PLANNING FOR GROWTH IN 2013
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS – JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013
2 Editorial 3 Welcome to TAM Profit Improvement 5 How Profit Improvement Happens 6 Your Personal (Management) Vision Statement 7 Strategic Pattern Recognition (SPR) 9 Travel Insurance & Travel Safety Advice 12 Commission Assassins Human Resources 13 Planning This Year’s Job Requirements 15 Management Skill Sets Going Into 2013 & Beyond 17 Sample of Agency Skills Training Needs & Outcome Analysis 19 Service Standards Summary 20 Dress Codes: Office, Fam, Niche and More 21 Hiring a Social Media Travel Advisor 23 Looking to Hire a Director of Travel Social Media 25 If You Want to Attract Top Talent, Market Your Successes 26 Capturing Fulltime Agents as ICs Before They Leave Tools 27 The Probability and Impact Grid 28 How Well Is Your Agency Positioned In The Local Marketplace? CUSTOMER RELATIONS 29 Simple Segmentation
Train the Trainer 29 Training Your Team to Perfection
Websites 31 SMP Training Co. Travel Agency Manager is owned, operated and published by Steve Crowhurst, SMP Training Co. All Rights Reserved. Protected by International and Canadian Copyright Law. Travel Agency Manager can be shared, forwarded, cut and pasted but not sold, resold or in anyway monetized. Using any images or content from Travel Agency Manager must be sourced as follows: “© SMP Training Co. www.smptraining.com” SMP Training Co. 568 Country Club Drive, Qualicum Beach, BC, Canada V9K 1G1 Note: Steve Crowhurst and SMP Training Co. is not responsible for outcomes based on how you interpret or use the ideas in Travel Agency Manager or on the SMP Training Co. website. Guest articles are the opinions of the guest writer and not Steve Crowhurst or SMP Training Co. Page 1
EDITORIAL
Well it’s been a long time coming! Finally, the Travel Agency Manager (TAM) magazine arrives. As you know, to stay ahead of the game no matter what you do, creativity, new ideas and a healthy dose of reinventing go a long way. Generally I am up front, on stage or behind the webinar mic’ and focused on new business generating ideas that you can use to boost your sales. I still do that, but I noticed a missing link in the educational chain and that was Management Training Soft Skill programs for travel agency management. Steve Crowhurst CTC, CTM My passion has always been working with, coaching, and Speaker, Trainer, Publisher & New Business Generator training senior travel trade personnel who already know their stuff and from that collective level of knowledge we go up from there and we go as high as the audience wants to go. A dreamscape for a trainer like me. You teach and you learn too. What could be better? The launch of TAM supports the revamping of SMP Training Co. which as a training company has returned to it’s original roots in training mid to senior travel trade management. As you may, or may not know, SMP has been contracted in the past to train globally by various trade associations, most of the major chain agencies and well known suppliers. The audience always management and the topics always dedicated to increasing management ROI. This journey has taken me from Vancouver to Toronto to Bosnia to Cairo to Beijing to Madrid… across the USA, on board cruise ships and Caribbean resorts. Along the line I had mentors that taught me well and I pass on their knowledge whenever I can. I am also a supreme fan of the original Thomas Cook and his son, who was the whizz‐kid of the era, also Burton Holmes who so few in the trade know of. Then there are the long lost explorers of each century who, when you read of their exploits make you feel like you are standing still! This combination of talent and knowledge, experience and courage are still with us in various forms and formats that you, we, me can access for our own personal and corporate growth. In the not too distant future I’ll be arranging a series of specialty webinars, webisodes and cross country workshops for managers only. Imagine that room of thirty people each with an average of twenty years experience, a total of 600 years of knowledge, travels and been there done that hands‐on experience! Yowza! I can’t wait. Various SMP workshops are in the process of being turned into Self Study Manuals and my presentations are being converted to Training Kits you can purchase for internal use. A new eBook will be released in February that delivers No‐Fluff Social Media Marketing tips and tools, and also Dream Merchants – the history of travel agents from ‘then’ til now. TAM will be your link to all of the above, plus you can access the SMP website for more information, too. Page 2
Dear Travel Agency Manager: Welcome to the inaugural issue of Travel Agency Manager (TAM) – I look forward to your comments and suggestions to better the publication from here on. Managing is a skill that is made up of other skills, dozens of other skills in fact, and at least seventy core competencies. Managing a travel agency requires additional skill sets and levels of knowledge not found in other industries and that applies vice versa. Each industry has its own unique challenges and the travel trade has developed its own cures to most of these ailments when they occur. The concept of this magazine is to deliver what I like to call “no‐fluff management how‐to”. In other words we will not get caught up in the stuff that’s academic and doesn’t work at the business end. The focus will be on profit improvement ideas that work, presented in such a way that allows you the reader to implement the ideas and concepts immediately. The layout is more text based with limited images as TAM is meant to be a ‘good read’, a quality magazine that offers solid agency management information. Whether you manage a small agency or a large chain agency location there will be something here for you. You’ll be able to chunk it down or puff it up to suit your specific workplace situation and the rules and regulations you must live by if you work for a head office. If you are the owner / manager of the agency then you have the final word on how things are done. So once again, the information will be presented in a get‐it‐done format, leaving you to make the subtle changes you need to make. Travel Agency Manager is published on the Issuu.com site with tools that allow you to share the document, comment, subscribe, respond, download and print. You are free to use any of the articles in‐house as topics for discussion and training points. Here’s to a successful 2013 for you and your agency team. Best regards Steve Crowhurst, CTC, CTM steve@smptraining.com
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Participate and help build the TAM Community q
As you know the best form of business growth comes from being referred. If you like what you read in TAM and feel inclined to share the information, your referral would be greatly appreciated.
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TAM will be published bi‐monthly so as not to deliver more information than you need. This timing also allows you to comment, send in questions, suggest topics and even write a guest article to share with your trade colleagues and fellow managers.
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The TAM preferred social network is LinkedIn.
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Management level training information can be found on the SMP Training website where you will also find webinar, conference keynotes and customization ideas.
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For marketing ideas, please source the content of TAM’s sister magazine, Selling Travel.
As the saying goes:
“If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else!” Ask about SMP’s Stepping into Leadership programs.
