I'm a 58 year old widowed woman. I've started a travel business but have trouble being taken seriously. How can I convince people to buy my services?

Stop trying to "convince" people.

You know, there is power in the testimony. A lot of startup companies use friends and family to test out the product and service and to help spread the word.

If there is any way to offer a trial of your service, you might give that a go as well.

Work to build several testimonies of folks who have worked with you and encourage them to tell others about what you are doing.

Do you have a website? Do you use facebook?

Those two areas would be good starters. A site would allow people to get better educated on what you offer, and facebook, in something like this, would be a good tool for word to travel around, especially, if people could put a video or two about their trip.

John

There are different types of personality types, and when you are trying to sell to people, you need to know which you are dealing with before you start talking.

It is the old Sales trick - when getting hired as a Salesman at major firms, the interview was simple:

"Sell me this pen."

Anyone who started in on the benefits and features of the pen was shown the door immediately.

The people who got it were the ones who would first ask questions about how the other person wrote, what their ideal scenario is for writing, and let them describe things in detail. Then, they'd use that language to paint a picture of the pen.

Talk to your potential customers. Find out what 5 star vacations mean to them. What do they want, what don't they like. Then, use their words back to them, in their tone, making it sound as if their dreams are coming true in the package you have.

You'll get sales.

I'm happy to discuss further.

It is great to see people doing what they have a passion for. First ask yourself this question. Why would someone want to use my services? Tell your story of travel with very descriptive words. Have your costumer understand your why and what you will be doing for them so that they may have the same experience without any hassle of figuring out how to do it. Explore your perfect client and create your marketing to serve them. People are looking for you and making yourself visible to them is what is needed. If you have any question for me feel free to contact me and I would love to hear more about your business. Have a beautiful day.
Shawn Huber

I'd like to know more about your business, but off the top of my head, you could get some video testimonials up on your site. Their genuine interest and excitement in what you are doing will resonate with others. (Assuming you are promoting this online, if not, how are you doing promotion?)