SELLING TRAVEL AUGUST 2014

THE HOW-TO MAGAZINE FOR TRAVEL TRADE PROFESSIONALS

Main Features: Burton Holmes

If ya wanna make money ya gotta go prospectin’!

Graphic Novels & Comic Life 3 Do you know what your greatest business challenge is?

AUGUST 2014

THE HOW-TO MAGAZINE FOR TRAVEL TRADE PROFESSIONALS 4

EDITORIAL

6

YOUR GREATEST BUSINESS CHALLENGE - PROSPECTING

11

HAS DIRECT MAIL GONE THE WAY OF THE DODO BIRD? By Jill Wykes

12

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON SELLING

14

GETTING’ GRAPHIC

19

COMIC: BOOKING TRAVEL IN A WORLD GONE SLIGHTLY MAD!

25

EMOJI MARKETING

26

THEY OPTED IN…

28

FEMAIL

29

YOU MAY KNOW THIS BUT…

30

SOMEONE’S GONNA GET BUSTED!

31

JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME WITH SPECIAL SAUCE By Judith Isaacson

34

APP OR MAP?

36

JUDGING PERSONALITIES

40

THE MIKE T’ METHOD OF MULTI-TASKING

41

THE TRAVELLER’S QUOTE

42

BURTON HOLMES

43

WHAT WOULD YOU GIVE TO GO?

44

THE TRAVEL INSTITUTE

45

DREAM MERCHANTS

49

CLASSIFIEDS

The DESIRE to travel starts early and continues throughout one’s life – are you marketing to Generation Z?

Share your money making ideas in SELLING TRAVEL. CONTACT Steve Crowhurst steve@sellingtravel.net 250-738-0064 www.sellingtravel.net Publisher: SMP Training Co. www.smptraining.com Contributors Steve Crowhurst

Attention Suppliers: Advertising in SELLING TRAVEL reaches the serious businessminded travel agent. Promote your products and services using Selling Travel’s unique promotional formula – you write the articles on how to sell your own products offering step-by-step selling tips, tools and techniques that you know have worked for your agency accounts. Full page rates range from $300 to $425 based on number of insertions. Remember, if you can’t sell it to them, they can’t sell it for you!

If it’s not yet 5pm where you live, you still have time to make one more call, close one more sale or e-mail one more promotion!

SELLING TRAVEL is owned and published

by Steve Crowhurst, SMP Training Co. All Rights Reserved.

Protected by International Copyright Law. IC TRAVEL AGENT can be shared, forwarded, cut and pasted but not sold, resold or in any way monetized. Using any images or content from IC TRAVEL AGENT must be sourced as follows: “Copyright SMP Training Co. www.smptraining.com” SMP Training Co. 568 Country Club Drive, Qualicum Beach, BC, Canada, V9K-1G1 Note: Steve Crowhurst is not responsible for outcomes based on how you interpret or use the ideas in SELLING TRAVEL. T: 250-738-0064.

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10/29/13 2:18 PM

The How-To Magazine for Travel Trade Professionals

Steve Crowhurst, CTC, Publisher

YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGE IS… Are you ready for the big reveal? Well you tell me, and quite often, that your greatest challenge is to find new clients and new business from your existing clients and those two activities are bundled into the art of prospecting. The word and activity of prospecting has been applied to searching for gold and also searching for leads. In either case the action is the same and so are the skills that make some prospectors and some travel agents very rich.

To understand prospecting it really means to “get your eye in” – in other words a professional prospector can tell by the land, the soil, the rocks etc., that here, and right there too, has huge potential. That same eye-in activity is also applied when prospecting for new clients and new business opportunities. And don’t chuckle at the wanted poster on the cover. That is a prospecting technique that’s be used for decades. “Wanted… new customers…” Soooo easy.

To stand out from the prospecting crowd, I’m urging to Go Graphic in this issue. Using a graphic novel approach for your ads and your eBrochures you will attract attention from all generations and specifically Gen X, Y & Z. Also learn to deliver Travelogues like Burton Holmes.

Be sure to check out my new e-Store where I am turning every workshop, webinar, article and keynote speech into easy to read and implement eGuides that you purchase and download in an instant. Look for the Store Member opt-in links and receive a 20% discount once you join.

Here’s to your continued success in SELLING TRAVEL. Best regards.

Steve Crowhurst, CTC steve@sellingtravel.net www.sellingtravel.net

Click on the icons below to opt-in.

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Each day, every day… ya just gotta get out there and crack some rocks!

If there’s one call for help that’s consistent it’s the one I consult on the most. Prospecting. How do you find new clients to book with you? How do you get your existing clients to travel more and how do you nudge your existing clients to refer their friends? Within those few sentences there’s a lot of How-To to discuss. Do ya have a year? Can you turn up for a 3-day intensive training session? Chances are that won’t happen. However, I make the suggestion. If you can find someone to train you hands-on in your neck of the woods, then go for it. Pay the fee. Learn how and then apply the knowledge. In the meantime – this might help.

Here’s the thing. If your mind is not set in prospecting mode, nothing will happen. You have to have your “mind in” and your “eyes in” in order to see the opportunities as they come and quickly go past you. They do not linger.

Those precious opportunities are fleeting and that’s why the terms “mind in” and “eyes in” refer to the ability to recognise what it is you are looking for when you see it!

You’ll know from experience that you have walked past the very shop you were looking for.

Can’t find your mobile phone but it is right there in front of you. You were not tuned in to the shape, the size, the signage… you just didn’t “see” it in your mind’s eye.

It’s the same thing when you start prospecting or plan to. You must know what you are looking for and recognise it when you see it.