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PROFIT IMPROVEMENT
HOW PROFIT IMPROVEMENT HAPPENS The concept of profit improvement becomes a reality when all systems are working, all cylinders are firing, and everyone on the team “get’s it” in terms of what needs to be done each day to generate and retain that profit. Within this sentence lie a hundred or more actions and thousands of thoughts that will encourage or discourage profit improvement. Truly you’ll need every possible aspect of your agency to be well oiled and running at peak efficiency – from senior management to the front end and everyone in between. Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your product or service, and that bring friends with them. W. Edwards Deming If you are a selling manager or a combi‐manager then overseeing every aspect of your agency is a tough thing to do. When senior management drops in on you and challenges you about why some cylinders are not firing – use my old favourite: stand back and say “I’d like to learn from you, so if you could show me how it’s done starting Look for areas in your agency’s operations that are tomorrow at 9am…” It not operating at 100% efficiency. Locate them, work could also be job killer – so out what’s causing the problem and then work as a be careful how you use the team to set the balance back in your favour. show‐you‐know response. There is another article in this issue of TAM and it discusses Commission Assassins. Every business has them and they can be external and internal. Be sure you read it and apply the information to the topic of profit generation and retention. At this point in the profit picture you’ll need to go to the 30,000 foot viewpoint and look down – you need that all‐seeing view to decide what connections aren’t working. Where people are stumbling along and where routine situations have become lost or forgotten. Somewhere within the agency the system has broken down. If this happens then the profit cannot flow as intended. Improve and correct the operational systems and processes and you will increase your profit potential. “Be ready when opportunity comes… Luck is the time when preparation and opportunity meet.” - Roy D. Chapin, Jr. Page 5
PROFIT IMPROVEMENT
YOUR PERSONAL (MANAGEMENT) VISION STATEMENT When you accept the role of manager you accept the role of solving the profit problem. It’s just the way it is. That’s what managers are hired to do. It may not be that clear in the job description as it will focus on, well… ‘managing’ – but make no mistake your overall goal is profit and how that profit manifests itself through your managerial talents. It’s your managerial talents that are governed by your personal management vision statement that drives the bus. Question is: Do you have a personal company. It’s all there in your history as it is mine. I have seen the best and experienced management statement? No need to worry the worst. Bullies to be exact. Managers if you don’t. Few travel agency managers that waffle their way through a career and do. It’s never been part of the training and managers who manage with no enthusiasm. few travel agency managers have ever attended a travel agency management Once you select and believe in your PVS you course, workshop or seminar. The will start to live the role you create for managers working for large travel chain yourself. This is not a phoney effort I’m organizations might have taken in‐house talking about. This is the real you. You with courses and attended all purpose a vision of where you intend to be, where management workshops – but generally none that are purely focused on agency you intend to take your team, the company management and presented by travel trade and the rituals that will get you there. experts in their respective fields. Those that have are extremely fortunate. Let’s return Rituals can be: saying good morning to your to your PVS… your Personal (management) team, holding consistent and inspiring staff Vision Statement. meetings, celebrating company and staff achievements, buying the best coffee To understand how this works and why you maker for the agency and on it goes. What are your management rituals that maintain need a PVS is to understand what you do day in, day out to increase and improve the your edge, inspire your team to believe in you and your management expertise and to profit of the agency you manage. How you manage is all important and the manager in do their best, on your behalf, to cause an you must be allowed out. So you need a improvement in the agency’s profit picture? keen sense of who you are as a manager One ritual you should include is subscribing and you need to set a target for yourself – the manager you are and the manager you to and reading this magazine as and when it want to and will be. You need to complete pops into your e‐mail. In addition you this PVS: “ I will be….” Or if already there, “I should source out other management magazines from various industries and am…” apply what makes sense to managing your With your PVS stated and written down, agency. I am always looking over the fence and around the world for ideas on all the you now look at the daily rituals that make this a reality for you. What do you do on a topics I train. You can and should do the same. This flow of information might cause daily basis to keep yourself on track with a change in your PVS and that’s allowed. If your PVS? If you have worked for managers you have any questions about creating your in the past, you will recall the best and the worst. The managers that inspired you and PVS, call me: 250‐752‐0106. the managers that caused you to leave the Page 6
PROFIT IMPROVEMENT
STRATEGIC PATTERN RECOGNITION (SPR) For a few years I delivered the three‐day intensive program called the Certified Travel Manager Retreat for CITC. When I developed the content for this program I checked what was being taught to travel agents at a management and senior management level and the answer was ZIP! Anything that was out there was so old and dated and based on scenarios that didn’t exist anymore. The most satisfying thing for me was to see the attendees absolutely wiped at the end of a very long day, carrying a wow(!) smile on their faces as they realized they had tapped into knowledge that had not come their way in twenty years. One of those Aha moments was the discussion about Strategic Pattern Recognition. A favourite of mine. On the other hand, times do and will The world of travel is absolutely made up of patterns both repeated and new each time. change. Climate is having an effect where Once the concept is grasped and you learn some seasons are no longer the same old months they always were. Terror is up. also how to graph statistics, you can make a More wars breaking out. New niche greater impression on the profit picture of markets coming on stream and new your business. destinations too. The art of SPR is learning how to interpret Booking Period the image that lay in front of you in a It is important to know your booking period. graphical format. Once you can read the That is, when your customers think about peaks and valleys and project forward you are on a roll. No one will stop you as you travelling, make contact, get information, are able to forecast with the best of them. return to book, return to make their final payment and then travel and then return. J F M A M J J A S O N D This is a pattern. The primary piece is knowing how far out your clients start to think about their travels. Once you know this pattern, then you know when and where to spend your marketing time, effort and money. So here we have a graph of your agency Digital Patterns showing your annual monthly sales over 5 Patterns are here too. You can tap into the years. From the start (orange) you can see metrics of your website to find out who that sales built up and then the pattern visits your website, when, what time of the week, time of day and which search engine started to form. No matter how hard you they used to find you. Same thing for your try, your sales pattern will stay based on agency’s Facebook page. These patterns your location, your customer profile and the are a must study for you. products you sell. If nothing changes there, then your pattern will stay as is, albeit move a month this way or that depending on Learn to read your business patterns, peaks climate and special deals. From here on, it’s and valleys, lows and highs and then plan to down to marketing and reaping the benefits fill the voids and increase the highs. of stability. Page 7
Bring all managers together and take this two-day program and Find out what kind of ship you’re running. Are you on course or have you lost the map, need a new crew or need time to plug the leaks? This is a fun-based learning experience that uses the language of an old sailing ship as we explore every nook and cranny of your agency. We focus on the good things and set our sights on correcting what’s not working. No one walks the plank! Did I mention we work hard from 9 – 6 both days?!
After taking this program you and your shipmates will have a better understanding of what it takes to run a smooth ship, hire the right crew, carry only the best fare paying passengers and deliver everyone at your planned for destination having also learned how to survive squalls, storms, typhoons, mutinies and more. What you write in your log books, you’ll be able to apply the next day. For more information email me here: steve@smptraining.com Your Captain for this workshop…
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PROFIT IMPROVEMENT The topic of travel insurance always had my attention. It did when I managed an agency and it did when I owned an agency and it still does today as I work with management teams to meet their travel insurance goal. After all these years it seems the trade papers still have to write about how the frontline retail agent just doesn’t understand the importance of this product. Here’s a few tips on how you can manage this deficiency in your agency.
TRAVEL INSURANCE & TRAVEL SAFETY ADVICE YOU CANNOT TELL OR SELL ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER the life rafts onboard their own cruise ships worked. I ran a Travel Safety 101 webinar and it sold out. Someone was interested! As the manager of your agency, here is the root to increasing your insurance sales and avoiding litigation, too. Become a Travel Safety & Travel Insurance Specialist. Travel has never been safe. There has always been inherent risks from a slight scratch from a rusty nail, to a cut from a sea shell, to being stung by a poisonous plant, to breathing in toxic air to slipping and falling on rocks to twisting an ankle on a 14th century cobbled street. The greatest killer of tourists as you may well know is the automobile. The car. Mostly with the tourist inside the car, driving or as a passenger and being involved in an accident. Travel safety and the sale of travel insurance go hand‐in‐hand. They are tied at the hip. They are both sensitive topics and each member of your agency team must be trained in how to open the conversation and close it confidently – especially when children are travelling. The cop out is the waiver. Of course with a Boston lawyer opposite you, your waiver evidence will crumble and you’ll be paying out $50K just for a client getting sunburned! “They never told us the sun would be that hot…” – don’t laugh, been there etc., etc. So here’s the plan you need to grow your insurance sales and it includes travel safety.
