Selling Travel October 2016 by SMP Training Co

10/2016

THE HOW-TO MAGAZINE FOR TRAVEL TRADE PROFESSIONALS 3

EDITORIAL

THE POWER OF HOW WEBINAR – SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

BUNDLE UP! THE TRAVEL INSTITUTE

THE REWARD THANK YOU

THANKS A BUNCH – Steve Gillick

THE THANK YOU DISCOUNT

THE ANYTIME THANKS

WORDS OF THANKS

CLASSIFIEDS

THE THANK YOU CARD

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Share your money making ideas in SELLING TRAVEL. CONTACT Steve Crowhurst steve@sellingtravel.net 250-760-0893 www.sellingtravel.net

Publisher: SMP Training Co. www.sellingtravel.net

Contributors Steve Crowhurst, Anthony Dalton, Steve Gillick.

Attention Suppliers: Advertising in SELLING TRAVEL reaches the serious business-minded 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 $399 to $499 based on number of insertions. Remember, if you can’t sell it to them, they can’t sell it for you! Please note that Selling Travel, owned and published by SMP Training Co, is not connected in any way to Selling Travel magazine published by BMI Publishing Ltd., and based in the UK. The latter publication focuses entirely on destination and travel/tourism product training and is circulated solely to the UK and Ireland travel industries. To benefit from this resource visit www.sellingtravel.co.uk and be sure to subscribe.

SELLING TRAVEL is owned and published by Steve Crowhurst, SMP Training Co. All Rights Reserved. Protected by International Copyright Law. SELLING TRAVEL can be shared, forwarded, cut and pasted but not sold, resold or in any way monetized. Using any images or content from SELLING TRAVEL must be sourced as follows: “Copyright SMP Training Co. www.sellingtravel.net” SMP Training Co. 6171 Strathcona Place, BC, Canada, V9T0A1 Note: Steve Crowhurst is not responsible for outcomes based on how you interpret or use the ideas in SELLING TRAVEL. T: 250-760-0893.

SALES & MARKETING TIPS, TOOLS & TECHNIQUES FOR ALL TRAVEL TRADE PROFESSIONALS

Steve Crowhurst, Publisher

SAYING THANKS Well it’s that time of year once again, when turkeys wish you would eat fish, roast beef, pork or just stick with salads. It’s true, nervous turkeys are shaking in their feathers about now. So too are a few travel agents not sure how to reach out and thank. You could leave thanking your clients for their business until year end, however the time of Thanks Giving is also a great time to market yourself, by extending a few words of appreciation. In this issue of ST we will look at the many ways you can thank your clients for their business and HOW you actually do it. The keyword being HOW which is now the premise for all Selling Travel publications like this magazine and the eGuides sold through TTI. You may want to offer up your own thanks too and be thankful that many parts of the world remain peaceful enough to travel. Peace through tourism is something to certainly be thankful for. Let’s get busy. Read on. Don’t forget you have a series of e-Guides you can purchase from The Travel Institute that will help you move ahead in most things related to selling travel. Here’s to your continued success! Best regards. Steve Crowhurst, CTC, CTM Hon. steve@sellingtravel.net www.sellingtravel.net

Putting the Power of Knowledge to Work for Your Agency

Hi, I’m Steve Crowhurst, and I’ll be presenting The Power of HOW webinar hosted by The Travel Institute. If you like a fast paced, no-nonsense, street-smart and travel savvy delivery, turn up on the October 13th! I’ll be explaining HOW you can get past the WHAT (to do) and get to the HOW (to do it). After this webinar, you’ll be asking all those gurus to prove they actually know by showing you HOW!