So what are you looking for? You should be able to answer that quickly and be able to state a client profile – that’s in fact what you are looking for, prospecting for – the type of client who will buy the product you are promoting – at this time.

You might be searching for people to join your tour, or join your mailing list, or… whatever it is, you’ll have a profile in your mind.

The Two Forms of Prospecting You can never do enough prospecting. It can add new clients, expand existing lists, generate more referrals and it is done by newcomers to the travel trade and veterans alike.

Prospecting is certainly on the table for when you are building your business. It is also on the table for when you want to fill a certain tour you have arranged and even more so for when you want to boost sales from your existing clients.

Prospecting New and Prospecting Existing are the two forms of this business building activity.

Prospecting for NEW Clients The questions and comments I receive about prospecting for new clients seems to focus on the fact that so much work is done to attract

them but they never seem to book – or if they do make contact, they take your information and book online or go somewhere else.

(These eGuides are available from The Travel Agent’s Store. The New Client eGuide is there now, Existing Clients is in production.)

If you set your mind to attracting the right type of client that would be a start. So it’s your question to answer – what does your ‘perfect client’ look like? Who are they? Where are they?

I can tell you now that most travel agents chase the wrong client profile and many more try to throw the net as wide as possible which will naturally catch the wrong catch!

The concept of prospecting for new clients is just like prospecting for gold. If you were chasing that gold, would you grab your pick, walk out into the wilds and start whacking at rocks? No. You would more than likely research what the rocks look like that are known to be near gold. You might check into the historic claims. You would learn about the rivers and which ones have yielded gold. Nothing different to prospecting for a travel prospect – who would be gold dust in your jeans.

Identifying your Prospect The prospects profile must match what it is you are selling. If you are selling cruises, why are you looking at a list of golfers? Are cruises represented by high-end clients or those cheap all-you-can-eat-2-for-oners?

So what is it you are selling? What’s the niche, what’s the price range? Who can afford it? What are your suppliers telling you is the profile?

1. Unless you are arranging a customized tour for your agency, you are arranging your product through a supplier. That supplier has the history and the facts on who buys their products. This is the first profile you are seeking. Most suppliers have spent thousands of dollars to better understand the consumers who travel with their brand.

Ask your BDM for this information.

2. Now you know who the consumer is, you start to look for them in your area. A little forensic detective work and you’ll figure out where this type of client lives – more by type of area versus street location and house number. If the consumer is wealthy then you’d be targeting the upscale residential areas to start.

3. Other than where they might reside, you consider what wealthy people do. Where they go, what they read, the services they like. Now you can start to analyze how to get between them and their news.

Getting between the selected client profile and their news means your marketing must intercept them or catch up with them where they shop, read and do business. Although everything is thought to be online, believe it or not, community newspapers are always leafed through. People like to know what’s going on around them. Your local newspaper is one place to start and an ad that speaks to the client you wish to attract. The words must be right and of course the pricing will instantly advise who this tour is intended for.

Prospecting Existing Clients This term refers to soliciting your existing client list to do more travel, to travel again, to look at the flyer and travel again this year. It’s the same activity but you are preaching to the converted as they say. This client list is already travelling with you – and now it’s your job to make sure they know what’s available in a general sense and also what you are planning for them in the custom tour department.

Never be shy of asking your regular clients to travel again, and again. Let your promotions do the talking for you but do make sure there is a call to action to inspire response.

Video as you know is the new medium. Well, it’s been with us for years, but with all things quickly accessible online, video promotions are the way to go. They are entertaining, they sell and you can even be featured at the end of the video.

Prospecting for Referrals Always a challenge – asking clients for a referral, which has always part of the sales process. For some reason it seems, so I am told, a tough thing to ask. Not sure why unless the client had a lousy experience and their trust level has declined. All things being equal then, your clients are usually very willing to help you build your business.

Use all the non-invasive tools if you cannot quite ask your clients face-to-face or voice-to-voice.

Add a referral slogan to your emails and to your website...

We would love to help your friends and family experience their trip of a lifetime. If you can tell them about us we’d appreciate it with thanks.

Come up with your own referral request. Get the agency team on camera. Why not an image of the agency team, all smiles and the referral request caption underneath. Or… how about the entire team filming a referral request and have that clip inserted at the end of your promotional video?

The Referral Video Then again, why not create a dedicated referral video? This standalone creation would be featured on your website, linked to in all emails and used in a promotional campaign too. Your video can now be embedded in a Word document, a PowerPoint slide and as you know it can be embedded in any of your website pages and also specifically your agency’s YouTube channel.

The concept here is to create a video that might just be forwarded and sent viral. The ultimate outcome you desire – gone viral.

If you are new to this idea, work with someone who can orchestrate the production. It should be somewhat funny as humour sells more than doom and gloom and straight faces.

You’ll want some action, a decent backdrop and this can all be filmed on your smartphone or tablet. Keep it simple. Keep it easy.

If you happen to offer a referral points program, make sure everyone on your list knows about it.

Points, loyalty and referrals are all connected – however everyone needs to know and understand how your program works. Another idea for scripting into your video promotion.

The Consumer Show You can create a consumer show that promotes your agency and its services. You can focus on a tour if you wish. The promoting of a travel event will usually draw 10 to 50 people. Of course if there is a free trip… hundreds might turn up. But you are not looking for free loaders. You want to attract the serious traveller.

Your consumer show will accomplish many things – put you in front of live people, engage them in chit-chat, involve them in discussions about where to next, and each person attending is a conduit to a referral.

Ready… Action!

Break out the camera. Book the hotel room.