Perhaps it’s because my father sold insurance for 43 years or the fact that I saw my dear Mum exit from the airport on a stretcher heading for the emergency room and certain financial ruin had it not been for the travel insurance coverage that was included in their ticket. What’s that phrase we use so often, “been there… experienced that.” Talking about and closing insurance is an easy topic for me and now you’ll understand why. The question head office will be asking you as you work on your budget is how much travel insurance have you planned to sell this year. If there is no head office to report to you still have a sales budget to prepare and it should list insurance sales. Either way, I can guarantee both targets are below what they should be. After the sinking of the vessel Costa Concordia and the many disasters that followed that ranged from other marine tragedies to hotel fires to climatic events, the topic of travel safety, it occurred to me, was lost in translation. No one was talking about it other then CLIA and the cruise lines. I wrote the manual Travel Safety 101 and during my research I was appalled to find out that even cruise line BDMs did not know how Page 9
Hiring Requirements I’ll mention hiring requirements many times throughout issues of this e‐magazine as so many hassles that befall a travel agency manager start at the point of hiring – most of which can be cured at that same point in time. In this case you’ll need an insurance sales hiring requirement that the new hire agrees to and fully understands that acceptance of the position with your agency means they must always offer and present travel insurance and close 99% of their clients. Now the question: What are your current insurance sales hiring requirements? Let’s start with what the majority of sales surveys tell us. Travel counsellors generally leave 30% or more of the available insurance commission, on the table. They don’t chase it and they do not follow up with the client to try again. That’s 30% of your clients travelling unprotected. It is not an easy product to understand, to talk about, to answer questions about or to close. Much of this deficiency can be put right in a series of insurance sales training programs. Your preferred insurance provider can deliver these training sessions for you free of charge. The challenge here is this: few if any insurance vendor BDMs have sold their own products to a ranting customer sitting one desk width away as they loudly state they are fully covered and have gold credit cards to prove it. Of course you should take advantage of this supplier training. They have the facts and figures you need such as how many clients were in fact injured last year, size of claims and also how many clients are in litigation with travel agencies because the travel counsellor forgot to mention travel insurance or presented the wrong information and sold the wrong coverage. These stat’s are scary enough to push any counsellor towards selling more, or not.
If you focus on sales and commission, the main reason for selling travel insurance will be missed. The main reason for selling travel insurance coverage to your clients is to protect their health, their loved ones and their financial investment and in the event of a tragic event, assist in financing whatever outcomes transpire. Selling travel insurance also helps to protect the agency from litigation. Follow These Steps Step 1: Decide that ALL clients should not be travelling without travel insurance coverage / protection.
Step 2: Create selling scripts for your frontline team and have them practice with you for 30 minutes or more until they can deliver, without hesitation, the telling and the selling components like a professional.
Step 3: Create closing scripts. Telling, selling and closing are different stages in the process. Closing requires it’s own scripts, techniques and practice time.
Step 4: Review your preferred supplier’s brochures, products and pricing each week. Answer any issues, questions that are troubling your frontline.
Step 5: Decorate the agency window, website, emails, social media channels and each counsellor’s desk with a ‘we sell travel insurance’ statement plus graphics and images that show the outcome of not buying travel insurance. This is a tricky thing to do as the imagery cannot be too graphic, but it must deliver a powerful message that for instance parents must protect their children.
Step 6: Discuss the issue of travel safety with your frontline and create a Travel Safe booklet / guide that your frontline can hand to their client. This booklet can deliver the message that counsellors find difficult to articulate face‐to‐face. Page 10
The Travel Safe Guide This guide could be a one‐pager or it could be a 10‐page printed booklet. You would add your logo to the cover and by using headlines and imagery inside the booklet you can ask the hard questions and make statements such as “Your chances of surviving an air crash are 8 million to 1. The chances of being injured in a car accident are imminent!” It’s up to you to choose the level of fear‐based advice for your travel safe guide. Don’t be too aggressive however your role here is to protect your clients from themselves and potential events. Cruising Safely Assume you have sold your cruise client the correct insurance product to cover their deposit, their luggage, cancellation and all the generic items travel insurance is designed to cover. What’s missing here is survival advice that should be delivered at the same time you close the insurance sale. You should be able to advise your cruise clients how they can get off that ship as and when required. The Concordia event happened close to shore which by default saved the passengers. Imagine what might have happened if the sinking had taken place further out in the ocean away from land? With your travel safety advice you will help save your clients and with the sale of travel insurance you will help protect them post survival. Simple Safety Advice It may sound crazy, but I always used to advise my clients to wear leather shoes when flying. Yes I know. Leather shoes when heading to the islands for a beach vacation – “are you nuts!” – could be, however, in the event of fire onboard an aircraft or a crash landing and they have happened, (and they do happen) – leather soled shoes do not burn. Rubber sandals Page 11
melt and you can imagine the outcome of a sandal glued to the carpet, from there on it’s bare feet on hot steel! You get the message. Same applies to clothing. Clothing that bares skin is an accident waiting to happen. Slips, trips and falls happen at home and they happen in hotels far away from home. They happen on cruise ships and they happen on adventure trips too. Slips, trips and falls are killers. They injure some people to the point of losing the use of limbs to become wheelchair bound. Car accidents as stated kill over a one million people each year and a high percentage of those people are on vacation, either driving themselves or in someone else’s car. A relative’s car or a taxi or a tour company coach. You’ve seen the news. It happens. Enough Said… I can go on and on about the travel safety issues and why travel safety advice and travel insurance go hand in glove. Your frontline team MUST be aware of what accidents are likely to happen and forewarn the client, offer safety advice or links to websites and close on the correct insurance product, each time, every time. There are some travel agencies who will not take the client’s booking without travel insurance being purchased. That’s almost extreme, but in my book the best way to go. You may lose one or two customers, but handled the right way, allowing your concern for your client’s safe return ‘all in one piece’ – will override the downside and through good PR you will attract more clients and increase your insurance sales, too. “What we do not understand, we cannot control.” - Bonewitz
PROFIT IMPROVEMENT
COMMISSION ASSASSINS
It’s a war out there! It’s a war in here, too. No matter where you are located someone or something is attacking your commissions. The attacks can be intentional and also unintended outcomes of poor training and lack of knowledge. The fact remains your commission is being eroded by something or someone. The FBI and MI6 are busy, so you’ll have to go it alone. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that every dollar your agency generates is going to land in your bank account, untouched except to be counted. That would be nice. However there are certain elements that will try to siphon off some of that commission. You’ll need to strike up an anti‐assassin stance to track down the culprit/s.
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Accountant not advising that one or two extra sales would move a certain commission rate to the next level.
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Costly mistakes causing refunds.
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Poor information causing more time to be spent with clients after commission earned. Extra time erodes commission.
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Old technology, poor website, lack of timely follow up… all are commission assassins.