SIX THINGS YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO DO Learn the difference between WHAT & HOW Learn the Habit of HOW Never take WHAT for an answer

Find out who knows HOW Using your HOW to boost sales & service Once you know HOW, show others…

ATTENDEE HANDOUT INCLUDED

It’s that time of year once again when you can give thanks. The actual Thanks Giving dates are October 10th for Canada and November 24th for America. You can tell when those dates are getting closer because any turkeys in your area will be making a whole load of noises as they get more nervous than usual. Giving thanks is actually a year-round event however, if you only have time to deliver your heartfelt thank you’s once each year, then you might as well wait until now, when those actual TG dates occur. So who will YOU thank? The list of people to thank is not that difficult to create. Anyone that has helped you, supported you, given you their business… these are the people you thank. Let’s review:        

Your staff Your family Your friends Your suppliers Your head-office Your DSMs Your clients Your God

You can reorder the list as you wish to, there is no written in stone order, the only thing that is written in stone is to make sure you cover everyone that has helped you succeed in some way or other. How you thank each person is up to you, however for this issue I’ll try and help you generate the best thank you ideas that also double as a marketing activity. I’ll get to the ideas in a moment and HOW to do them, for now, let’s carry on and think about what you could do to thank each listing above. Your Staff Assuming you have a staff, then this is as simple as just walking up to each person, or, arranging and office get-together and saying

“thanks”. This is a low to no cost communication that should be received as heartfelt. To add some extra zip to the meeting you could always announce a series of FAMs, or how each person can increase their take home pay. Your Family Some families are supportive and some not! Don’t ask me why, but that’s feedback from the street. Usually home-based agents get the cold shoulder when they start up. Some members of the family putting them down and more so when sales do not happen. So this could turn into a ‘thanks for nothing!” issue or, if your family truly supports you, then you can bring them all together (not with your staff) and thank them verbally as you crack a few bottles of wine. Your Friends If there is synergy between family and friends, then you could combine your gettogethers and thank everyone at the same time. Your Suppliers You may not believe this, but few travel agents actually go out of their way to thank the very people and companies that put

product on their shelves and pay when something is sold. Without your suppliers, unless you build every travel product yourself, you’d have nothing to sell. A wellchosen card, a box of chocolates will go down well and be much appreciated. Not only that, when something goes wrong, the team will remember your kindness and respond to help you if they can. Your Head Office Sure you may be paying fees and sometimes someone from head office will give you a couple of harsh words to snap your elastic and get you moving, but then that’s all part of the business process. If you are home-based then your head office will be where the leaders of the host company or consortium sit. You may not agree with everything your head office does, says or delivers, but without them, you have nothing to sell and no system to follow. The people at HQ are human too and just like you they need a little TLC once in a while. Your DSMs The title of DSM can be found amongst your suppliers and your HQ. The DSM role is more the go between, connecting head office and producer. Some DSMs work their magic and some don’t. Be careful who you thank in this instance as you do not want to reward complacency and poor service. Your Clients Of course you should always thank your clients and you can show your thanks throughout the year by keeping them informed of upcoming specials and the like. But, at this time of year, your thanks can be tied to the bigger picture. Tap into the Thanksgiving mood and ride the wave of TV promotions, newspaper promotions and the various TV shows that promote and celebrate Thanksgiving.

If you can arrange a special offer to offer as a thanks at this time of year, then you might be able to boost your year-end sales. Your God And here’s where you express your thanks and your prayers and depending on what is allowed within your faith, you’ll be asking for continued success in 2017. You will also have the chance to arrange a 2017 religious tour if that’s a product you sell and now would be a great time to promote it as a thanks for your business in 2016.

The rest of the magazine will focus on ideas that you can use to thank any of the above groups. Each idea is yours to change and add to, to make it your own. There are a couple of ways to send out your thanks – mass market, per group and person-person. You’ll have to decide which method you use for maximum return. Year End Thanks You may be thinking about the year-end and whether or not thanking your clients now and again at year-end is overkill. Well, you can never offer too many thank yous, so go for it. 

