• The question produces still more (truly meaningful) questions in the prospect’s mind – creates one or more of those “coachable moments” so critical to consultative sales

Pose this question the next time you speak with a prospect-you may find that it reveals a wealth of information.

In a recent survey of buyers of professional services, RainToday.com found that listening skills were considered to be lacking among service providers when it comes to the sales pitch. “Service provider did not listen to me” was ranked as one of the top problems, while “service provider talked too much” ranked fourth on the list. General Manager of RainToday Erica Stritch offers some tips on how providers can shake off this less-than-ideal stigma. Stritch presents two examples of a sales pitch, the first being a traditional “pitch” and the second she titles a “conversation.” Click here for her examples, and read why the “conversation” approach is the strategy salespeople should use, and why.

Additionally, Stritch emphasizes the importance of asking questions. While this starts off with the salesperson speaking, it opens up the opportunity for the prospect to take center stage. “Asking great questions-the types of questions that get your prospects talking about their challenges, hopes, and desires-is critical to learning how to listen,” she writes. “Asking questions can allow you to not only uncover needs, but to establish your credibility by giving yourself an opening to share expertise and relevant experience seamlessly.”

Learning when to speak up, and when to listen, is key to establishing a healthy business relationship in which the prospect feels heard and understood, and it allows insight into the prospect’s needs and the best ways for your business to meet those needs.