Commission Assassins The assassin comes in all shapes and sizes and at times they can transform into a person, a thought, a system or a decision. The action is sometimes premeditated to opportunistic to plain stupidity and also untrained staff. If these assassins go unnoticed then profit will flow out the back door and there could well be a loss of leisure clients, groups and corporate clients, too. Don’t let the assassin’s greed become the assassin’s creed! This isn’t a game.
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Lack of training.
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No agency sales or staff meetings.
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Failing to collect on under‐collections.
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Failing to up‐sell, add‐sell.
That should be enough for you to start your anti‐assassin campaign. Set the rules in place and manage them. Decide the Who, What, When, Where, Why and especially the How of commission loss.
The Hit List of Commission Assassins q Failing to sell preferred. q Not collecting the right commission. q Not charging service fees.
The Commission Assassin workshop is available as an onsite program or keynote.
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HUMAN RESOURCES
PLANNING THIS YEAR’S JOB REQUIREMENTS
There is a common curtain call going on, I think it’s American Idol followed by every travel agency in need of new talent. Reading the travel trade magazines hiring ads there’s a lot left unsaid, unqualified or quantified. One of the reasons for the disconnect is this: the hiring agency is thinking person versus job situation. It’s an absolute that the job profile / description be created first, followed by the required skills & competencies, then levels of efficiency. After that, the person with the matching talent can be searched for. Placing a generic add requesting ‘exceptional customer service skills’ leaves a lot to be desired and will attract 100’s of resumes and responses that are not exceptional. Not even close. The ‘exceptional’ qualification needs to be quantified. Let’s explore a few more talent based needs and how to attract them. If you are in the power seat and manage the What’s the Rush? Current IS Obsolete and more… HR function for your agency then it would Here’s the challenge. Most travel agencies be a good idea to investigate online job rush to hire their next employee, giving assessment and planning tools. The one little thought to the many possible that I am familiar with and use when I am outcomes, and they are: involved in the hiring process is DRAKE P3. q the new hire’s skill levels are obsolete This program allows you to construct a job profile based on how your top agents do q the new hire needs time consuming their job, the skills and competencies they coaching and that’s management time rely on and are required to do the job to the q the new hire’s personality does not blend with the existing team level of expertise you need now, and more so, looking ahead three years. q top talent leave as conflict with the new hire escalates q efficiency levels and customer service Once the job profile is completed the Drake levels drop as management focuses on P3 program will match a candidate’s profile the new hire to the job profile. Pretty easy, and no emotion involved as long as you have It’s the knee‐jerk reaction that causes the developed the correct job profile. Your next square peg – round hole situation. When activity is to review the top five candidates this happens few managers act quickly and suggested by the program. invoke the termination policy that is generally allowed within the provincial and The interview and skill testing comes next. state hiring laws / rules. Real‐time testing is something few agencies conduct. Testing should be a component of the interview process and based on actual In a large travel organization the human agency situations, processes, trade‐craft resources department will oversee the and knowledge ‐ not some obscure test agency hiring needs and this too has based on “three eggs in a basket, the door culminated in a challenge at the agency opens twice, how many cars are left on the level. Some new hires are problem staff road?” We must keep it real and keep it being moved from one department to travel focused. another. Given the various laws that do preside over these activities the local Any counsellor worth their salt will be able agency manager cannot refuse the new hire to sit down at any GDS and produce a that’s coming to their agency on Monday! Page 13
booking as you watch. They should be able to dazzle you with their email phrasing and word patterns too. They should then be able to demonstrate how they would follow up on a client who refused travel insurance coverage. Following this they would demonstrate their telephone skills as you role play with them from another office. This type of testing will show you who has the talent and who has faked their level of expertise. We know that sales people tend to over promote – that’s a built in response to being interviewed. That’s why you test. If the candidate ‘knows’ social media, set them a task. Having the candidate create a Facebook promotion would be one place to start. Also, with the way travel and technology move so well together, any travel counsellor going forward must know how to use social media tools such as email, Facebook and YouTube. PowerPoint is also in the digital marketing mix. Progressive agencies often ask the candidate to send in a multi media resume – not a paper version that a resume writing firm created for fifty bucks. The multi media resume could also be video based, with additional text and imagery and show the candidate’s on camera confidence. Another aspect to be tested would be the candidate’s communication skills and this is covered by asking the candidate to deliver a stand up presentation to you and perhaps two members of staff. If you do this, be well prepped on the interview panel rules for your area of the world. There is sometimes a limit to the number of people on the panel and how the event is conducted. The event must encourage the candidate to succeed not fail. Anything noted as subversive against the candidate could result in litigation.
Minimum Requirements What will be the minimum requirements that you’ll accept for this job? Do you need 5 years of active sales in a leisure agency and a proven production of $3 Million in sales or will 3 years work? A candidate who does not demonstrate the minimum requirements should not get to first base. What else would you require as minimum? Hiring Agreements How about punctuality? Is late okay with you? How many times can a person be late before being terminated? Better write it up into the agreement or contract and whatever is detailed in the hiring agreement should also be listed word for word in the Agency Operations Manual. Hiring Next Generation (Ng TA) Counsellors The Ng TA will be a person who lives online, lives mobile and works the Cloud for support and resources. They do not need an office and they can sell travel to anyone, to anywhere from wherever they’re located ‐ even when enjoying a FAM trip. The Ng TA is a different profile to manage than you are used to. The closest role to an Ng TA today would be the home‐based travel agent – formerly your OSR now equipped with fantastic technology. Boost Your Profit Through Your Next Hire Hiring the best talent will always increase your profit potential. This is not always simple but it is a fast way to profits when it’s done correctly. Then there’s the “be careful what you ask for” comment. Some top talents come with a history of ME! ME! ME! Remember: decide the job profile ‐ then hire to fit. “I believe you can get everything in life you want if you just help others to get what they want.” Zig Ziglar Page 14
HUMAN RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT SKILL SETS GOING INTO 2013 & BEYOND There are some things that never change, in our industry and in others. These things are inherent to the specific industry and fundamental to the front end business. One of the main things that every manager is challenged with, is staffing. The human resource factor is always staring managers in the face, day in and day out. The HR challenge has been with us since the first business was created. Even my old pal (not that I knew him personally) Thomas Cook had his ups and downs with his son who actually did more for the firm than did Thomas himself. New ideas and new ways of doing things were as rampant then as they are now. In the end, it’s how management interprets the next step and how the front line act on that next step that brings success ‐ or failure if everyone gets it wrong. The skills required for success in 2013 remain constant. Managing is managing. Today however and going forward there are new elements to be considered and managed. They fall into categories that relate to the development of HR via social media, next generation travel agents, managing a social media marketing team and contracting with home‐based agents also known as mobile agents, virtual agents, independent contractors and outside sales reps. A travel agency manager today must acquire or refine their meeting skills, public speaking skills, online presence and webinar skills, study social media and enhance their project management, training, coaching and assessment skills. If the social media marketing falls to you as the manager then you will need to develop your Facebook and blogging skills and more.