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The Reward Thank You is one of those marketing type giveaways designed to deliver that ‘thanks for your business’ comment, combined with a ‘send more business and earn a reward’ promotion. Yes I know, sounds a bit tricky however, this is business and your clients would appreciate your thank you AND the chance to earn a small reward if it helps them towards their next trip. The WIFFM is happening here. What’s In It For Me? asks your client – and you tell them in the same promotion. Not bad. Let’s explore:

Right. What’s in your reward, giveaway file that you could use here? Any supplier two for ones, or upgrades, EBBs, special time sensitive discounts? That’s right. You’ll want to be on top of what your suppliers are offering so that you can use the very same promotion as your reward thank you. It’s that or your reward will be financed by your agency. As you may or may not know, you do not always need to give away the farm in order to achieve this type of promotion.

HERE’S HOW YOU DO THIS: Step 1: Review your preferred suppliers current promotions and check to see if there are any that will last through 2017. Step 2: Also look for short term promotions so that you can excite your clients to respond immediately. Step 3: Decide on your choice of reward using your supplier’s promotions, or something you intend to giveaway yourself. Step 4: Now you think about the method of delivering your THANKS that will include the reward. Here are your options:   

Email Social Media Hard copy greeting card

  

Video Blog posting Consumer event

Out of these six suggestions, think of the activities that will place your face in front of your clients. This is always important as it serves as a reminder that you actually exist and not just a TA BOT hiding behind a mouse click. Step 5: Adding an image of yourself / your team to any of the first five suggestions will boost your overall response. If you go the consumer event route, then you will be featured in the flesh. Can’t get better than that! Step 6: Email script after salutation: “It’s that time of year where we all give thanks for what we have and so I am excited to say Thank You for your past and recent business and at the same time turn my thanks into something that should put a smile on your face, too. At this time, several of our suppliers are offering a variety of special promotions and I wanted to make you are aware of them so you do not miss out on the savings…” You can use that same script or change it to suit for your blog post, the greeting card and your social media posts, too. You would verbalise it if you use video. 

IMAGE COURTESY OF PETE LINFORTH CLICK TO VIEW HIS WEBSITE

Two little words <<Thank you>> can mean so much. They serve as an acknowledgement of appreciation, a recognition that someone has done something noteworthy or considerate or beneficial and, in the context of relationship-building they tie you to the client who has chosen your services over many others, to arrange for that dream vacation. They’ve put their trust in you and you can reciprocate with those two words “Thank you”. But there is more.

STEVE GILLICK The expression “thank you” grew out of the concept of “thinking of you”. While ‘glimpses’, ‘interest’ and ‘summer’ may be fleeting, thoughts are usually long term. Therefore your ‘thank-you-action-plan” is not two-words left on a voice message when a client returns from a two-week holiday (thanks for your business—come by my office when you’re thinking of travelling again), but a plan to thank your clients over an extended period of time. We are all familiar with the phrase “action speaks louder than words” and when it comes to putting thank you’s into ‘action’, who better to do this than a travel professional. Here’s how: 1) Stay in Business! Your business plan includes profits that allow you to grow and develop your business, stay creative, try new things and in the long run, allow the client who used your services this year to keep using your services for many years to come. Earning money is not a sin or a crime. Travellers want a company that’s been around for a while and has developed a track record of confidence and trust. What better way to thank your clients than to offer them a sturdy, steady, business that will be around for the next 20-30 years and provide them and their family with stellar service.

2) Train yourself and your staff. A subliminal thank you results from staff who understand the basics of customer service (politeness, care, respect for every client who calls or emails or walks into the agency). Staff should be encouraged to keep their eyes and their minds open to creative new travel ideas, new trends, new destinations, niche market interests that apply to clients who have travelled but also to the relatives and friends that they will refer to you. It’s something that is referred to in the industry as ‘continually growing concerns’ and really refers to the attitude of you and your agency. Are you static (been there, done it and will keep doing it) or dynamic (been there but what else could we do in the future to add some excitement as well as that crucial ‘what else” for those of your clients who want to connect with a destination in a meaningful way). 3) Best your Best Practices. At just about every travel conference there is a ‘best practices’ panel—people who are introduced as experts who tell you what’s worked for them and why they are so successful. And it’s no secret that you have your own best practices. The challenge is to keep ramping them up. A best practice is only a good as the person who put it in place. Don’t fall into the trap of identifying a best practice and