Script your team and then make it happen. Have fun, keep it light. PROSPECT AWAY! 

We can book your friends too!

Has Direct Mail

Gone The Way Of The Dodo Bird?

Actually, no…

Many marketers have moved away from direct mail because of cost, in favour of email and social media. This is certainly true in the travel industry and, even though the new Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation is now in effect, most companies will still find a way to continue to email their clients. (More about this in my next column)

By Jill Wykes But direct mail can and should still play a part in your marketing strategy. For one thing, some of your customers don’t use email, and if they do, a lot of it ends up in their trash or they feel overwhelmed by too many emails and press delete. Pressing delete is always an option with email but it’s not an option with direct mail.

Clever marketers have discovered that the letterbox is less crowded these days and your message has a better chance of being noticed and held onto.

Remember, if you are out of sight, you are out of mind!

Yes that’s right….direct mail is making a comeback as an effective tool for travel marketing and a channel that will catch your customer’s attention.

There are certain tricks when using direct mail to ensure your message is not discarded….handwritten postcards and envelopes receive more attention. Attractive travel images are always appealing.

Personalization of some sort always helps.

There are programs which can make this easy for you and you should ask your host agency if they offer direct mail as one of their marketing options. Some agencies have abandoned direct mail but this could be a mistake.

Look for a host agency that features direct, direct mail promotions and programs to reach your clients. Find out if they will mail the pieces on your behalf and if so, how many and how often?

Sending your clients timely, attractive direct mail pieces keeps you top of mind and recommends different types of travel experiences on a direct basis.

Brought to you by: The Travel Agent Next Door

Sometimes you just have to wonder what in the world is going on in the world.

It’s gotten to a point don’t you think that the world should stop, have its destiny re-written and then reboot. If you have just joined the travel industry make sure you retain your excitement as the current global trend for anything but peace can be worked with and worked around. We’ve seen it all before.

Yes, you have to wonder why we as in mankind are unkind. Perhaps we should rename ourselves to the Unkind. Turning on the morning and evening news is a pain to do and quite literally the news you receive is the headcount and images of war torn villages.

Worst of all is the suffering that innocent people are enduring.

I always stress you should watch the news on more than one channel, so that by 8am in the morning you have a handle on world affairs and based on that knowledge you’ll know how to advise your clients when they

email or call you to handle or cancel their trip overseas.

The travel warnings are mounting up and some of the most wonderful cities, sites, locations, museums, gardens etc., are being obliterated with many now off-limits.

You are selling in a time when you must understand the rules of engagement and be well versed in where the troubles are so that you can sell around them. The incredible thing is, if you were not aware, that once the wars are over, tourists want to go see where

it all happened. Such is the curious nature of the people who inhabit the earth. Us. Air Safety In recent weeks prior to publishing this issue we all witnessed the week of air disasters and loss of lives. Naturally these tragedies cause everyone who is about to take to the sky on their dream trip to stop and think.

They do not want their dream trip to start or end as a nightmare. You’ll need to be on top of your game and be armed with data that clearly shows your clients route and itineraries are safe.

As the mass media continue their expose about the safety of air travel and drag up all the air disaster records since Wright took off it should be you who is advising your clients about flying safe. Here’s my mantra about being first to advise your clients.

Whoever owns the news, WINS! In your area, location, community - you be the one who challenges anything that the media is presenting as fact that is clearly wrong. Some things you will know and can refute others you won’t. Where you can, take a stand and correct the commentary.

You can do this by contacting your local radio & TV stations and also your local press. Tell them you want to correct what’s being said about travelling and specifically air travel.

If you don’t mind sharing the spotlight, call up other travel agencies in your area and make it a trade response. Everyone wins.

After the interview you can go back to being friendly competitors.

Travel Insurance and Travel Safety Everyone knows the benefits of travel insurance coverage and protection however, if you can imagine, a huge number of tourists are travelling without it. In times of air disasters and war torn destinations you must sell insurance to every client.

At the same time you must ensure each client understands their role in being diligent about their personal safety.

For those who argue it’s not about being killed, it’s about surviving and perhaps not being able-bodied anymore. Insurance coverage can help and they will not have to sell their home.

Keep Calm and Carry On Selling So where can you sell to? There’s plenty of places around the world that are peaceful and still on the tourist track. For your clients who were planning trips close to where the travel advisories cover – you’ll need to find them alternatives.

Cruising is now worldwide, so if your clients are skittish about the Med’ then bring them back to North America. Flying is flying and chances of being shot down are minimal. It’s the destination that could be the challenge.

Once again, find a destination offering the equivalent of their first choice. Then of course you can only visit Sarajevo for instance if you want Sarajevo. Can’t get that by going to London. Point taken. So it may be a wait and see situation and your clients can travel to their chosen destination once peace returns.

In the meantime – sell the peaceful places and keep the faith, too!

If you want to reach the current generation, try going graphic, as in graphic novel and brochures. It’s different, it’s timely and even Baby Boomers like a graphic layout. But how and where do you find the program? Aha! If I told you it took me a very long time to find such a program would you believe me? Of course you would and it did. So I pass on the information here… and the program of choice is called COMIC LIFE 3. Let’s explore.

The concept of graphic novels is found in all walks of life and even in the realm of textbooks at the university level. There is something about the visual layout and story line that helps people to learn. When you think about it, adding imagery and a story line to the text – well it engages more senses doesn’t it. The same concept can be applied to your brochures both digital and hard copy if you are using direct mail marketing.

