Travel Agent Professional Apr 2015

Travel Agent Professional April 2015 Issue 35

The City of York – A Journey Through Time

By Paull Tickner

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TELEMARKETING— Oh No, Not Again

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2015

Owner of The Package Deal

GROUPS...

It’s all About Conversion

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By Mitchell J. Schlesinger President, MJS Consultants

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The City of York – A Journey Through Time

By Paull Tickner

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Are You Waiting for Luck?

By Cindy Bertram Cindy's Inside Cruise & Travel Track, LLC April 2015 Issue 35

Ad Index

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TAP

By Les-Lee Roland

Amadeus .........................................9

HostTravelAgency.com .................17

Auto Europe .................................IFC

TRAVELSAVERS.............................13

Britain Greatdays.............................3

Royal Caribbean Line....................BC

Travel Agent Professional

Travel Agent Professional April 2015 Issue 35

Joel M. Abels

Legend In the Travel Industry April 1927 to January 2007

Travel Agent Professional P.O. Box 120198 Staten Island, NY 10312 E-mail: info@travelagentprofessional.com Phone: 718.360.3153 Ann M. Hoek Publisher/Creative Design ann@travelagentprofessional.com Bonnie Walling Editor Bonnie@travelagentprofessional.com Alan Cohen Vice President Marketing Alan@travelagentprofessional.com

Meet Our Editorial Board Paull Tickner, Creator of Special Interest Britain ptickner@customgb.co.uk www.customgb.co.uk Cindy Bertram, Cindy’s Inside Cruise & Travel Track, LLC cindybert@att.net Mitchell J. Schlesinger President, MJS Consultants mjschlesinger@bellsouth.net Rusty Pickett, ECC Shellback Cruises www.shellbackcruises.com Les-Lee Roland Owner of The Package Deal Sherry Laskin, ACC Travel Writer/NACTA Webinar Moderator www.cruisemaven.com Sue Shapiro, President Shapiro Travel Resources sue.shapiro@gmail.com www.shapirotravelresources.com This online magazine is dedicated to the memory of Joel Abels, Travel Trade's editor and publisher. Joel and his life's work may be gone, but with your help it can live on.

Travel Agent Professional has its roots in Home Based Trade, the first magazine of its kind, started by Joel Abels in 2004. Joel and Lenore Abels ran Travel Trade for nearly half a century – it was started by her grandfather, John S. Lewis, and her father, Sidney Lewis, in 1929, and they took the publication over after her grandfather’s passing.

Under Joel’s direction, the company grew to be one of the travel agent industry’s leading publications, reaching more than 45,000 agents throughout North America. It spawned a famous series of trade shows and three monthly magazines – Cruise Trade, Tour Trade and Home Based Trade.

The Abels also garnered enormous respect – Joel received the Neal Award, called “the Pulitzer Prize of the business press,” for his hard-hitting editorials.

On a personal note, after working with Joel for over a decade and staying with him until the end, I grew to truly care for and respect the man.

He was like a second father to me. Joel was old school, he stood by his word and believed in his work. There will never be another.

While nobody can replace this industry legend, we’re hoping that this new publication, which reunites the original Home Based Trade editorial board, will be able to carry on his passion for travel and those who sell it.

Ann M. Hoek The opinions expressed in these columns are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Travel Agent Professional.

April 2015

Issue No. 8 | February 12th 2014

W

elcome to a slightly different perspective on your old friend Britain. Since 1980, I’ve been helping travel counsellors to identify, develop and convert untapped sources of new business into imaginative, high yield, customised groups, both large and small.

I’m now applying this to tailor made tours for individuals and families who are flying or cruising in and out of the UK.

Over the period, I’ve gained a great deal of experience, knowledge and many grass root connections who add the bubble, fizz and pleasant surprises to each tailor made tour. Take a leisurely look at the ‘magnificent seven’ listed below and arm yourself with a pen and a piece of paper so that you can note down the contacts you’ll have for most of the niche markets mentioned.

Prioritise them and then email me your thoughts on how you might like to proceed.

Paull Tickner Paull Tickner and Associates Ltd

Girls Getaways London only, London and Batthh, London and tthhe Cotswolds are three options for you to consider. For Quilters, there are programmes for tthhe tthhree major Quilt Shows in England and ttw wo more in Scotland. If Embroidery and Needlework is your niche, my Liverpool (yes Liverpool) and London tour ticks all the boxes. For lady golfers, I can also supply an interesting Cotswold-based Golf, Gardens and Antiques tour that finishes with an international match against a UK team.

