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I first became a travel agent - for me. You could say it was a selfish move. I always had a passion for travel and I felt that building a business around my passion would allow me to travel more often. I also wanted to share what I knew with others, but that motive took a back seat to the number 1 motive of wanting to travel more often.

When you become a travel agent, it can be very helpful to learn from those who have been doing it for a while.  Well, I once read tirade from a travel agent on one of those travel agency forum groups who was very frustrated (rightly so) and was using the forum to vent and get advice on how to handle a situation to prevent it from happening again.

When you become a travel agent, one of your greatest marketing priorities will be list-building.  In other words, when you become a travel agent, you will want to put a big focus on adding names and email address of your ideal prospects to your database.  Exhibiting at a bridal show, trade show or local festival may seem like an old-school tactic.  You may have been told that it doesn’t work anymore or it’s a waste of time.  Don’t listen to them.  Exhibiting at shows is one of the MOST EFFECTIVE ways to grow your list and market your business successfully.  The only reason it doesn’t work for all business owners is because they didn’t do it right.  Want to know how to do it right?  There are 4 simple steps and here they are:

When you become a travel agent, the question that will undoubtedly annoy you the most is this:  Do travel agents still exist?  You will come face to face with the prevailing perception that the travel agent is long gone.  Your profession is invisible.

Yes!  I do have basic marketing advice for someone new to the travel business ownership journey.  And if you bear with me for a second, I am going to use the analogy of dating.

#AskMeredith:  What are some easy tips I can do so that my friends, family and colleagues start taking my business seriously (and stop treating it like a hobby)?

On this Travel Talk Live, Vanessa McGovern talks to the president of Trafalgar, Paul Wiseman!  Watch to learn more about traveling with Trafalgar!

Gifted Travel Network (GTN) is proud to announce that GTN agent, Shannon LeBlanc of Paradise Vacation Escapes, will be featured at the Wedding Savvy Summit on March 11, 2017. The Wedding Savvy Summit is a conference for brides to learn about how to plan the perfect wedding. Shannon LeBlanc will be featured as the exclusive travel expert for the event and will host a keynote session on honeymoons and destination weddings. Shannon is the Chief Romance Officer (CRO) for Paradise Vacation Escapes, an author, speaker and travel industry go-to expert in the romance space.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got from a business coach was on the subject of picking a name for a new business.  Her words exactly were, “Don’t be cute.  Be clear.” So, when it comes to picking a name for your new business selling travel, I will give you the same advice.  Don’t be cute.  Be clear.   That means, don’t even think about going with a name like, “Glenda’s Getaways.”

On this Travel Talk Live, Vanessa McGovern talks to Camille Olivere of Norwegian Cruise Line! Camille is the Senior Vice President of Sales for Norwegian Cruise Line.  Watch to learn more about cruising with NCL!