You may plan your cartoon / graphic novel Travel Toons concept around a young traveller or an older wizened sage who travels the world. You can blend in all the latest technology too, from smart phones to whatever is coming next – apps of course can be featured in your Travel Toons. Graphics like the ones you can create in Comic Life can also be built using other sources of cartoon characters.

I use The Logo Creator which offers various cartoon characters that you can play with.

There are faces, noses, lips etc., this gives you the chance to create your own character. Marvel comics also has a build your own superhero site and Presenter Media has more than enough images that you can combine to create your graphic novel. Another program similar to the Marvel superhero creator is HeroMachine and one more is Hero Factory – here’s their layout where you create your own character.

It’s too much fun, so be prepared to lose a lot of selling time!!

Who IS your character? What’s their name?

Before you start creating anything graphic think about the format, layout and style and of course, if you are planning on having a lead character, who is it, what’s his or her name? What does she do? Might be worth reading about creating cartoon strips, comic characters and storylines so that you better understand how the flow of it works. You could also read a few Marvel comics to review the action and use of words like KAPOW! BIFF! WHACK! And these too:

I’ve created characters using the Marvel comic site right where it says Kids! Once there you can create a comic strip or a magazine. Here’s what’s waiting for you.

Click to this link – and you have a choice… http://marvelkids.com/games/play/75/create_your_own_comic

…you can create a comic strip or a comic book. Here’s my comic strip… you can use this type of “quick hit” strip to make a comment or use it as a call to action using action figures that shout BUY NOW!

Here’s my six page comic book. It’s following this article. The idea is to show you some layouts and use of the tools, however…

…you can only create so much in the Marvel program. When you want to add your travel statements or add some of the large text wording the best thing to do is to download your creation from the Marvel website, (it arrives in PDF format and is quite sharp) then once you save the file you can start adding additional copy over the top of the pages where you want to add more words with OOMPH! to your images.

For my comic book I captured the full page image using SnagIt and then pasted the image into Word and then used WordArt to add the big red lettering, speech bubbles etc.

As I mentioned above this is too much fun and you will get carried away. Your marketing time and your selling time will be eroded by your graphic time! Best to sketch out your cartoon, comic book, comic strip ideas and apply them to your current product offerings.

Your characters could be finding the best deal, or negotiating group fares and of course they would be offering travel insurance to PROTECT your clients and helping them travel safely.

As with all things like this you can reach a point of overkill. Too much is too much. Use the idea sparingly and when you do use it, make it work for you. Once you identify your character, give them a name, you can put them to work. What will they do? Will they be the best DEALFINDER, become your client’s NEGOTIATOR, or book your clients dream trip as the number one BUCKETLISTERATOR! Phew some pretty heavy action going on there.

To me the Marvel site is the best for action figures and there’s both male and female forms and they are in multiple poses versus the other websites mentioned where you can only create a static, standing hero. Mind you, there are plenty of “accessories” with which to customize your character.

The Comic Life 3 program gives you every conceivable comic book layout and you can import additional graphics using drag and drop. You can create a character using any of the programs mentioned, save them as a PNG to your Superhero folder and then import them as you build your one or multi page comic, graphic novel, travel brochure.

The other program I use is Photoshop Elements 12 and it has a Graphic Novel filter that offers you four selections – select your photo and then choose the Graphic Novel filter, click and stand back. It works! If you wish to manipulate your image using other tools go for it, otherwise the image is fine. Now you can import it into Comic Life 3 and within CL3 you can add all the wording and text boxes and speech bubbles you need.

START HERE ACTION CHARACTER NAME

WHAT DO THEY DO?

Good luck! Have fun. Keep the focus on selling travel!

HOW TO USE?

Emoji Marketing You have used Emoji many times and many of those times perhaps not even realized you were.

Say what? Well you know, ending a text message, email or a line of text with :) to indicate something, you are happy, sad, winking… adding a little emotion to your words. Adding an emoticon or emoji. Well the art of emoji has moved ahead and is now a language found mostly transiting from one person to another or to many via mobile phones. To me you can take the emoji concept and think of them as hieroglyphics. In other words they can be read and translated as long as you speak the language. Here’s how to use emoji to promote travel.

At http://www.iemoji.com/ you will find this heading that gives you hundreds of emoji listed under the headings you see below. By selecting the ones you feel tell the story you can create a

new style promotional message that your client recipient must work out for themselves. Keeping it interesting but not too “deep” will win the day.

The following is a little fuzzy as I’ve enlarged them and they were low resolution to start with.

What’s the message then?

Okay you got it. Flying to the UK for Christmas.

You can mix text and emoji together if you wish, there are no rules here because we’re not talking strictly emoji for smartphone and mobile communication. The idea here to use an existing communication medium and turn it into something that might attract attention from all clients, all generations.

Should you wish to focus on attracting more Gen Y and Gen Z then you would study the art of emoji, go deeper than I am stating here, and learn the essence of emoji communication.

Gen Z have always known zoom, pinch and swipe. They have grown up with hi-def, surroundsound, 3D and 4D = 360 degree photography and film is the normal. Ultra slow motion and hi speed video is their standard. Gen Z are the ultimate consumers of snack media.

They communicate in bite sizes. Research studies suggest that their brains have evolved to process more information at faster speeds and are cognitively more nimble to handle bigger mental challenges. But getting and keeping their attention is challenging.

Get ALL the Meet Gen Z information here.

Alright. You have the idea. Watch how the media uses emoji on your smartphone, or into your email inbox. Learn the language of emoji travel marketing as YOU want it translated and go for it.  More emoji here: Where do Emoji come from? Click here.

THEY OPTED IN… Isn’t this just wonderful… so glad we opted-in right away…

Well we had enough nuts on our cereal this morning… who needs more!

