How to Tailor Your Cruise Proposals to Every Client's Personality (And Close Faster)
If you've been sending every client the same proposal and wondering why some close fast and others go quiet, this is the episode you've been waiting for.
I sat down with Danielle Gaerte, owner of Oasis Awaits Travel Company and Cruise Business Blueprint member, to talk about tailoring proposals to client personality types. By the end of our conversation I was ready to hand her a microphone and get out of the way.
Listen to the full episode here
Start with one question
Danielle added one question to her inquiry form:
How do you like to receive information?
Quick and to the point?
A little scrolling?
All the details?
That single checkbox tells her how to format the proposal, how many options to give, and roughly how fast she can expect a deposit. She says things close infinitely faster. She also spends less time building proposals because she's not doing extra work for people who just want a side-by-side and a quick answer.
If you do nothing else after reading this, open your inquiry form today and add that question. Danielle says it takes five minutes and it will change how you work.
Match the format to the personality
Once you know how someone wants to receive information, the format becomes obvious.
For the no-scrolling client: a side-by-side comparison with three options and total cost presented upfront. Clean, fast, easy to scan.
For the wants-a-little-detail client: a proposal with port stops, a ship overview, and a day-by-day itinerary. Beautiful but not overwhelming. Strip out anything that isn't directly relevant to that specific trip.
For the give-me-everything client: a full TravelJoy build with the tabs that actually matter for their trip. Kids and teen activities for multigenerational groups. Dining options for the foodie clients. Not all tabs by default. Just the ones relevant to what they told you on the discovery call.
A note worth making here: we're not saying don't give your clients information. We're saying don't bury them in it during the proposal stage. You can drown them in details later. Get the deposit first.
Limit options for the indecisive client
If someone tells you on a call that they're terrible at making decisions or get easily overwhelmed, give them two choices instead of three. A 50/50 decision is so much easier for most brains than a 33/33/33. Danielle used this approach with a client earlier this year who said she wanted all the details but admitted she struggled to decide. She gave her two options. Deposit came in within 48 hours.
Always include a splurge option
Danielle started doing this last year and says she will never stop. Two options that fit exactly what the client asked for, and one that's a little more: an upgrade cabin, a better itinerary, a suite that's barely more expensive than the balcony they asked for.
Eight out of ten times, they take it. If you're not offering a splurge option on every proposal, you are leaving commission on the table every single time.
Add a quick video walkthrough
A two-minute video walking clients through the proposal, recorded in Canva, no fancy setup, cuts follow-up questions dramatically and gets decisions made faster. Danielle says since she started sending them, clients are clicking approve and emailing their choice within 48 to 72 hours.
She doesn't send videos to the no-scrolling clients. They're not watching it and they don't need it. For everyone else, the video helps, especially first-time travelers who open a proposal and aren't sure what they're looking at. Walk them through it. Show them which button to click. Make it easy.
Give a recommendation, not just options
Danielle's approach is to explain why she chose each option and how it fits what the client told her, rather than naming a clear winner. For certain personality types (the decisive, no-BS client who just wants to know which one to pick) a clear recommendation is the fastest path to a deposit.
For split couples where one partner wants all the details and one wants a quick answer, send the full proposal but include a short paragraph in the email with a clear recommendation. The detail person can dig in. The decisive person reads the paragraph and says yes.
Why this isn't more work for the same commission
Danielle heard that objection and addressed it directly. You're adding one question to your inquiry form one time. After that you're spending less time building proposals because you're not doing extra work for people who didn't want it. You're getting to deposit faster. You're spending less time chasing. And you're offering splurge options that close eight out of ten times.
As Danielle put it: if your close rates aren't hitting 90% or above within 48 to 72 hours after a discovery call, what is it going to hurt to try?
The bottom line
Your clients did not come to you for more options. They came to you because they were overwhelmed by options and needed someone to guide them. The advisors who close fast are the ones who figured out how to give each client exactly what they need to say yes. No more, no less.
Add the question. Try the splurge option. Record a quick video. See what happens.
And if you want the whole framework, including the BOLT personality types, proposal formats for each one, and the tools that make this scalable, this is exactly what we go deep on inside Cruise Business Blueprint.
Listen to the full episode of 7 Figure Cruise Business
Check out the video interview with Danielle on YouTube
Episode Timestamps
2:07 — Meet Danielle Gaerte, Oasis Awaits Travel Company
4:00 — How the BOLT personality framework changed the way Danielle builds proposals
5:19 — Why tailored proposals close faster
6:43 — The one question to add to your inquiry form right now
9:09 — What actually changes when you tailor a proposal
12:39 — Get the deposit first, drown them in details later
17:19 — Have you ever misread someone's personality?
18:45 — Split couples with different personality types
22:27 — The splurge option (and why eight out of ten times they take it)
25:35 — Canva video walkthroughs and when to use them
29:31 — Are advisors giving too many options out of fear?
35:21 — Danielle's one action item: add the question to your form today
39:23 — Is this more work for the same commission? Danielle shuts it down
43:48 — What makes you irreplaceable