then using it for the rest of your career. Go one better! Talk to associates at every networking opportunity you attend. Talk to your suppliers. Figure out how to better and best those best practices so your clients will be wowed every time you contact them. 4) Master CRE. Customer Relationship Engagement should be your watchword. Brainstorm with your colleagues about ways you can involve your clients with a cruise of a destination. Consider the emotive appeal of travel and how it affects your clients. This means interviewing them, making notes in your CRM and actually preparing before a returning client walks into your agency or into the coffee shop where you will be meeting them. 5) Take a walk on the wild side. Yes this is a Lou Reed song from 1972 but in the context of thanking your clients, it’s a call to action. The wild side is everything creative, unusual, weird and wild that your clients may be interested in doing. It provides them with bragging rights, Facebook and Instagram material and the knowledge that they can do something that the 7.4 billion people on the planet earth may not be doing at the same time. Stay tuned to websites such as Atlas Obscura where you may pick up totally mind-blowing ideas to add to your client’s itinerary. Or just type “unusual things to do in Croatia” into Google and see what pops up.

6) Be Inclusive. The new trend in travel success is based on the promotion of travel without limits, i.e. travel for every person who wants to do so. This takes in accessible travel. But before you diss the idea as too labour intensive, keep in mind that Baby Boomers are already being labelled as the ‘Junior Senior Market’. They are getting pretty close to 65 plus which means that in order to stay busy with your current client database, you need to investigate tours that will respond to their future needs as aging travellers. They may need accommodations such as walkers or canes or wheelchairs or slower paced-itineraries or better signage to help them navigate everything from cruise ships to hotel lobbies to scuba diving to the enjoyment of nature. Acquiring knowledge now about the needs of travellers with disabilities will reward you 10 times over in the future and will represent a huge thank you to your current client base. The old way to thank someone was to send a card or put a bottle of wine or Champagne in their cabin or hotel room, or send them a box of chocolates. The 2016 way of thank you is to articulate it personally (and the flowers and chocolate are still valid) but also to base it on a sound business plan and strategy to better your operation in order to be able to respond to your client’s current and future needs and to continually offer innovation, knowledgeable travel ‘counsel and advice’, excellent customer service and opportunities galore to develop and maintain the client-travel advisor relationship. 

Click to visit Gillickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s World

The Thank You Discount is something you may or may not wish to entertain, especially if you are anti discount, even if you made money. Sounds a bit funny I know, however we’ve all been there when a client asks for a discount and then your back goes up: “SAY WHAT!?” After all, you are worth every cent. That works. However, there comes a time when it’s hard times and clients are looking for to reduce expenses by tapping into your pocket. It would a good idea to set some rules around what and how you discount.

What are your rules about discounting? Do you have them, or is this something new to you? How about your HQ – what’s the word from the top? Your host agency HQ – what do they advise? Best to go with the corporate flow if there is such a plan. On the other hand, if you are free to think and act as you see fit, then we have some ideas for you. The issue of discounting in some circles comes out as this: “…if you start that, everyone will want a discount, and then where are you?” As you well know, that never happens. It’s a knee jerk reaction based on very sketchy information. On the other hand what if 500 of your clients all responded wanting a discount? I’ll tell you one thing – you’d be booming in trade! Once again the art of discounting is just that, an art and one way to use the discount is to offer one as a thank you. How does that work? you ask.

levels based on as and when the prospect makes contact all the way through to when they become a customer. This Thank You Discount is when your client has booked, is booking. Step 1: We’re back to understanding what offers, discounts are available within your suppliers product range. Time to learn what they are. Step 2: What are the rules to be applied? Let’s go with no discount is over $50, or no discount is more than 10% of the revenue you will earn. Example: you earn $500 commission, at 10% that’s a discount of $50. If you wish to up that percentage then you’d be factoring it on bookings that might bring you $1,500 in commission. A 10% discount here would about to $150. Not a bad thank you and you still make $1,350.

HERE’S HOW YOU DO THIS:

Step 3: You can / could use your Thank You Discount to entice, higher revenue bookings. You can promote that you like to play it forward, share in the sale etc.