I know and that’s thanks to MarieAnne our travel agent for explaining that Hassle thing…

…and don’t look now, but there’s some nutter on the other page ranting on about missing this cruise!

If you are battling with opt-ins, one way to nudge your clients into re-joining your list is to use a little humour and also that fear & greed approach, too. Somewhere between the two will cause the customer reaction you want. But NEVER threaten with wording such as: “You’ll never hear from us again!” “No more emails will come to you!!” “Those special travel deals will disappear forever!!!” Keep it nice but show your clients the error of their ways in not subscribing and use imagery where you can – your clients will “get it” faster than reading reams of text. 

Hey ladies of the travel trade, (that would be about 85% of you) have you gotten onto this idea yet? I can’t claim it as mine. Saw it in use on a recent website I visited. Thought this was very much on the ball and if you are a travel agent with a female following and / or operate women-only travel & tours, then think about renaming your opt-in plan to FEMAIL! How about a super YOU hero to go with the FEMAIL push? One of my favourite sites as mentioned in this issue is the Marvel comic create your own superhero page where you do just that AND use what you produce.

Need a FEMAIL mascot then here’s ya sign. I’ve added the $ sign to my super-SALES-woman shown above. Over to your creative talents and beware. This is very addictive. Remember it is work. Serious stuff. Click the image or click here: http://marvel.com/games/play/31/create_your_own_superhero 

You may know this but…

Hey where’s my CASL buddies when you need them eh? With spam still populating inboxes here’s one fake email worth pointing out should any readers be newcomers to online anything and fending off unwanted emails. This email landed in my inbox and there are certain issues with it that SHOULD stop you clicking out of interest or panic.

When you receive an email like this from an account you actually use ALWAYS read the rest of the address in the From: line. As you can see here (1) Shaw Service Team is listed however at (2) the email is not Shaw. If you were to click upgrade now (3) then you would end up on a website that is not operated by Shaw – OR WORSE.

Make sure CASL and CAN SPAM earn their keep and forward this type of email each and every time one lands in your inbox. 

Hey out there. I’m receiving emails from YOU and you are not following the rules that now exist. Beware – it could be you who gets busted for lack of attention to recent email / spam legislation. This is not meant to be a scareware page, just a note to say smarten up your email protocols. What’s missing?

The Unsubscribe Link is missing!

Remember you are supposed to have added this basic one liner to your email signature complete with your agency name and address.

To unsubscribe: if you no longer wish to receive emails from (you) please click here. Thank you.

If you do not have a list management program then you create something like this:

To unsubscribe: if you no longer wish to receive emails from (you) please send a reply email with UNSUBSCRIBE typed into the Subject Line. Thank you.

Something else was missing too. The OPT-IN link.

Journey of a Lifetime with Special Sauce

By Judith Isaacson

Say the words, Journey of a Lifetime, and people think of Israel and the Holy Land and for good reason. Israel is far away, takes many hours of travel to reach - often more than one flight and, for North Americans, is located in a very foreign part of the world. A trip to the Holy Land is often synonymous with a journey of faith and sacred sites.

What many people do not know is that Israel is a prime destination for culinary experiences, wine tastings, luxury spa indulgences, biking tours, bird watching aficionados, diving enthusiasts, lovers of art, fashion, and design, and naturally, wanna-be archaeologists. By offering complex, multi-faceted tours, the travel agent becomes indispensable to the traveler.

Holy Land travelers on a journey of faith who seek a richer, more multi-faceted tour will welcome the variety of possible options. A tour to Israel which combines ethnic foods, boutique wines from a variety of terroirs, along with a behind the scenes look at fashion studios, for instance, offers rapture for all the senses - and bragging rights.

Here are five group ideas for selling Israel. The beauty of these ideas is that the target market is readily identifiable and easy to find.

Romantic Holy Land: Yes, romantic! Beach destinations are not the only place for romantic honeymoons or milestone anniversaries.

Thinking outside the box, what can be more spiritual, emotional, and romantic than a renewal of wedding vows at the Wedding Church in Galilee where the miracle of water into wine was performed? A sunset dinner of freshly caught St. Peter’s fish, seated on the shores of Sea of Galilee with clinking glasses of Galilee wine is a memorable end to the day.

Bird watchers’ Holy Land tour. Israel is at the crossroads between Europe and Africa. Twice a year, in autumn and spring, our fine feathered friends wend their way in one direction or the other depending on the season. Since the distance is great, the hundreds of millions of migrating birds must stop to rest and recover for the next leg of their arduous journey across continents. The Hula Valley and the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus walked on water, is their resting area and a paradise for bird watchers.

What a superb combination of sights and passions!

Culinary Adventures in the Holy Land. With raw ingredients that are fresh, local, and often organic - how can eating, tasting, and dining Israel not be a priority and key element of a trip to the Holy Land? Israel is a nation of nations: Yemenite, Moroccan, Arab, Druze, Circassian, Ethiopian, Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Libyan, Iraqi - are just some of the cuisines readily available and distinct one from the other. A food oriented day might include a trip to the local outdoor market to taste and get acquainted with the offerings, and then learning to prepare them in a workshop. When visiting a Druze or Circassian village in the Galilee, a lunch stop at a local eatery is an opportunity to speak with the cook and village residents.

Fashion and Design. A behind-the-scenes look at the studios of Israel’s fashion designers is also a peep into Israeli society from a unique perspective. Get an intimate look at the organic fashion industry through the eyes of a true insider. Tailored to the client’s fashion tastes, a fashion and design tour takes the traveler to the heart of Tel Aviv’s fashion scene – the designer’s atelier. The tours offer a glimpse into each designer’s soul, as guests are styled and advised by the designers themselves – learning their personal and inspiring stories about growing up and designing in this ancient land.