Dealing with senior management requires another set of skills. How do you say no to a senior manager and keep your job? Always a tough situation, but it can be done and all it requires is a complete understanding of time management, how to prioritize and how to communicate with dominant personalities. There are 70 core competencies that generally fit into corporate assessments and today they include EQi that measures one’s emotional IQ and conscientiousness is another add on. Resilience is another factor, too. When I surveyed experienced managers some years ago the top three answers to “what keeps you successful…?” were: #1: a sense of humour; #2: flexibility and #3: sales skills. A sense of humour is worth gold in our industry. Most travel agency managers have it, some don’t. It depends whether or not you manage for a salary and don’t pay the bills, versus owning the agency, managing it and paying the bills. That monthly outgoing is a very stressful situation and can erode any sense of humour down to a Monday grunt, growl and get‐on‐with‐it response. So what are your skill upgrades going to be for 2013 and beyond if you can plan that far ahead? You can start with your personal on the job requirements and then wade into the team that you manage to jot down who needs to upgrade what. You first! “You can only manage what you can measure.” Page 15
Once you know your skill upgrade needs, then you plan and plot the W5 outcomes which refer to the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of getting it all done. From another survey I conducted, the main internal challenge for agency managers was communication. I know it’s true, but isn’t it crazy that we can talk to a customer, chat with a stranger but get into conflict at the office with people we work with and perhaps have worked with for years. This lack of communication generally comes from not knowing, and not understanding the ‘working personality’ that each person switches on between nine to five, Monday through Friday. If you didn’t know, you do now, we all have two sides to us. The you on the weekend and the you at the office. They change. Some go off the chart others are small shifts, subtle, small but significant. As a manager it is very important that you know which personality you have switched on when dealing with your agency team. You may not know, but your team will. The comment that even when we are sitting quiet we are always communicating something is true. The “look”, the sharp eye, the huff and puff, the wave of the hand, the shrug, the dropping of a document, the slamming of the phone and the throwing down of the headset… you know them all, and at times you do them, too. The message being sent, delivered and picked up depends upon the howl, the scream, the grunt or the “Yahooooo!” that follows any one of those actions. Slamming something and shouting “YESSS!” as you pump the air with your lunch would generally mean you scored, you sold, you closed, you won… something good just happened. This projection is very, very important to the team you manage. You need to manage yourself well and coach your team too, in this regard. Page 16
You’ll want to make sure the office buzz is positive 99% of the time and be quick to settle any conflicts or individual dilemmas a team member might have. You can do this by setting the rules of engagement and that quite literally means when someone new joins your agency you set the rules as a hiring requirement. You set the rules in terms of being self motivated, selling insurance 100% of the time, that the agent take full responsibility for their own education, that they participate and communicate openly at and during office meetings. A very important management criteria for agency managers will be to always test new hires. Not testing means you might be hiring the best of the worst and perhaps hire someone with obsolete skills. The hiring plan for 2013 and beyond should show the position, the job and the functions offset by the skills and competency levels required to do the job, now and in the future. Once the job outline is developed, now you can look for people with those skills to fit into that role. You can also review your existing team and determine who could be trained, upgraded, have their skills enhanced to also fit that future role. Planning around the job, not the person is one key to HR success in 2013. If you always do what you’ve always done… you’ll always get what you’ve always got!”
HUMAN RESOURCES
SAMPLE OF AGENCY SKILLS‐TRAINING NEEDS & OUTCOME ANALYSIS What skills need to be increased and Where? Key: O: Owner; M: Manager; F: Front Line; S: Support; ?: Other SAMPLE SKILLS / TRAINING NEEDS
O M F S ?
Accountability Adapting to Change Administrative Skills Attitude Budgeting Business Etiquette and Professionalism Calming Upset Customers Closing Skills Common Sense Communication Skills Computer & Reservation Skills Concentration Skills Creative Decision Making Creativity & Ideas Customer Service & Satisfaction Decision Making Delegating Direct Mail E‐Mail Empowerment Facilitation Skills for Managers Finding Information Flexibility Forecasting Business Goal Setting Skills Grooming – Personal Image Humour Internet Leadership Skills Managing Change Managing Human Resources Managing Performance Managing Quality Customer Service Marketing Skills & Strategies Meeting Skills Mentoring Motivational & Inspirational Skills Negotiating Skills Networking Organizational Change ‐ Acceptance Organizational Development Participation Planning Page 17
10% improvement means:
Presentation Skills Prioritizing Problem Solving Processing Documentation Project Management Prospecting Publicity & PR Recruiting Skills Sales Management Self‐Management Social Media (general) Stress Management Supervisory Skills Teamwork Technology Telephone Skills Time Management Training Attendance Travel Consulting ‐ Overall Writing Vision, Values and Mission Writing Skills General Other – fill in below what’s missing for you:
NOW ADD UP YOUR CHECK MARKS
By taking the time to review your personal and departmental training needs you can quickly determine which area of your business requires immediate attention. Your next step is to prioritize your training needs for yourself and all other departments.
TOP FIVE TRAINING NEEDS BY DEPARTMENT 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Page 18
Service Standards Summary Sales and Customer Service Checklist Here’s your chance to analyze yourself and your agency team in accordance with the Occupational Standards for Travel Agents. This checklist is reprinted here with the kind permission of the CTHRC. You can obtain the full Occupational Standards directly from their website. (Source: Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council and CITC) Place a check mark in the applicable boxes ranging from Poor Poor to Best. Rate your overall mark opposite the green box for each Skill and then for Skill 2 rate each component. 1
OK
2
Good
3
VG
4
Best
5
SKILL 1: COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY
SKILL 2: SELL TRAVEL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Create Relationship With Client
Determine Client’s Needs
Recommend Travel Products & Services
Manage Booking For Travellers With Special Needs
Overcome Objections
Close Sale
Follow Up On Client Reservations
Maintain Long-Term Relationship With Client
SKILL 3: HANDLE CLIENT’S COMPLAINTS
1. What is your most urgent sales / service training need?
2. What is your overall (individual, team, agency, company) need?
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”
