In a clear commitment to ethical selling, a new cohort of salespeople at Royal Caribbean Group have won the industry-leading Investor in Sales Award.
The award, conferred by the Association of Professional Sales (APS), is granted to sales teams who pass an exacting test to appear on the APS register of professional, trustworthy sellers.
In a cruise-industry first, Royal Caribbean’s sales teams in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) won the award in May 2019. Now they have been joined by sales colleagues across Singapore and South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America
and the Caribbean.
Team motivation and retention rates increase when staff are given the opportunity to develop their careers and working with the APS, Royal Caribbean Group has expanded the capacity of its sales academy to focus on education and professional accreditation.
The alliance shows trade partners and customers that Royal Caribbean Group employees are professional and ethical salespeople.
The partnership between the APS and Royal Caribbean Group features a revolutionary digital sales training academy with the latest, university-led sales education and ethics. The academy focuses on building long-standing, trusting relationships with Royal
Caribbean Group’s travel partners and customers.
More than 50 percent of sellers need to pass the APS accreditation exam to win the coveted Investor in Sales Award. So far, almost 60 per cent of Royal Caribbean Group sales staff, in the international regions mentioned above, have gained professional
accreditation. Many more salespeople are set to follow.
Of the new achievement, Grant Van Ulbrich, Director of Sales Transformation International, said: “I am exceptionally proud of our partnership with the Association of Professional Sales. The accreditation programme established in the EMEA markets was a
great success, so to expand it around the world just made sense. The appetite for learning and gaining qualifications for professional sales is significant and has been welcomed by our sales teams and travel partners.”
Sean Treacy, Senior Vice President of International at Royal Caribbean International, added: “The work to achieve this accreditation focuses on developing trusted relationships between our customers and hard-working salespeople. We are very pleased to
earn this coveted award for promoting professional development across our sales teams. Selling is a skilled profession and expanding our accreditation with the Association of Professional Sales makes ethical and business sense. It?s the right
thing to do.”
Andrew Hough, founder and CEO of the APS, said: “Royal Caribbean Group is a globally-recognised leader of cruise lines, highly respected within the holiday, travel and tourism sector and we are delighted to be working with them. The APS is very impressed
by the Group?s leadership and their ambition to build strong customer relationships by developing an ethical and highly professional sales force.
“In a competitive market, Royal Caribbean Group are putting guests first by developing skilled salespeople and valuing their important role at the heart of the company. We are pleased to work with partners who share our ideals of self-development and
ethical, professional sales.
“We congratulate them on taking our Investor in Sales Award to the next level. The Group has 170 international sales members and so far 58% have earned their accreditation. The remaining staff are learning and making good progress towards earning their
own professional, APS accreditation.”
About the APS
The Association of Professional Sales is the leading authority for salespeople, a not-for-profit organisation, reinvesting in the sales profession to build standards, trust and education. The APS is engaged with MPs to promote
professional selling across UK businesses and has worked with the government and business leaders to establish sales apprenticeships up to degree and master’s level. The Association is campaigning for a Royal Charter to give skilled, ethical salespeople
the same status as other professions like accountants, lawyers, architects and surveyors. Expert, ethical, professional salespeople are crucial for business success.
About Royal Caribbean Group
Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL) is the new operating business name for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Royal Caribbean Group is the owner of four global cruise vacation brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Silversea and Azamara. Royal Caribbean Group is also a 50% owner of a joint venture that operates TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. Together, our brands operate 63 ships with an additional 16 on
order as of July 10, 2020. Learn more at www.rclcorporate.com or www.rclinvestor.com.