Pre and Post Cruise Extensions Let’s talk about London based customised pre and post crruuise extensions that meet your clients time frame, interests and budget. For customers tthhat have been there many times before, find out where they’d really like to go before or after their crruuise and tthhen put my knowledge through its paces.

Family Travel Speed boat rides up tthhe River Thames, side trips to see tthhe making of Harry Potter, living history experiences at our historic castles and palaces, entertaining actor led tours of tthhe Theatre Royal and a performance of Mathilda, family cycle rides through the Royal Parks, a Doctor Who Experience and a ffllight on the London Eye. With tthheir accommodation included, I can customise these and other exciting interactive encounters into a memorable family trip to London.

Up an English Garden Path For Orchid, Herb, Rose and otthher specialist societies, Master Gardeners, Friends of Botanic Gardens/Arboreta and even Flower Arrangers, I can provide a FebrruuarySeptember collection of memorable, value added tours. With demand always outstripping tthhe hotel supply, now is tthhe time to be considering a 2015 Chelsea Flower Show tour (19tthh-23rd May).

Travel Agent Professional

4 L e s - L e e R o l a n d

TELEMARKETING — Oh No, Not Again Well, there are coming out of the woodwork. No, not the problem clients. It’s the telemarketers season.

By Les-Lee Roland Owner of The Package Deal

Literally, not one day goes by without my phone ringing with a pre-recorded message from Google. Offers to put me on the front page of the listing. Promises that with this new placement, my business will increase. The call closes with, press one for more information, press two to be removed from the calling list.

How many of you agents press two, and wind up with more phone calls coming in. At first, I pressed one, got hold of a human being, and I said my number is registered as a “no soliciting number”. I continued that I have written down the phone number used to call me, and if I get one more call, I was going to report it to Tallahassee where it is registered. The next day, I get the same call from another phone number, and it goes on and on.

Also, when I am out of the office, my calls automatically are transferred to my cell phone, so this is eating up my minutes.

To add to this annoyance, I now get calls from yodle.com. Since this was a person calling, I listened briefly, and interrupted the caller with questions. I must mention that this is one of the few calls I get from a person who does not have an accent. She even had a local area code to mine.

Soon she got flustered and said that no one ever

interrupts, and she has to read from her copy first before she can answer any questions.

Her spiel was that yodel can increase my marketing, increase my placement on search engines, and Forbes Magazine has given them great reviews.

She continued by asking me how many clients did I want to hear from in a month. I threw out a number — 3000. Without missing a beat, she said, “no problem”, and yodel would promise an increase of 25% to 85% each month to that figure every month..

She didn’t even catch what I was saying. If I have 3000 individual clients calling each month, spending a minimum of 5 minutes on each call, well you do the math. Is it possible? Having to qualify a client, get background info, suggest places to visit or cruises, do the comparisons, arrange the transfers, insurance, sightseeing, answer their questions.

Give me a break-and be realistic.

April 2015

5 I did, for research sake only, agree to watch their 2 minute video and what yodle does. The video didn’t explain anything, and their website was certainly lackluster. It does have tributes from a pest control owner, a lawyer, a doctor, and a couple of other categories. But nothing at all related to the travel industry. Although, the rep said they have lots of travel agencies, even the chains. But when I asked for the name of even one agency, or their website, I was told that they protect the privacy of their clients, and she cannot divulge that info. BIG FLASHING RED LIGHT! Another sales bit was that yodle will help to protect my reputation. My agency will get a high mark online and my reputation will get high ratings. BIGGER FLASHING RED LIGHT. All I would have to do is sign up for them to build my website, send in $260 a month (sale price) and we would be rocking.

A new website, huh? I asked if there were links to dozens of suppliers, cruise lines, tour operators, etc. Would there be a link for passport and visa info. What about promos that are constantly changing, sales, my group space, and on and on.

What about a booking engine.

No problem, she said. All I have to do is furnish the links, and they would set them up. I told her that since they said they were the experts in websites, and they are asking me to do the work in providing all the links, how much time would be involved. It could be done the same day!!!!

How about monitoring the constant changes? No problem, they would do it often.