Archaeology in an Ancient Land. Just about weekly, there are news stories about a “new” mosaic that was found at a building site. These brightly colored mosaics tell a story from thousands of years ago. Remains of a palace of King David in the Judean Hills, or the fishing village at Sea of Galilee where Peter roamed, or the caves from the time of the Romans - are just a few of the windows into the past that are worth including in a trip. But the best of all is to actually dig - even if just for a few hours. For the lucky ones who actually find a piece of the past, the experience is even more memorable.

Artists and Studios. Meet an artist during a hands-on workshop in his/her studio. Israel is a mecca for artists and original art - some larger than life, some miniature. With at least four artist quarters in different villages and at least two designated artist villages, the Holy Land is bursting with creativity and originality. At a workshop lasting a few hours or a few days, learn mud brick building, or delicate vitrage glass making, or metal work sculpture, or photography, or ceramics - and the list goes on.

evening featuring tasting of foods and wines of Israel, or a cookbook talk at the neighborhood bookstore.

Where to find potential clients for these groups?

Romantic Holy Land could be marketed at wedding and honeymoon shows in a joint venture with a wedding planner. To reach the market of older married couples, consider a joint venture with a local florist during the Valentine Day season.

Likewise for art enthusiasts: check out the neighborhood galleries and see how you can meet these gallery visitors to introduce the idea of a journey of a lifetime to the Holy Land combined with an art workshop.

On social media sites, look for groups for foodies and wine enthusiasts to post your travel proposals. Consider a joint venture at a local wine shop and/or gourmet food shop with an

Bird watchers as well as amateur archaeologists are fanatic when it comes to their respective passions. Find them in social media groups, online societies, and possibly local clubs.ď ‘

Custom Israel Tours: http://www.customisraeltours.com Email: trips@customisraeltours.com

Yes you can!

I found some old photos recently, black and white of course and there I am about 14 years of age, with a rucksack, standing with other kids of the same age by an old Bedford van loaded with kayaks. We were off on a school outward bound weekend. Those were the days and trips that locked a sense of adventure in me that would never leave. Eventually I was the kid writing to travel agencies like yours, requesting maps and brochures. You see, I had a personal journey to complete. I was going to Japan.

Throughout my teenage years I spent hours poring over maps, checking routes, rail times, ferry schedules and then more rail. I was heading to Europe from the UK, then to Moscow to board the Trans-Siberian over to Vladivostok and then ferry it to Hokkaido, Japan. I can remember the thrill of those maps and imagining each and every mile.

gather round and touch, trace, make notes on. Maps. And when you AND your clients touch them, with your storytelling talents you’ll both be transported “there”.

Long story short. That didn’t happen. I reached Japan by working on a ship out of the UK. Landed in Japan February 1968.

Coach tour, mountain hike, rail journey all are supported by maps. You might even thrill your client by bringing out a very old map, one from your collection. Start the conversation by asking, “…it looks like you enjoy a good map… would you like to see a couple of old maps that I have?” Now of course they should be interesting, as in some long forgotten destination.

Fast forward to now. Where is the romance in poring over a map app? I appreciate them but I’m looking for something to market here.

Something nostalgic, tactile.

Something you can entice your clients to

Appeal to the customer’s romantic side and simply say, “Let’s pore over some maps and make sure the route is what you want.”

What you are doing here is using old maps to sell present day trips. Try it. Advertise it. You might even find a group of map collecting enthusiasts who want to head off somewhere to look for their next find.

In the meantime check out antique map dealers. The map of Asia here is $165.

Not quite the same is it?

Artwork by Steve Crowhurst

Check out this customer… what’s his travel personality do you think?

If he was a hotel, what brand is he? Do you think he’s an adventurous kinda guy, limited in his focus or a boffo? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could read all your clients and market to them accordingly?

Well you can. All it takes is a little creativity and a quiz maker…

No need to try and judge a client’s personality when you can actually create one for them, have them buy into it and sell them based on what kind of traveller they are.

The idea here is quite creative and is something once you get to grips with it, that’s very appealing across all channels and something that will more than likely go viral amongst friends who travel.

First things first then, you’ll need to find a suitable personality quiz maker. Funny thing – type those two words into Google and a whole bunch of options appear. Magic.

The concept of personality quizzes is not new as you well know, however they are fun and engaging and people once they get the scent, want to know their travel style.

Now the key thing here is that the outcome is not based on Jung, Myers Briggs, Drake P3, 4Di or any other brand – this is pure fun with some truth and the whole thing is created by you and your team.

Here’s a couple of quiz makers pulled right of my search returns. You’d have to review them for content and price and also conduct your own search. I just wanted to show you they do exist.

You decide on the travel style or personality, you design the questions and the final “You are a…” description.

Although this is a fun project there is a serious side to it and that is, once your customers have their designated personality you can start to market to all the “Adventurers” or the “High Stylers” or the “Cheap’n’Happies”.

I’m sure you have your pet names for some of your clients and I’m also sure you have a descriptive title for a certain type of client…

I’ll be kind on your behalf: thrifty, dumb, champagne on a beer budget and of course, perfect! Those names and titles aside, go for the fun that this type of marketing idea can generate and it might even turn some grumpy customers into perfect customers.

Here’s how one travel company promoted their quiz. Kind of retro and attractive.

So once you select your software, quiz provider you’ll need to think up the questions and descriptions.