3. Who can you use internally to help with the training? - Robert Collier
4. When will you start / finish your skill upgrade sessions?
5. Other: Page 19
HUMAN RESOURCES
DRESS CODES: OFFICE, FAM, NICHE AND MORE… “Relax… it’s a FAM… chill out.. or chilli-dawg why don’tcha!” I know what you go through when it comes to policing the agency dress code. From belts that represent a short dress to chest hair from shirts unbuttoned to the navel, too much make up or not enough to yesterday’s beard and hair like an unmade bed. Tattoos and piercings that act as a wifi hot spot – it’s all happening. Oh and the body odour too. Yup been there and sprayed that! So what’s a manager to do in the current world of anything goes? Try this. Deciding The Code as a Team The main challenge to enforcing a dress Once again we need team input. You need code for your team is usually because there buy in too. You might also need to buy the isn’t one. A dress code that is. If you had first round of white shirts / blouses to kick one written down and in the operations off your new dress for success code. Be manual approved and vetted by your lawyer guided by team input, help finance the and national, federal, provincial and state “HR laws” – then you are good to go. change and you’ll see the change not only in teamwork, but also in the faces of your Every employee has rights, as does the customers and at the bottom line, too. company you operate. You are allowed to establish your dress code and hire only Well Dressed, Well Sold those who understand it, accept it and sign In my experience when employees “feel” on the dotted line that they will adhere to like a million bucks, they sell like it too. it. That’s called an employment agreement. You’ve seen the difference at trade shows – Signed sealed and delivered. So where’s the the slovenly agent shuffling through the problem? aisles and then the well dressed and manicured professional, straight back, eyes The problem comes in enforcing it when bright… looking like they belong to the one of your team decides that they have a greatest industry in the world and ready to right to turn up with a four letter word close a $300,000 cruise. Create your code printed on their forehead. And they do have for Fams, trade shows, supplier training, in that right to adorn themselves that way. the office and when wearing your branded But, not working for you. attire after 5pm. Page 20
HUMAN RESOURCES
HIRING THE SOCIAL MEDIA TRAVEL MARKETING ADVISOR Imagine the new style jobs that are coming on stream as the travel trade and related industries continue to move along the digital track. At the same time we’ve got senior management not knowing their click from their Tweet and young fresh to the workforce who are social media savvy (not adept) but cannot function face‐to‐face too well. Somewhere in between there is a well travelled, fully functioning, outgoing socially and online, travel trade and marketing savvy individual who can tell and sell and bring to the table a creative style that can develop a social media strategy, implement it, manage it and report on it, too. It used to be hire the neighbour’s teenage son or daughter to put your Facebook page together – and that’s fine for a personal page – but not for business. Your business page needs to have more marketing and monetizing components than simply social interaction. Page 21
This infographic from mindflash.com offers the generic advice to a younger person or any person really, looking for a job in social media. The challenge with a good number of people entering social media is in fact their lack of social skills in the so called ‘real world’. Working behind the scenes in technology is often reserved for the reserved person – that would be the person who is not outgoing and yakking it up with the sales team. They prefer the back room loaded with computer ‘stuff’ and delivering their skills in a quiet spot out the way from all the office noise. You may have to sit through more than a few interviews or construct a one‐pager to help you diagnose the personality you want and need to start or improve your social media marketing. It’s also quite possible that this special person is located within your company and on your team right now. Show them the graphic. Always worth checking in‐house. On the next page you’ll find job descriptions and requirements for senior social media people giving you a decent cross section of what you might be listing as your hiring requirements. http://dailyinfographic.com/how‐to‐get‐a‐job‐in‐social‐media‐in‐5‐minutes‐infographic Page 22
HUMAN RESOURCES
LOOKING TO HIRE A DIRECTOR TRAVEL SOCIAL MEDIA Ad content: We're seeking a dynamic, experienced digital marketing leader to develop strategy and execute it effectively as a Director of Travel Social Media. This individual will be responsible for blended traditional/digital and social strategy. The Director of Travel Social Media will provide leadership, strategy, content creation, community management, platform design and development, and staff mentorship. We're looking for an individual who can guide us through the ever‐evolving travel social media landscape, advising on social media‐centric initiatives and directing a social media team. (Source: the following have been collected from several job sites)
q
We're interested in speaking to candidates who: q
Have (X) years of social media marketing and strategy experience preferably in the travel or tourism environment.
q
q
Can collaborate effectively with senior managers and digital leads to create compelling social strategies for launching, growing, and promoting our travel products, services and brand in social channels that meet our business objectives and maximize our social ROI.
q
Can develop an always‐on content studio that creates rich and compelling graphics for our partner’s travel products, services, promotions and brands. Are talented writers (travel blogging) and up‐front presenters, with outstanding communication skills, including the ability to own and create programs from concept through to presentation and execution.
q
Are skilled at developing relationships with our preferred travel trade partners.
q
Possess superb execution and management skills, and can allocate resources effectively, structure teams and deliver excellent programs in a timely manner (including, but not limited to, travel content creation, community management, social media monitoring and influencer outreach).
q
Can create a team culture that's innovative and enables team members careers to thrive.
Primary responsibilities: q Provide insight on emerging trends and social media developments as they affect travel trade public relations and marketing. q Develop strategies to harness advocates online, whether those are travel industry influencers, consumers or partners. q Design and implement complex social media engagement campaigns, predominantly for our products, services, consumer brands and companies, host agencies, franchisees... q Create and execute accurate budget estimates for long‐term and short‐term programs. q Provide insight on how to utilize real‐time travel social media marketing to create valuable and sharable content as part of an always‐on strategy. q Become an expert on our brands and goals and develop creative solutions that boost the brands reputation. q Take broad campaign concepts and strategy and translate them into meaningful, actionable operating plans. q Identify ways to measure success against the campaign goals and achievable outcomes; determine methods to collect
q
Are passionate about the social media landscape, and can demonstrate thought leadership in the travel & tourism space.
q
Have proven experience overseeing travel social media teams, acting as a mentor to staffers, and collaborating with colleagues and partners across geographies.
Have experience in engagement metrics, use various reporting tools, and who can use travel data to drive strategies for content creation and concepts. Page 23
q q q q q
and present data to colleagues, brand partners and executive management. Oversee content production from concept to execution. Oversee community management to maximize travel customer engagement. Oversee web platform development from concept to execution. Guide, mentor, and motivate staff. Play a key role in new business development and presentations to the travel trade / customer base; anticipate / identify emerging client needs.
We are seeking a Team Lead, Social Media Content:
team, to ensure that projects are delivered in a seamless and integrated fashion. q Coordinate with the travel social media team as necessary to ensure that copy developed is consistent with the online visibility strategy of our promotions. q Develop and test alternate approaches to managing the copy queue and development process. q Work closely with the travel social media manager, product and brand managers to understand our customer’s needs and ensure that the team delivers on the same via current and proposed products.
Job Requirements ‐ Qualifications: q
Job Duties: q Lead the team of staff and outsourced travel writers responsible for delivering social media and SEO (e.g., blogs, press releases, pay‐per‐click) copy for customer campaigns and websites. q Manage a small in house team and vendor resources to produce a high volume of social media blogs and other deliverables to satisfy social media travel campaigns. q Ensure that the quality and timeliness of the team's work meets the standards required to enable the team to achieve its goals and monitor these things through reporting and metrics. q Manage the daily operations of the team, including solving internal issues and addressing customer / project escalations. q Develop standard operating procedures to guide the team's delivery, and evolve these as necessary to react to changing products, traveller’s needs, and internal goals. q Coordinate with other groups within the travel social media team, including the project management team and design
q q q q q
q
q
q q q
q q
Bachelors Degree, English / Journalism / Writing / Digital Marketing/Communications degree (X) year's relevant experience (X) years of online marketing experience; (X) years team lead experience Familiarity with travel social media: Use LinkedIn, Facebook, and/or Twitter and other social media channels and have an interest in learning more Vendor management skills: (X) years experience working with travel suppliers & partners, including providing feedback and keeping on‐schedule Working knowledge of SEO: (X) years using or equivalent training / courses in natural / organic SEO Ability to successfully manage multiple projects in a deadline‐driven environment Strong execution, leadership and implementation skills Demonstrated ability to build and staff a new organization; setting direction, defining goals and driving results Strong presentation / communication skills Other… (your turn!)
