AmaWaterways business development manager Jayne Lambert looks ahead to the line’s launch of river cruises in Colombia.

How has being ‘on the road’ and meeting agents changed in recent times?

My role is to ensure I equip our trade partners with the tools, knowledge and support they need to sell our product.

We are in an industry that never stands still and agents’ needs have changed, especially with so many now working from an office space or from home. That changes the way they operate and the support they need with training, marketing and events.

It is about meaningful exchanges, not the number of meetings we have. We spend our time delivering whatever support each individual trade partner needs, whether that be training or marketing.

What key AmaWaterways selling points are you focusing on when meeting agents? 

It is an exciting time with new river cruises in Colombia, new ships, new itineraries and as always, we have some impressive commercial benefits and incentives.

Having said that, I like to ensure agents understand why we are different to other river cruise lines. From our innovative wellness programme to immersive excursions and the most amazing dining, we offer our guests a truly unique and luxurious experience with a very personalised level of service.

What do you have planned over the coming months to support and help agents?

We have some great incentives in place to help support and grow their luxury river cruise sales.  The team are always on hand to support partner specific collateral and digital overbrands.

We also have coffee mornings and partner events. Fam trips remain vitally important in helping agents understand our product, so we will continue to welcome as many on board as we can.

Next year is an exciting one for you, with river cruises in Colombia. How are you communicating these selling opportunities to agents?

I love talking about our new cruises on the Magdalena river. We are the only major river cruise line offering Colombia and it is great to have a unique product for agents to promote to their clients.

We also have new ships and new itineraries across the programme, so there is a lot to talk about.

Each BDM sends out weekly updates with new offers, incentives and products and we each have our own Facebook group to share offers and content. We also have monthly newsletters and weekly emails, plus regular events and webinars.

How is the role of a BDM changing?

Luxury river cruises sales continue to grow with new partners coming on board all the time, so it is an exciting time. There is no one-size-fits-all approach.

Building a more personalised and adaptable relationship, while also confidently planning and delivering a commercially sound strategy, continues to reap rewards.

The relationships we build as a result are key to our success. Looking further ahead, I can see this tailored and personal approach, with the strong commercial acumen it demands, becoming ever more important for the BDM of the future.