A premium cultural experience operator had never sold their flagship product online. They didn't think it was possible. It took months of relationship-building, a smaller ask, and one very good season of results to prove otherwise.
As a Technical Account Manager, I tried to get under the hood fast. When I took over this account, I spent the first few months doing exactly that: solving real problems, learning the business, building rapport. By the time I spotted a bigger opportunity, they trusted me.
They were on FareHarbor, but only partially. General inventory was online. Their premium product that represented a significant share of the business, was sold entirely offline. Manually. It meant we weren't generating any revenue from it and that they were taking way more commissionable affiliate bookings than they really needed to keep it sold out. It was how they had always done it.
When I asked why, the answer was straightforward: they'd never thought it was possible. The premium experience was high-touch and carefully curated. Putting it on a booking widget felt wrong. Their specific fears were overselling, operational chaos, and cheapening something they'd built their reputation on.
I made the case for going online. I walked through the friction in their funnel, the manual work their team was absorbing, the bookings they were probably losing. They listened. They said no.
So I changed the ask. Instead of a full launch, I proposed a limited test: bring a small fraction of the premium inventory online, keep everything else the same, and see what happens. Lower the stakes.
It still took a few more conversations and a few more weeks before they said yes. They needed time to sit with it while I helped iron out the details.
The test worked. The premium seats sold out. No overselling. Less manual entry. The team had more time, not less. They were surprised and, honestly, relieved.
That first win changed everything. We brought more premium inventory online. Eventually all of it. They were still selling out so we reduced affiliate visibility to get as much of their channel mix direct and commission free.
This took patience, trust, and a willingness to start much smaller than I wanted to. I focused first on their stated needs, the problems they already knew they had. Only once I'd built credibility did I pivot to the need they hadn't realized they had. It's so important to earn trust first. Push too early and you look like you're selling. Earn trust first and you become a consultant.
The client's fears of overselling and operational headaches never materialized and gave them the confidence to continue expanding with us through FareHarbor website packages and more.