Whether you manage a small or large travel agency the time is coming when you will need the services of a Travel Social Media Marketing person on your team. That person might be you, could be one of your counsellors who shows an interest in the position or you might outsource as required. Whatever route you take, the above will give you some idea as to what your social media person should know. “Keeping a little ahead of conditions is one of the secrets of business…” - Charles M. Schwab Page 24
HUMAN RESOURCES
IF YOU WANT TO ATTRACT TOP TALENT, MARKET YOUR SUCCESSES We often talk about buzz and noise, who is making it and why we listen to it or watch it. What happens when a company announces something wonderful or fantastic, an achievement beyond expectations or a commitment to a good cause? What happens is this: people take notice. It’s the world we live in and when people take notice, they tend to become a consumer of that company’s products or services and they continue to support the brand by telling their friends, following, liking and referring socially. There is something else that happens, too. Some of those people who took notice decide ‘this is the company for me’ and start to think about and plan how to get hired by that firm. Now we turn to your agency and your need for top talent. Even if you have top talent, you still need to bank additional talent for expected and unexpected departures. Perhaps it’s time for your agency to start promoting it’s successes and attract those travel agents who produce. Your Social Personality as you know, it’s possible for someone to Checking social personalities is something check you out online, study your business many companies are doing today via social ethics, track down what others say about media channels. Someone’s personal you and if they are ever being interviewed Facebook page could be their ticket to a by you, this top talent would be well armed great career. The reverse of this is at work with a list of questions. But let’s not rush to to. Those who want to be hired are that point in time just yet. First you need to exploring firms like yours and making take another look at your website. judgements based on your social The Agency Personality Makeover personality, your website and anything else you are doing that’s visible to the consumer While you check your website, take a look or prospective employee. If you do not at your window, too and then your measure up in the eyes of that talented marketing output, then your social media employee to be, you’ve lost them. activity. Same question – is there anything going on that would attract that much Does Your Website Attract needed young talent and experienced travel Your Next Employee? professional, tour guide, departmental Take a look at your website. What does it manager, systems analyst or home based agent? What needs to change? say about your agency? Anything leaping off the pages that shout, “we’re a fantastic The Call to Action company to work for, we handle 3,000 You’ve been in sales and marketing all your passengers a year, we’re the largest…” – travel trade career. You know how to tell anything at all that would cause the young and talented to make a call? Anything and sell and you know the value of a call‐to‐ happening that would invite a call from a action. Time to audition for top talent. You highly valued senior manager? do not have to hire now, perhaps all you need now is to know who is out there when In the past it was your advertising and the need arises. Attract them through your newsletters and your flyers and your agency own success. window that might have inspired someone to decide they want to work for you. Today Page 25
HUMAN RESOURCES
CAPTURING FULLTIME AGENTS AS ICs BEFORE THEY LEAVE The world of opportunity in the travel industry changed a few years ago. As you have witnessed the role of an Independent Contractor (IC) has risen to the surface more than ever. The titles change between IC, mobile agents, virtual agents, home based and Ng for next generation. With the growth in ICs comes the growth in host agencies. You don’t really need to expend all that effort to be become a major player in the host agency business, but if you want to hold onto your top talent you might do well to consider adding an IC program to your agency’s career opportunities and retain your top talent before they leave to become an IC elsewhere. If and when you structure an IC program for your agency you’ll need to follow the basic rules of working with an individual who now dances to their own tune, not yours. As a long time employee moves into this new and very exciting opportunity for them, and for you, they are more or less on their own as a business person, other than using your agency as a support system. Announce Your Idea Soon To test the waters in your agency, sit down and chat with your team. Ask them what they think about becoming their own boss and working for themselves under your brand. In this way, your team will help you build the program versus keeping quiet and then making an unexpected exit. Not Everyone Wants To Be An IC To become an IC you need that entrepreneurial talent and a burning desire to tap into your own business talents. Perhaps one out of fifty would have the desire to try. If they try under your banner and fail, they could always fall back into their old job / role as a salaried employee. For those who make a go of it, you might have a rain maker on your hands and not only would they do well, you would too. Working With the Self Employed Here’s one of the most difficult aspects of the IC / Manager relationship. Page 26
Your former employee is now your equal and by the laws that go with being independent you cannot order them to be on time or attend a meeting. If you do that they become an employee. They must purchase their own business cards, establish a company, pay their taxes and do all the things you do as a business selling travel. Not as easy as it sounds. The tough part for you as the manager is the managing of this new IC. In fact they have to manage themselves and you offer support and guidance when requested. Rent‐a‐Desk The rent‐a‐desk arrangement is still valid too. There are still some agencies who rent a desk to an independent travel agent or tour guide. Fees range from a few dollars to two‐thousand a month based on what the agency supplies and the commission split. Invariably an agency owner on the next block has had enough of “owning” and wants to return to their first love – selling travel. They are prime candidates to rent a desk and bring their book of business to your agency. All they need is a desk and select support systems. Watch The Host Agency Landscape As always there are entrepreneurs entering the host agency business. To know more about what each host offers you can click here: http://hostagencyreviews.com/.
TOOLS
THE PROBABILITY AND IMPACT GRID This particular tool allows you to quickly ascertain whether or not your next best idea will fly. You can use it in a staff meeting and manager’s meeting and when there are ideas bouncing off the walls and every idea seems to be a winner. It’s easy to use with PROBABILITY based on Time, Money and Human Resources and IMPACT SCALE based on ROI: will this deliver bookings? Let’s give it a try. The outcome you are looking for is a 10/10 with two arrows meeting in the bright green box. Scenario / Idea: We need to boost sales. Options are we use email, direct mail and or start a social media campaign. Remember, your decisions are based on: do we have the time, do we have the money, do we have the people. Email: Direct Mail: Social Media:
In this case as we pondered all three marketing ideas is seemed that e‐mail was free so no cost, everyone on the team knows how to use it – learning time was not an issue, and the impact was reasonable if the offer was a good deal. So we came in at 10‐9. Direct mail scored lower re the cost of creating and mailing 500 pieces, manpower to do this, and time was short. It could be done but we came in at 7 for probability and in terms of impact the ROI is usually 1 – 2% which would mean 1 to 10 inquiries. We scored 8/7. The social campaign: no cost here really, but we didn’t have anyone who really knew how to do it, and the ROI as so may reports indicate is very low unless the offer is free. Scored 5/3. “It is always your next move.” -Napoleon Hill Page 27
TOOLS
HOW WELL IS YOUR AGENCY POSITIONED IN THE LOCAL MARKETPLACE? To position your agency in the best possible light (image) you must be 100% aware of the latest promotional materials, latest venture, latest products, promotions, destinations, giveaways, specials and deals that your agency, the competition and your preferred suppliers are offering. If you work for a chain organization you cannot position your agency against the company theme, you must support it. If you are independent but part of a consortium the same comment applies. If you are truly independent then you can push the message that conveys the positioning you desire. Based on what you know, How Well Is Your Agency Positioned In The Local Marketplace? There is no scale here – write a brief notation. The single word “good” won’t do justice here. Try to explain the level and acceptance of your positioning. POSITIONING LEISURE GROUP NICHE CORPORATE Your Price Image Your Knowledge Image Your Customer Service Image
