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Mistake #1: Failing to Pick a Specialty Anyone who has been in the travel industry for more than a minute has heard people talk about picking a specialty or finding a niche. Why is it so important? Because it drives your marketing and how you communicate your value. Let’s be honest: Saying, “I’m a travel …

In today’s world, everyone knows that social media and a website are important marketing tools for your travel business. But if you ask what they are supposed to do, most people come up with the wrong answer. They look at travel marketing as liner and it isn’t. You don’t post something and then get bookings …

I don’t know exactly how many travel agents there are in the US, but I still feel comfortable making this wager: More than 50% of travel agents don’t understand their value and can’t communicate it to prospective clients. Sad, but true. Knowing your value – and what type of traveler will benefit from that value …

“Are you busy?” I hate when someone calls and asks me that right off the bat. If I respond, “Yes”, then I seem unapproachable. But if I respond, “No”, then the next question that comes to many minds is, “Why not? Don’t you have something to do?” Americans put far too much value in being …

Anyone who has read more than one or two things I have written or heard me speak knows I rarely talk about travel products (cruise lines, destinations, hotels, etc.). Why? It’s not because I don’t love them – I do! It is because you get PLENTY of that in your mailbox every single day. You …

Demonstrating your value as a travel professional is one of the most important things you can do. You are so much more than a conduit to a booking engine. The most successful and profitable travel pros are experts at what they do and they understand their value and they aren’t shy about sharing it. But …

If a love of travel was the only requirement to be successful in as a travel agent, the industry would look a lot differently. The reality is that this is a business just like any other. The product is cooler and a lot more fun, but it is still a business and you have to …

There are lots of vendors in this industry who are amazing travel agent partners. On the opposite end of the spectrum are those vendors who begrudgingly work with travel agents. In between is where the majority of vendors can be found. We should celebrate the first and only work with the latter when there is no …

Recently I had a great conversation with an agent who had built a very successful business in just a couple of years. In the previous 12 months she had booked $750,000 in travel. She was on a 90/10 commission plan and she thought that was the best available option in the industry (it’s not). When …

Qualifying your prospects and clients is such an important step in the sales process and asking the right questions can truly make your life much easier.  Just as important as asking the right questions is REALLY listening to their responses and taking lots of notes.  They might mention that their son little Billy is really …