In my searching around, this quiz popped up and the questions were quite good – to explore further and to get ideas on how to phrase your questions click here. The website this came from is called Belief Net and its tagline is: Inspiration, Spirituality, Faith – very nice and there might also be some ideas there for you if your niche is religious / faith based tours.

I completed the quiz and the results are on the next page.

NAME THOSE TRAVELLER TYPES 1 Describe this type here

2 Describe this type here

3 Describe this type here

4 Describe this type here

I am a CURIOUS TRAVELLER! And you know what? That’s pretty close.

POST QUIZ MARKETING IDEAS… You can see from the results above that each traveller is receiving a travel suggestion. What a great idea and you can make this happen – suggest it AND book it. Nice. Other quiz activities would be: 1. Use the quiz to attract Opt-ins adding: and to receive your personality profile.

2. Create special events targeting specific profiles – for curious travellers…

3. Create special events for all profiles but have them seated together by profile.

4. Look for possible group tour outcomes with each profile.

Over to you and your team. If you sell to a niche audience this idea will work. If you sell mass market, same thing. Use it as a new client generator and publish it online. Ask for it to be shared / go viral. 

If you’re not sure about managing your time as a home-based travel agent then you need to tap into how others make it happen. Here is a good friend of mine, Mike T, who leads the way in multi-tasking. Take a few light-hearted moments and see how many activities you can detect that Mike is engaged in and jot them down. When you’ve finished, check the answer box below.

Multi-tasking Mike is engaged in:  Sitting

 Posing

 Eating

 Meditation

 Listening

 Watching

 Reading

 Looking

 Rocking

 Smiling

 Exercising

 Resting

 Learning

 Working

(laptop open!)

Now you have to understand that Mike T is a special kinda guy. He is perpetually happy, has nothing but nice things to say, very funny as in humorous, is certain only good things will happen, positive, mindful, energetic and each year challenges himself to learn something new.

His multi-tasking lifestyle can cause his wife a few restless moments, as whilst driving to work in the morning he is shaving, drinking coffee, listening to blues music, steering with his knees, answering his mobile and saying “Yes dear…” like he was tuned in 100%! What a guy! 

From time to time you’ll need a decent quote related to travel and travelling. They seem to be few and far between, but wait what’s this? A book full of travel quotes.

The challenge I find is that most of the quotes from business to philosophy to travel are all dated and I mean dated such as 16th century and if you’re lucky up to early 1900s. Isn’t there anything more recent and quoted by someone other than a 90 year old white guy! Where’s the young men and women of present day? Surely there must be a decent quote from our current crop of thinkers of all race, colours and creeds.

I’ll keep searching. In the meantime we can always rely on Benjamin Franklin and Michael Palin, although I see Rick Steves has managed a couple of quotes in the Quotable Traveler. When you read this book you’ll find that the majority of travel quotes do not deliver the joys of travel. More so, the quotes describe the hassles. So it may come down to you quoting your own quote and perhaps you could ask your clients for their uplifting verse as to why travel is the fantastic experience that it is.

One fellow I enjoy reading is Burton Holmes. He died in 1958 after a full life of travelling, photography, publishing and delivering his famous Travelogues. Now he can quote!

Oh to write like Burton Holmes…

“There is something more than mere esthetic pleasure, mere delight of the eyes, in scenes like this – there is a glorious uplifting sense of the unity of the universe – the nowness of all time.”



More often than not I tend to refer to Thomas Cook as one of the most, if not the most inventive travel agent of his time and for me, of our time too. I can never get enough of Thomas Cook’s and his son Mason’s ingenuity. I have three books about Thomas Cook and as I’ve written before – had he lived today, well who knows what he would have accomplished. Burton Holmes like Thomas Cook was a game changer. It is Burton Holmes who we have to thank for opening the world through his camera – taking stills and video footage. If you’ve not yet met Mr. Holmes… you have now. Learn from his lifetime of travelling, photography and keynote speaking, or Travelogues as he called them.

If you know where to look you can find a number of comments about Burton Holmes and the one I like is this: “…is known as America’s most famous travel showman…” and to boot he even has his very own Hollywood star. Not bad for a camera enthusiast from a young age and a guy who dropped out of school at sixteen, began travelling, first to Europe with his grandmother, and then to Japan. He led a fantastic life and one that you might want to emulate – except that times are different. Many places Holmes visited and recorded no longer exist in name, and many more are currently at war!

Learning about this travel pioneer starts between the pages of Burton Holmes book, Travelogues: The World’s Greatest Traveler, which was released in 2006 by Taschen. Holmes took over 30,000 photos and 500,000 feet of film during the course of his travels through every continent. This 300+ page archive has collected the very best of his work. I am showing the cover here with an insert of me holding my copy… it ain’t small or for weak of arm! It measures 12” x 10½” X 2” and heavy!

Although BH was somewhat wealthy, he knew his calling and went for it. A lesson there. He turned the vacation slide show into a Hollywood event he coined Travelogues and he presented 8,000 of them, even filling the Carnegie Hall. The Burton Holmes Lectures, based on the slides and his narrations for them, were reorganized into a series of books, originally published in 1901 in ten volumes, selling more than 40,000 copies.

They can still be found in used book stores.

Action: read about BH, study him, use his Travelogue concept, write your books, publish your photographs and who knows what you’ll achieve.  http://www.burtonholmes.org/life/bio.html

So many of your clients are dreaming right now. They are dreaming of that trip, that personal journey, that thing they must do and that thing they must see. It’s all, very, very important to them and their life. Yet, they are still sitting there, doing 9-to-5. They need your help. It’s up to you to show them the way.