Before I get into explaining this concept there is another page you should read where we can offer a thank you of various types and

Step 4: What if you can find a supplier program that is a good deal for your clients then as and when you do, you must learn to

package the discount as something you found and applied. You do not in any way, shape or form attempt to become your supplier. You can be sued for that. What you are doing is making sure your clients get the best deal and at the same time still put some serious coin in your own jeans. “Well now, for this cruise, I am able to offer you what would actually be a discount of $XX on this category of stateroom… this is an excellent deal and I’m happy I can get this for you.” Nowhere in the above script have we mentioned the supplier, although it is their discount / deal. It seems, it’s implied that YOU have manufactured this savings, this special rate, this deal for your clients. “You know I think you both deserve our Thank You Discount for this cruise. Here, let me explain – if you book this category of cabin / stateroom, you’ll thank me for sure when I tell you how much I can save you. It’s a terrific deal, a great discount overall…” It’s all in how and when you say it, how you deliver the message and how much you keep the conversation focused on what YOU are doing / proposing as a client benefit. Working The Dollar Value of the Offer Here, you must analyze the offer and calculate it in dollars and cents, then factor it in as a discount. An upgrade: what’s the value of it? Okay, let’s say the next category is $1,000 difference and your clients are currently in the category below paying $5,000. The upgrade puts them in a $6,000 stateroom. That’s a 16% discount on the upgraded stateroom / room / tour etc. Once you get used to turning the suppliers promotions into a different format such as a

percentage, a dollar value, and overall savings of… then you’ll have the wording for your script and possibly an ad, or social post. I’ve noticed that one or two agencies are absolutely on the cutting edge of using a supplier’s promotion to feather their own nest. As soon as the promotion is released, the agency has it on their website and mentioning it in all forms of communication to their clientele. You can do the same. The key once again is to take the promotion and turn it into a marketing activity that shows you off as the instigator of the savings. Like this:

BOOK THIS CRUISE WITH ME THIS WEEK AND I’LL GIVE YOU THE UPGRADE YOU DESERVE. The upgrade is valued at $1,000 and only available when you book Category A.

Understandably there are many ways to present this offer as your own, and your HQ may have rules and legal issues to obey. SO if you do belong to any one group, make sure you check out the fine print in your contract. Usually your supplier doesn’t care how to market the promotion as long as it does not damage their brand or counter their own marketing, trade, contractual and legal requirements. A simple chat with your BDM will do the job on that one. So, give more thanks and make more money! 

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The Anytime Thanks is a terrific technique for warming up cold inquiries. The concept is to have something to offer as your thank you for… and then decide how and when you will reward your prospect for approaching your agency and also, if you wish, throughout the time from booking to departure – return and booking again. I know. Sounds like a ton of thanks and it is. Hoping for low to no cost at all times. Think about this for a moment. How many times do you say thank you throughout the day? Okay, now count the number of times you say it to a prospect when they walk in, phone in, click in. The focus here is to woo your cold calls into the warmth with a little TLC and a thank you gift / card. You can only deliver so many thank you cards before it gets weird and Netflix wants to make a movie with you. HERE’S HOW YOU DO THIS: Take a look in your tote bag. The one you took to the most recent trade show. What’s inside? What did you score off the supplier’s tables? Pens, buttons, flash drives… come on fess up. What did you sweep off the desk into you bag with a well-practised forearm smash? Let’s go with a nice supplier pen or hopefully one with your agency name printed on it. You can use a pen like this to promote your services as the prospect is about to leave your office, hang up, click away from your website. The Office Offer: “… well Bryan, thanks for coming in to see me today, I hope we can do business soon and as a thanks for selecting this agency let me give you a small thank you gift, it’s an agency pen, and of course it has my name and direct line on it…”

Use the same script idea for handing over a 4GB flash drive – which should contain all the information on your agency. Make sure this is in a video format. Be sure you look good on the video and deliver an inspiring message that will woo the prospect back to you. If you have any doubts about creating the video – click on this cover image to view. What else can you offer as a small token of your thanks for the client thinking of you, bringing their questions to you? It’s amazing how many people go for anything they can take home to their kids. Think warm and fuzzy things. Are you selling Australia? Well knock on Aussie tourism’s door and see if they have about twenty small koala bears to send your way. It goes like this: “Hey, thanks for coming in… do you have kids? Okay, here’s my thank you for stopping by and when you ever think of going to Australia, here’s a reminder to call me…” That’s HOW you can put this idea into action. 

