International airline increases ancillary revenue by 97% with sales optimisation program

The client

A leading low-cost airline operating internationally.

The challenge

The client wanted to boost ancillary revenue by evolving its individual product offering (flight only) to a comprehensive holiday package for its customers. This ‘full vacation experience’ package was to include flights, car hire, hotel bookings, inflight meals and entertainment. This meant diversifying their revenue streams to deliver customers with a more holistic travel offering.

They also wanted to enhance their operating costs and profit margins by increasing contact centre revenue and sales conversion percentages.

The solution

Probe CX was engaged to perform workshops with external travel agents to grasp valuable insights into travellers’ preferences and purchasing triggers.

Key takeaways included:

• Travellers prioritise convenience and a hassle-free experience.
• Limited transport options in some destinations make hire cars attractive for flexibility.
• A four-hour flight offers time for relaxation and entertainment.
• Recognising value, inflight entertainment often beats movie ticket costs.

These insights led to the launch of a sales optimisation program. The aim was to increase sales conversion percentages and revenue through improved sales hiring, training and onboarding, quality management, operational process and opportunity handling.

The program implemented a range of activities:

• Coaching triads and quad sessions led by senior managers.
• Data-driven sales process enhancements.
• Revised agent scorecards and sales KPI targets.
• Ongoing reviews and updates of sales incentives.
• Scenario-based sales assessments and targeted hiring.
• Daily real-time sales and revenue performance assessments.
• Segregated sales and service queues with skill-based routing.
• Monthly continuous process improvement sessions for strategic sales management.
• Revamped sales process and refined customer profiles.
• Calibration sessions for quality focus and evaluations.