I told her at least three times, I didn’t have confidence

Travel Agent Professional

in her promises. Also, even more important, why would I go outside MY industry to yodle to handle my crucial online marketing. I told her that there were very reputable companies who only handle travel agencies and suppliers and understand the needs and constant attention that we agents require. And, very important, the cost is a fraction of yodle’s cost.

She still didn’t accept that — no I will not use yodle.com’s explanation. She told me that she never experienced a response like mine, since everyone always signs up. She brought her supervisor on to the call, and the only reason I stayed on, was to get fodder for this column. The supervisor tried to repeat her script. I finally cut him off, and said, do not call me unless you have a sample site for a travel agency for me to see. Or give me the name of one agency so I can call for a reference. His response was they have to protect the privacy of their clients.

Yesterday, a new person called four times, leaving a message for me to call him for a special presentation. They really want my business, yeah, he really wants his commission.

So if any of you agents get an unsolicited call from yodle.com, you can listen to their info. But think first of the value of using companies who specialize only with the travel industr y. Without any endorsement, I will just mention Passport Online.

Compare their rates and their expertise.

And if any of you have contracted with yodle.com, please contact me at packagedeals@comcast.net. I want to hear about your success or remorse. Just between you and me!

Now if it would be as easy to select a new cell phone program.

6 M i t c h e l l

GROUPS...

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S c h l e s i n g e r

With cruise ships in the mainstream product sector being built consistently in the 3,000-5,400 passenger range, the ability to generate group business is more critical than ever for these cruise lines. This provides you with the opportunity to have cruise line DSMs/BDMs fighting over your business and become a business resource for your preferred suppliers. How? It’s all about group conversion, so read on.

By Mitchell J. Schlesinger President, MJS Consultants mjschlesinger@bellsouth.net

In the mainstream cruise market, group business has traditionally had an overall conversion rate (actual group passengers as a percentage of group beds blocked per sailing) of around 10-15%. So let’s imagine a cruise ship with 2,000 cabins and the revenue management department would like 600 cabins from groups on a particular sailing. This means, the company, through its group department and sales force, needs to block 4,000 cabins at group rates to materialize the 600 cabins for that ONE sailing using a 15% conversion. That is just for one sailing of one ship. Similar requirements for a full year would call for 208,000 group cabins blocked for that one ship.

You get the picture. The larger lines are processing MILLIONS of group cabin block requests because the overall conversion is so relatively low. And that is because the majority of groups blocked are speculative and NOT of an affinity group nature. On the other hand, affinity groups generally convert anywhere from 40-90%, which is why cruise lines will be very accommodating to agents who develop a consistent track record of high converting affinity groups. It completely changes how they manage a particular sailing or series of sailings because they are better equipped to project how much group business is coming because of the stronger conversion ratio.

April 2015

7 It’s all About Conversion In the modern age of marketing and social media, it is far easier to broaden the ability to attract affinity business. Traditional “social” affinity groups include a wide variety of organizations from Rotarians, Knights of Columbus, to religious (churches & temples) and social groups like the PTA, soccer teams, little league and more. These are excellent examples of local community groups that can be attracted locally and then expanded by connecting to branches in other cities.

Another affinity group type, which I call, “Interactive Activity” groups, have no geographic boundaries at all. The internet has enabled people across the country to communicate with each other about special interests, hobbies and activities in which they participate. Twenty years ago there was basically no “Scrap Booking” industry. It is now a multi-billion dollar industry and if you go to Google and search for Scrap booking Clubs, you will see 7 Million hits!

And the same goes for quilting, photography, cooking, wine tasting, various types of dancing etc. By communicating across the internet, you can achieve sizable groups, which convert at high percentages, which is going to make you VERY popular with your preferred suppliers.

In making your affinity business grow, it is crucial, that you know 2 things about all of your clients and even prospects who contact your agency; what organizations they belong to and in what special interests/activities/hobbies they partake.

These 2 pieces of information are the key to sourcing the start of an affinity group, especially for the interactive activity groups. A client who quilts may have a sister who quilts in another city, they both have friends and family who quilt, and as the commercial use to say, and so on and so on etc. It doesn’t matter where they live, they can be attracted to come together to share their passion for this activity.

Lastly, and this is crucial to making sure any affinity group you put together is successful and puts the seal on how much you can make your preferred suppliers appreciate you. It concerns notifying and pre-planning the group activities with the preferred supplier in advance to insure that your groups are well taken care of onboard.

