Well it was an interesting snippet of his presentation.
The first thing that I noticed was that based on his speech pattern and use of the language Travis Christ has never made a Sales Call one day in his life. His bio bears that out. See below:
TRAVIS CHRIST
Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Travis Christ is responsible for overseeing the airline's advertising, business development, frequent flyer and sales divisions. Previously he was the vice president of marketing at America West Airlines.
Travis holds an MBA from The American Graduate School of International Management and a bachelor's degree in economics and public policy from George Washington University. Prior to joining America West, Travis held the position of manager, government affairs, and senior analyst, route planning and scheduling with Houston-based Continental Airlines.
NOTE: that nowhere does it show he put his feet on the street and had to earn a living selling with part or all of his money being earned via commission.
Compare that to his former counterpart Barry Biffle, now Chief Marketing Officer at Spirit.
Barry L. Biffle
joined Spirit Airlines in February 2005 as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. Biffle has an extensive background in all areas of marketing and prior to joining Spirit he served as Managing Director of Marketing at US Airways where he was responsible for advertising, direct marketing, the frequent flyer program and product. Additionally, Biffle held other senior positions at US Airways in planning, marketing and sales. Prior to US Airways, Biffle held several management positions at American Eagle Airlines. Biffle holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Alabama.
NOTE: That the positions at Am Eagle were field sales positions and management of field Sales. Sales at US I believe also reported to Barry as well.
Now compare and contrast the way in which the 2 airlines market themselves and tell me who is closer to the customer??? Additionally BB was accessable and interested to hear what his customers thought and didn't speak like an MBA. He spoke like a man who actually made a few freaking Sales calls.
How can you fully appreciate a fireplace if you never cut and stacked cord wood?