Dig deep into your own experiences and especially when you were trying to decide what to do and then you quit your job as an accountant and just went. What did you give up to go? Your job? Possibly a career and eventually a partnership in a large accounting firm? Or not. You never knew what lay ahead. You might have waited years, twenty years to get that partnership and just as you were about to take that step, the market crashed and your firm might have said to you, “not now”.

Here’s what I gave up to go: My collection of Japanese katana and one guitar circa 1920. Sold them all to go travelling. Where did I go? It was a one-way ticket to Canada in 1970. I could have stayed

and become… well, I can’t answer that. I only know the outcome of giving up something to immigrate to Canada.

WHAT WOULD YOU GIVE TO GO? Make this your marketing slogan for next week. You’ll be back talking about personal journeys and counselling clients on how best to achieve their travel goals – but NEVER persuade them to leave family, children or to cash-in all their savings? That’s litigation staring at you. Let the consumer decide what they’ll give up to fulfill their dream trip and more dream trips after that. Most people will only give up 4 weeks max of their current lifestyle and yet others will amaze you in their travel request once they identify with your new slogan. It’s a worthy challenge and nudge those fence sitters into action. 

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IT’S IN PRODUCTION! The hard-hitting, no nonsense, no fluff content will cause you to re-think how you sell travel today and in the coming years. The world of selling travel has changed in so many ways, offering a whole new set of marketing tools, new travelling generations, communication tools, trends, places to visit and things to do. The required skills and competencies for success have changed too. The backdrop to your success has also changed – it is not the peaceful planet everyone expected. Dream Merchants will help you keep the selling travel dream alive despite civil wars, extreme weather and terrorism. Veteran of the trade or newcomer, supplier or NGO, you owe it to yourself to read this insightful book. Published in eBook format to support Green Knowledge.

Watch for the publication announcement.

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DREAM MERCHANTS

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As the other page shouts, it’s in production! Finally. Books take time to write and especially the type of book that delivers the how-to behind the what-to-do that everyone else tells you to do. The focus of Dream Merchants™ is to help both newcomers to selling travel start their career the right way and at the same time offer travel trade veterans and travel schools a new approach to selling travel in the coming years. Additionally the content will also support the efforts of travel trade suppliers who work closely with travel agents.

Unlike other books on the topic of selling travel this one is hard core and pulls no punches in what it takes to be considered a travel trade professional, a Dream Merchant.™ The opening chapters explore the current world wide situation and state of affairs which, in a nutshell has reduced places we can visit. Existing upheaval in many countries and the potential for civil war is huge. Weather patterns have changed dramatically. The seasons we know and sell have moved. The planet is in turmoil in more ways than one, yet, travel is still high on the list of those that can afford it.

Additionally, the travel trade faces even more challenges and this time from within as each country creates its own anti-spam legislation with Canada’s CASL being touted as the toughest in the world. Guaranteed to kill off many small travel businesses as genuine spammers, who don’t play fair, simply carry on spamming as usual.

out – however follow the advice and you’ll survive.

Young people entering the industry will be, during their career, selling to four generations ranging from BBs, Gen X, Y and Z. Social media use will change from generation to generation. A knowledge of travel apps and how they work is now crucial. Being able to communicate using Emoji is a new marketing must know skill when targeting Gen Z. Using a tablet app instead of a white flag when guiding a tour, is now a must do.

Video will be the best format for marketing travel across all 5 screens. Knowing how to create and produce a 3 minute powerful travel feature is also a must know. Being camera presentable is one more skill to learn.

I also explore the true meaning of over used words such as professional, passion and engagement to present the reality of selling travel going forward during the next five years.

How does a newcomer to selling travel even build a clientele if they can no longer (in Canada) reach out and e-touch? How do you keep the dream alive for yourself and your clients? How do you keep the passion for travel moving onwards and upwards and how do you remain the DREAM MERCHANT™ in your community?

There you have it. A brief overview of Dream Merchants™ - a must read for the travel agent wishing to grow their business in a way that will work with and around the global challenges happening now and the challenges to happen in the coming years. 

Read Dream Merchants™ and you’ll be taken through a rigorous course of study and selfanalysis. You may or may not like what you find

Send an email request and be first to secure a copy when Dream Merchants™ is published.

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4. Travel related marketing products such as calendars and magnets plus all your standard business products – business cards, envelopes, letterhead, flyers, and more.

Before You Tra vel:

• Ensure that yo u are to-date passports carrying your upand have obta any required/ ined nece for entering the ssary tourist visas country(s) you visiting. are • You trip involve s cancellation penalties in the unforeseen even that you canc t el/postpone your travel arrangements.

Ensure that you aware of these are penalties.

• Carr y your Ou t-of-Country Hospital/Medic al/Travel Insur Policy with you. ance • Be aware o f luggage restr ictions such as weight, size and type of suitc allowed on the ases international and domestic fligh ts on your itine rary.

Excess bagg age charges are steep and can caus e great incon venience • Ensure you hav e obtained recommended or inoculations. Ce required rtain inoculatio are mandatory ns for travel to ende areas. Your tra mic vel agent will have provided full details.

• Check out the a vailability of lo ATMs in your cal destination and/ or purchase some local currency travellers cheq or ues.

• Give family/fr iends the cont act information at hotels/lodges you will be staying during your trave Information on l. your accommo datio is provided withi n your documen ns ts.

• We recommen d tha newspaper subs t you put your cription on hold the duration for of your trip and have your mail colle cted held at your local by a neighbour or post office.

• It is always rec omm secure your hom ended that you e with a secu rity alarm before you leave.

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Animoto is the BEST and easiest DIY video creator.

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