Cruise lines have a grid for every sailing that outlines all the activities they have planned across all the public rooms during the course of the cruise, many of which are revenue generating.

These are very important to the cruise line for obvious reasons, so your need of one of these public rooms, meeting room etc., for your group requires them to re-organize their schedule.

Remember something else, you are not the only agent booking a group on that sailing and the sooner the cruise line knows about your group, it enables them to make sure that there are not multiple groups competing for the same public rooms, all of which interferes with their scheduled events and those that you are planning. (continued on page 8)

Travel Agent Professional

8 So here are some DOs and DON’Ts for affinity group handling with your preferred suppliers:

1.

5.

2.

6. DON’T schedule your activities smack in the

DO make every effort to book your affinity groups 12-15 months in advance of the sailing.

Why? You will probably get a less restrictive initial deposit policy for the first several months.

advise the cruise line as specifically as possible what the group needs will be during the cruise, immediately upon booking the group. This facilitates several important factors:

• • •

If it is a large group requiring use of public space on multiple occasions, the cruise line can reorganize its schedule of activities accordingly.

If the needs are complicated (electrical outlets, extension cords, lots of tables etc.) it gives you and them plenty of time to pre-plan.

If the group department is organized, it should prevent them from booking a large group with similar space needs on the same sailing. In essence, it is a race for space and if you notify the line first, they should work with you to insure your group gets what it needs.

3.

send the cruise line an activity grid for the week as soon as you finalize one, so that if necessary, it can be shared with the hotel department and the group services manager on the ship.

4.

focus your affinity group business with your preferred suppliers as often as possible in order to further strengthen your relationship.

DON’T wait to advise the line about your affinity group. Advising the line at final payment that you have 300 quilters coming is a recipe for disaster.

middle of port days. That appears to give you more room on the ship, but to the line, it is preventing guests from purchasing shore excursions and generate revenue.

7.

DON’T schedule onboard events in places which should generate revenue, but with your group, won’t. A group activity held in a lounge where there will be no beverage consumption is seen as counterproductive to the cruise line.

If you develop a consistent track record as an “affinity group producer”, one that produces multiple groups per year that convert at very high percentages and you pre-plan well, you are going to become VERY popular with your preferred suppliers and receive special attention from them, the more consistently you provide this business. There is a direct relationship between the number of affinity groups you produce, the conversion levels, how well you pre-plan with your preferred suppliers and the ultimate success of each group. In the end this will make your affinity group business more successful and more profitable to you.

And your understanding the perspective of how your cruise partners view this process will importantly strengthen your relationship with them.

April 2015

10 The City of York – P a u l l

A Journey Through Time

T i c k n e r

Regular readers will know that I have a longstanding commitment to helping travel agents to develop customised UK tours for small groups with a particular interest. It affects the way I see places and after a recent visit I’ve come up with a number of new ways of looking at the great heritage city of York www.visityork.org

By Paull Tickner

Girls Getaways Topped and tailed with London, small groups of 8-10 will be delighted about the 4 night programme that York can deliver for them. Based at the 5 star Grand Hotel www.thegrandyork.co.uk the ‘Sheer Indulgence’ programme includes at least one visit to their luxurious spa, a close encounter with one of their signature English Afternoon Teas, and some sophisticated retail therapy in and around the Shambles, one of the best preserved medieval shopping streets in Europe. The side trip to Castle Howard www.castlehoward.co.uk (Brideshead Revisited) also includes a shop 'n' ship visit to the York Designer Outlet www.mcarthurglen.com/uk/york-designer-outlet.

Quilting Tours Although we don’t have International Expos as big as those in Houston or Paducah, thanks to the growing number of non-stop transatlantic flights into the heart of England city of Birmingham you can now fly directly to the annual (6th – 9th August) Festival of Quilts at the National Exhibition Centre.

You can then take the 2.5 hour train journey to York where highlights will be a VIP visit to the HQ for the Quilters Guild of Great Britain www.quiltmuseum.org.uk and a special Broderer’s Tour of the

Paull Tickner has been designing and operating niche travel programmes for the UK and Ireland for over 30 years.

For more information E-mail Paull at ptickner@customgb.co.uk

April 2015

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ecclesiastical vestments at York Minster www.yorkminster.org This combination works well as another 2 nighter linking London and Edinburgh for the annual Scottish Quilt Championships ((25th – 27th September).