Words of thanks - not always an easy thing to think up, or find online. Many older travel agents would have been raised and schooled in this social skill that their baby boomer clients would also know and appreciate. So what words do you use to thank Millennials and Gen Xers for their business? Well guess what… the same words apply. Bonus. Let’s explore:

If you choose a ready-made thank you card, then the card will contain the Thank You verse which is okay, but it’s not heartfelt is it? Not really. Sure you took time to look for an appropriate card and made sure the wording was something along the lines of what you wanted to write, but then, the words where not yours. You simply ended up signing the card and posting it. Buying a blank card, researching special words and phrases, and then creating your own message, hand writing it – this has all the hallmarks of someone who really wants to say thanks.

and sending terrific new clients to me. Attached is a small token of thanks for helping me build my business. 2. (Restaurant name) is one of my favorite places for a quick and delicious lunch. With this gift card, I hope you’ll enjoy it too! This is my way of saying thank you for your recent referral. I really appreciate that you’ve trusted me to find the perfect vacation for your friends. Thanks again for being so supportive of my business.

First things first – you’ll need to source books, cards and websites that cater to what you are trying to do – write words of thanks.

3. Thank you for trusting me with your parent’s vacation needs. They are such a lovely couple and wonderful to work with. I will do my best to find the most suitable tour for them. Thank you again. I really appreciate it!

Keeping the wording business-like you can explore existing card shops both street level and online. Once you find what you are looking for, you can copy and paste from the FREE listings and then re-write them to suit your own style and of course travel. Here are four thanks for the referral notes that I found online and changed to suit.

4. I want you to know how much I appreciate your recent referral. The finest compliment I could ever receive is a referral from a former client. Thank you so much for putting your trust in me! Attached is a little something to say thank you for sending such wonderful new customers my way.

1. Referrals are the foundation of my business and receiving a referral from a past customer is an incredible honor. Thank you so much for thinking of me

You can use the same four layouts, amended to be a simple thank you for the client who just booked with you:

HERE’S HOW YOU DO THIS:

5. Thank you so much for thinking of me and booking your most recent trip with me. Attached is a small token of thanks for helping me build my business.

Next Step… You may be spending more time at the mall and checking out those card shops, and that’s a good thing. Call it education.

6. (Restaurant name) is one of my favorite places for a quick and delicious lunch. With this gift card, I hope you’ll enjoy it too! This is my way of saying thank you for your past business. I really appreciate that you’ve trusted me to find the perfect vacation for you. Thanks again for being so supportive of my business.

Create a folder and start capturing and saving whatever verses you find at card shops, and elsewhere online. Buy the card if you have to and refer to it when needed.

7. Thank you for trusting me with your recent vacation needs. You really are a joy to work with. To show that I really do appreciate your business now and in the past I am enclosing a gift card to one of my favourite restaurants. Thanks again for being so supportive of my business. 8. I want you to know how much I appreciate your recent booking. The finest compliment I could ever receive is a repeat client. Thank you so much for putting your trust in me! Attached is a little something to say thank you for being a loyal customer. Closing Out Now you need to close out your thank you verse, so here’s a few, also found online. 

Beyond grateful,



Blessings,



God bless,



Gratefully,



Warmest thanks,



Warmly,



With gratitude,



ThankyouThankyouThankyou,

Prime Times to Say Thanks Well let’s check out when the prime times are that your Thank You would not be considered a marketing activity – although it always is. 

Christmas or your specific event based on your religion.