Your Follow Through Image Your Reservations Image Your Quality Assurance Image Your Website ‐ Online Image
Your Social Media Image
Your Management Image Your Overall Image
“Give them quality – that’s the best kind of advertising in the world!” http://hershey1234.weebly.com/quotes-said-by-milton-hershey.html Page 28
CUSTOMER RELATIONS
SIMPLE SEGMENTATION Any idea who you are selling to? Chances are if you are using a CRM program that you’ll have more than a few sifting and sorting criteria to tell you who. Over the years I think I’ve whittled it down to three labels. The vacationer, the tourist and the adventurous. The Vacationer: is the typical you and me, The Over and Aboves Looking deeper into your information you working hard and in need of a break from the routine. Typical break from the routine will find that you could label fifty different is a beach vacation, somewhere to lay flat profile segments – the challenge is, you do out in the sun and sip some cool ones. not sell each one x 100 bookings. Someone may request a trip to base camp Everest. The Tourist: is the person who takes a tour Excellent but you cannot count this person (quick eh?) and or cruise. They tour by or booking as your typical sale – so we’re coach or cruise along a prepared itinerary, back to the three profiles listed. You can guided to the typical and usual tourist sites. rename them to suit your preferred wording. No worries there. The main point The Adventurous: is the customer who for simplifying segmentation is to ease up wants something new and exciting, willing on the planning and preparing of your to give it a try. Could be a hike, a bike, new marketing plan. destination… closer to a soft adventure program. Over and above these three listings you may have another segment building, could Over and above these three main segments it be The Romantics – those couples you’ll have a smattering of the rest, but booking their wedding and honeymoon these are the main three segments you sell with you. Might be The Luxuries. You never to. The next thing to look at are the know what will grow. destinations you sell to. Your list depends upon where your agency is located – but I am often told by an agent they are “big” lets say they are West, South West, East into this or that and so I have to ask, how many people have you sold, or bookings and South East USA. Caribbean, Mexico, UK, Europe and that’s it. These would be your made. “Oh, close to ten I guess…” might be a typical response. Well ten of anything main destinations. doesn’t constitute big, or a niche, or a specialty – it just says you sold ten. Over and above this list, you’ll have many other countries listed but they will not be Your Management Mission: check your mass market. Could be a niche market, but stats and determine the top three profiles to count any destination as a “niche” you should be selling hundreds of clients there. and focus on promoting what these clients purchase. Simplified and Ready to Promote To get your stats correct you’ll need to total “The key to your universe is up who goes where and who does what. that you can choose.” Once you simplify your segmentation you’ll have a much easier job of target marketing. - Carl Frederick Page 29
TRAIN THE TRAINER
TRAINING YOUR TEAM TO PERFECTION Perfection is a tough road to haul as you may well know. Travel agents tend to waffle when it comes to training and then you come across a travel agent who can do it all and do it well ‐ so well that they shine bright above their colleagues. Those not‐so‐shiny colleagues could strive to measure up or keep doing what they’ve always done – like asking you each day every day, “how do you do that again?” As the manager you are by default, also the trainer, the coach, the referee and more. As the trainer then, it falls to you to deliver on the perfection scale.
Will you dance their dance or will you have your team moving to the beat you establish? That’s correct – your tune wins. Next: what is it that needs perfecting? Is it the meet and greet, the wording in the emails, the closing technique… in my experience there’s a lot of good happening, some very good too, but not a lot of perfection. One reason for this is lack of practice and it’s really that simple. You Must Be Comfortable as the Trainer Here’s a challenge for some managers and that is having confidence in what they know and then imparting that knowledge. You have to know the level you want to train to and that can come from a heartfelt meeting with your agency team – try this intro:
This type of question will uncover a few of the misgivings your team also share but haven’t voiced. You’ll have your ideas and they will have theirs. You itemize the combined list and then rate them in terms of importance and then you set about making corrections. Correction for Perfection. The Answer is Practice Yes it’s this simple. Once you decide on the level of perfection you want and the ‘how‐ to’ has been created, then all that needs doing is practice. Some call this role playing, others call it simulation exercises. Remove all the fluffy terms and it’s down to practice and repeating the action until everyone has it perfect. Sports people do it, movie stars do it, anyone worth their fame… practices. Teach your team to love role plays and you’ll be on your way to perfection.
“Word is everyone, that we are not performing as well as we could. I want to change that. Where do you feel we could do better?”
“Winning isn’t everything. But wanting to win is.” Vince Lombardi Page 30
WEBSITES HERE’S WHERE YOU CLICK TO ACCESS THE SMP TRAINING WEBSITE…
For all purpose new business generating tips & tools click here to Selling Travel. Onsite bookings for management workshops are now underway so be sure to discuss your local, national and fall conference training needs soon. T: 250‐752‐0106 Page 31
Publishing later this year. Dream Merchants tells the story about what you do. It’s a reference, a business guide, a playbook, a book based on success and succeeding as a travel agent and explores what it takes to ‘make it’. Dream Merchants also reviews the success traits that have been inherent in travel agents for 170 years since the industry as we know it, started in the mid 1800s. Would you like to participate and tell your side of the story?
As you may know I prefer the real thing to fluff. That means street smarts and savvy been there, done it know‐how ‐ versus academic, never been there, never done it. So, if you would like to submit your street smart input as to what makes a travel agent successful please click to the link below and complete one of the two submission forms. One is for Travel Agents and one is for Suppliers – (a supplier in this case means: any person working for a company that services the travel trade / travel agent – tour company, hotel chain, printer, college, association, etc.) By submitting one of the two forms, you will be giving me permission to use your input all or in part and reference your quotes sourced back to you. The information you provide will not be shared with anyone other then the reader of promotional flyers for the book and when the book is published. Thank you in advance to those who do participate. Your input will be greatly appreciated both by me and those that read the book. Here’s where you click:
http://www.sellingtravel.net/dream‐merchants.html Selling Travel is owned and operated by SMP Training Co. Page 32
From Middle Management to Executive Management, make SMP Training your choice for in‐house trade related workshops. In addition to training retail leisure, corporate and group SMP also trains managers in other trade sectors:
Heads down, working hard!
Building team trust.
Take it outside and onsite if you wish. Your choice of venue is where we train.
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new hospitality KEY-note
“Who am I sleeping with tonight?”
I’m going to walk out on stage in an overcoat, hat, gloves and with my luggage in tow. Then I’ll explain that I was up at 5 a.m. to catch a taxi for the one hour drive to the airport, where I had to arrive two hours earlier than my departure time and between arriving and departing I was moved, shoved, repositioned, poked, frisked, had clothing removed, shoes checked, bag sniffed and eventually had enough time to swallow a bagel and down a coffee before running to the new departure gate, to wait another hour as the aircraft cleaning crew are late and finally we’re in the air in a different plane and the
change of equipment has reconfigured my seat to a center seat between a smelly guy and a laptop tapping female executive. The flight attendant doesn’t speak, just nods and lifts an eyebrow as he holds up an empty coffee cup. We land. My luggage is last off. The only cab left is a van with the centre row of seats removed. My luggage skids around in the empty space. Finally I get to the front desk of my hotel and I am tired and dreaming of my room. So tired I can barely hear the front desk clerk say, “Good evening sir… let me tell you about our special promotions…”
This keynote is filled with anecdotes about my hotel experiences. I’ll tell you more when I see you and then I’ll put you through your paces to find out if I’ll be sleeping with you again… OR SOMEONE ELSE.
Contact me directly for more information: steve@smptraining.com Page 34
Training in MANAGEMENT SOFT SKILLS for the travel trade now available from
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