Shaking the Dust off the History Books Few cities can bring history to life in quite the way that York does. The Living History Experience begins at the Jorvik Viking Centre www.jorvikviking-centre.co.ukbefore a closer look at medieval York at the timberframed Merchant Adventurer’s Hall www.theyorkcompany.co.uk The nearby Fairfax House www.fairfaxhouse.co.uk gives a vivid impression of York in Georgian Times and the Chocolate Story www.yorkschocolatestory.com develops a theme for which the city is justly famous (samplings are included!). The tour concludes with a special tour of York Minster which is timed to include Choral Evensong at 5.15pm.

Railroad Enthusiasts Perhaps not a niche market that immediately springs to mind but to appreciate its potential take a look at www.railmuseums.com/namerica and www.attrrm.org and you’ll begin to appreciate its importance. If there’s one near you or you have clients who are enthusiasts, you can tell them about the very special tour that can be arranged for them at the National Railway Museum (NRM) www.nrm.org.uk in York, the side trip you can set up to the NRM outstation at Shildon and a steam hauled ride on the North Yorkshire Railway.

Travel Agent Professional

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York: City of Festivals The city truly lives up to this title in no uncertain manner with a Viking Festival (January), a Chocolate Festival (April), an International Shakespeare Festival (It’s the Bard’s 400th anniversary in 2016), Early Music Festivals (July and December) and their Christmas Festival (December). Refine the timing of your visit to coincide with an event or celebration that matches your client’s interests and to see the full listing take a look at www.yorkfestivals.com which includes early details of the 2016 staging of the historic York Mystery Plays.

York for Cruise Extensions Don’t forget that thanks to the fast and frequent train services between London and York and with so much to see and do, the city works extremely well as a 2-3 night pre or post cruise extension.

York pre Christmas To off season air fares and lower winter hotel rates in London, add 2 days at the St Nicholas Fayre, one of the UK’s most popular Christmas markets made even more memorable when you add in a visit to privately owned Castle Howard and the Georgian Fairfax House both stunningly dressed for Christmas.

York and the Year of the English Garden 2016 My eye has been taken by York as a base for customised garden tours. In addition to the wonderful gardens at Castle Howard there are a number of other award winning, privately owned properties nearby.

2016 is also the tercentenary of our most famous Master Gardener, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and there are three fine examples of his visionary work on York’s doorstep.

April 2015

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Travel Agent Professional

14 Are You Waiting for Luck?

C i n d y B e r t r a m

In today’s world we hear the “lucky” stories. A person who’s gone through some challenges, then buys that lottery ticket and wins. Perhaps a business colleague or friend who always seems to “land on their feet” — a better fitting job, and having success after success.

Does it involve being in the right place at the right time? Or is there really a formula when it comes to being a “lucky person”?

By Cindy Bertram Cindy's Inside Cruise & Travel Track, LLC

Not Necessarily Lucky, but Successful Thom, a business colleague and friend who has led successful businesses including a thriving consulting practice, is launching a new company with partners. He doesn’t consider himself lucky. Thom has remained open to new opportunities, from when he was a teen. He began at the age of 7 with his old-school grandfather working in a produce market. By 14, he was selling for an apple farm, then flipping burgers at a fast food place, and working a paper route while selling newspaper subscriptions on his route.

His sights on the business market began by age 15 when taking a job getting magazine leads from Chicago office workers in the Loop. He liked that business environment and decided it suited him. Thom eventually was training, selling, doing collections, and teaching his boss on figure accounting. By the age of 16, Thom had 4 employees, a company car and office in the downtown Majestic Building. After a jaunt to improve his French in France as a senior in high school, he was off to college. Thom had 5 employees doing sales work during college before doing sales contracting in Canada, Minnesota and Kansas City. And by 21, he formed his equipment automation company.

Thom claims he’s made more mistakes than most people do in two lifetimes. “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not learning or trying anything difficult.” He thinks you should just make new mistakes or you’re being stupid.

Throughout his career, Thom has sought out opportunities, avoids regimentation and believes in “thinking out of the box.” He says, “What Box?” When speaking at professional events, Thom notes that as a child, people were always taught three rules/lies:

April 2015

15 “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.”

“Leave well enough alone.”

“We’ve always done it that way.”