New Years could be too close to Christmas, however if you are not one to mix your faith with your business then go for New Years.



Any events during the year – local to national that a Thank You would be appreciated.



Thanks Giving – like now!

And that just about does it. Start collecting thank you cards and verses. Start looking through your client list and their travels, did you actually thank them for their business when they booked? Are you sure. A nice ‘just because’ thank you card would go a long way at any time. Thanks + Marketing Yes it is okay to thank someone for their business and ask about their next trip. Just add: “I look forward to sending you somewhere in 2017…” to any of the verses listed above. 

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Where oh where can they be? Well, you can check the local shops, the mall and online of course. They are still in fashion in various formats. They come in all shapes and sizes, colours and with text and without, known as blank cards. These blank cards usually sport a decent graphic on the front, leaving you all that internal white space where you can do your thing in terms of poetic verse. Scary I know. Too much white space can scare a pen into drying up! All that said, there are ways to generate a decent card from scratch. Let’s check this out:

From the start of your thank you campaign, it would be a great idea to pre-order your cards from a printing source, and or create your own in house. Easily done today if you have the software and a decent colour inkjet printer, AND you know how to use them. We’ll explore your various choices below and help you decide the best method for producing your very own low to no cost thank you cards.

HERE’S HOW YOU DO THIS: Buy blank: Every card shop has blank cards. Specialty shops too, the only thing is they do not have a great selection of travel related blank cards. Create your own: Creating your own card is great for when you wish to send one or two hand-made editions to specific clients. If you have the artistic talent you can purchase such a DIY card kit from Michaels. Create your own 2: The other option is to use one of your excellent photos. Copy and paste it into a Word document and print. Be sure to adjust the printer’s settings choosing a typical card size. You may have to trim once you’ve printed the card. The “I shot the cover image…” is nice claim to fame.

Use a supplier’s card: Using a ready-made card offered by your supplier is a nice way to go but ONLY if you are promoting that particular supplier. If that supplier is also offering a special deal of some kind, then you can include a mention of it to round out your thank you card. Postcards: Since the mid-1800s, the postcard has been an integral part of the travel industry. They still work. Your suppliers use them. Send a supplier’s postcard to your client adding that special rate once again. Digital cards: So welcome to the new age of thank you cards that will work for your Gen Xers, Millennials and Gen Ng. You can source them online, some are free, some you subscribe to. The main thing here is to be careful with your selection. Stick to the travel image vs. some wild and whacky design. Note: When searching on line be sure to add the search term ‘travel’ – that way you should get the right results. Try HERE. Don’t forget BIG BARK GRAPHICS either – Scott can print whatever you can think up. Thank you! 

Someone asked about my former magazine IC TRAVEL AGENT and what happened to it. Well I was publishing three magazine with similar content and decided to go with Selling Travel as that is what everyone does regardless of being in a retail location or working from home. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the entire suite of issues with plenty of home-based selling tips. Click the image to view them online.

THE HOW-TO MAGAZINE FOR TRAVEL TRADE PROFESSIONALS

CLASSIFIEDS Wanted: readers to click on this link and make money selling more travel.

Looking for more fantastic graphics then click here for Presenter Media.

Get what you need to start using video in your travel marketing & promotions with this guide. Animoto is the BEST and easiest DIY video creator. Try it today.

When you need to write something and can’t – hire in a ghost writer like Steve Gillick. Steve produces scripts for your keynotes, webinars and brochures.

Had enough of working for someone else? Would you like to explore how you can sell travel from home? If so then click on this link and explore.

Your education station is right here.

DIY Websites. This IS the Best of the Best.

Contact Steve here.

NEED GREAT GRAPHICS? Click here for GRAPHICSTOCK and save 83% on an annual subscription. Many graphics in Selling Travel are from GraphicStock.

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SALES & MARKETING TIPS, TOOLS & TECHNIQUES FOR ALL TRAVEL TRADE PROFESSIONALS

SELLING TRAVEL www.sellingtravel.net If you could refer us to your travel trade colleagues, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d really appreciate it. Many thanks.