A captive audience? Or a tough crowd?
Most business people would give just about anything for the chance to have an uninterrupted hour or two with a key client or great prospect. It’s clear to me that just such opportunities may be easier to create if you can dangle the prospect of private jet travel in front of these folks, particularly if you have reason to believe that he or she enjoys traveling to the same places you do, be that for business or pleasure.
Unless they pack a parachute, a guest on your plane has little choice but to listen to you (which is not to suggest that I would be obnoxious about it, of course). Just as importantly, such travel allows you to listen to your prospect–always the key to a sale, as I’ve learned. So I expect to reap some business benefits from fractional ownership. But I also expect there to be some challenges, too.
Some potential prospects or business associates may assign a certain stigma to private jet travel — seeing it as extravagant, pushy or over-the-top. That said, I think it’s less likely to happen now than, say, five or ten years ago. I recall when mobile phones first hit the market. I must admit that I thought to myself the first few times I saw someone talking on one that they were behaving way too self-importantly. Of course, these days, everyone has mobile phones, even our mothers and children. Yesterday’s extravagance is today’s necessity.
That said, until we’re all flying around George Jetson-style, there will be those put off by those who partake in private jet travel. If I finally pull the trigger myself, my intent is to push back on any such objections tossed my way by explaining some of the rational reasons I have invested in fractional ownership, as well as admitting to the more emotional aspects of it that I find appealing.
Actually, given all of my soul-searching, I’m fairly certain that if I can convince myself on the merits of private jet travel, I’ll be able to convince a client, colleague or prospect.