Thom explains that those 3 rules kill innovation and enforce stagnation. An avowed consistent accumulator of knowledge and self-investment, Thom completed the Executive MBA program at Loyola University Chicago after turning 60. He has traveled to eight countries over the last 3 years and a total of about 16. He thinks there are things you learn from other cultures that you can’t conceive without seeing them.

Thom also has an ongoing entrepreneurial spirit that needs new successes. His newest venture?

He’s the Founder of EATS Groceries, a “Social Enterprise putting a Chain of Supermarkets in ‘Food Desert’ Communities.” Thom thinks providing a community benefit that could reduce the projected half trillion per year in healthcare increase by 2030 is a good cause. He doesn’t think that creating “the first generation expected to die younger than their parents” is acceptable. EATS Groceries is launching in the 3rd quarter of 2015.

Thom doesn’t really believe in being lucky, but believes if you are always aware of opportunities, and select the ones that match your skills and experience, some of them will be successful enough to dwarf the failures. As he notes, “That’s working the numbers, not playing them.”

“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” has spoken and written on the subject of being lucky.

And Emmy award winning writer and renowned speaker and trainer, Will is also Founder of The American Dream Project where he helps leaders with strategic innovation, leadership, brand strategy, and social responsibility.

Will also writes an ongoing blog, “Wednesdays with Will.” In a past blog titled, “How Lucky People Get Lucky,” Will mentioned the subject of being lucky came up while he was having a coaching session with an executive. In their discussion, some key things surfaced. Will notes that your personal view of your own luck is a good predictor of how successful a person can be.

Will notes there are quite a few factors that can create more positive opportunities. He also mentions that there are things people can control to not only make them feel lucky, but also be more fortunate.

First, he makes a point that “luck is the result of an opportunity-seeking orientation.” People who are “opportunity seekers” talk to more people and have more open-minded communications. As a result, this can “open new doors.”

A second point Will makes is that “lucky people tend to be intensely curious.” They’re open minded, always love new information, and read about diverse subjects.

Will Marre’s Pulse on Luck Will Marre, co-founder and former president of the Covey Leadership Center as well as creator of

Will then notes that lucky people “…are creatively persistent.” But being “creatively persistent” dif(continued on page 16)

Travel Agent Professional

16 fers from being stubborn. He further explains, “People who are creatively persistent are always looking for new ways to achieve their goals or better their lives. These people hold tightly to their vision but loosely to their plan.” Hard work by itself, however, doesn’t produce good luck or having good fortune.

Also, Will mentions that we do make our own luck and being fortunate comes about when people are creatively persistent, are open-minded, and see opportunities.

Insights — Ken Muskat, Executive Vice President of Sales, PR and Guest Services Ken Muskat, Executive Vice President of Sales, PR and Guest Services at MSC Cruises USA, mentions, “I do consider myself a lucky person but that is related to what I’ve been able to accomplish in my career, where I’ve been able to travel, once in a lifetime experiences I’ve been able to have and people I’ve been fortunate to work with and learn from.”

But Ken also notes that there are some key things he has also done to achieve success. He further explains that these were not related to just being lucky, but working hard and keeping to certain guiding principles. Ken expands, “Building strong relationships with superiors inside and outside of

my key responsibility area, demonstrating my strong work ethic and always asking for more responsibilities provided me with opportunities to advance quickly and lead high profile projects and organizations. Building this trust factor and becoming someone who the company can count on as dependable was key in being given new opportunities and accomplishing a great deal.”

When it comes to ideas and suggestions travel agent professionals can do to create their own successes in growing their businesses, Ken provides a few insights.

Ken notes, “Similar to the guiding principles I have always lived by, build strong relationships and a trust factor. Travel Agents can do this by ensuring they have a strong understanding of CRM (customer relationship management) and tools in place to know everything you can about your clients.”

He mentions, “Customize your marketing messages to the appropriate segments with messages that resonate with that client and therefore make the client think, ‘Wow, this travel agent really knows me well.’ That will build the trust needed so the client believes you have their best interests in mind – and the client will therefore serve as your biggest advocate driving new business to you.”

Don’t Wait for Luck I was once told by a career coach that I needed to be “pleasantly persistent.” But I’d have to agree with my business colleague Thom, when he notes that people need to always be aware of opportunities, and then select the ones that match skills, experience, and expertise. And like Ken Muskat, I build the ongoing, genuine trust. Finally, I’ve adapted the mindset of being an “opportunity seeker.” No – I’m not going to stand around and wait for luck!

April 2015

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