Yes, travel is “fun” and “sexy”, but if you want to succeed you have to treat it as a business and not a hobby. Professionals spend time and money on training, they seek professional advice assistance from their host agency, lawyers, accountants and insurance agents and then they follow that advice because they recognize that it is in their best interest to do so. Professionals walk, talk and dress the part – they don’t use yahoo email addresses, meet clients wearing t-shirts and sweatpants, or send e-mails full of spelling/grammatical errors.
Invest in Yourself.
It takes money to make money. If you want to succeed in this business, you have to be willing to invest your time and money back into your business – often without making much of an income in the short term – until it starts to gain momentum and take off. You need to go into this knowing that you’re going to spend time and money on training, advertizing, insurance, marketing. If you’re complaining about spending money on insurance, a separate phone line or a laptop computer, then you need to remember that this is a business. And, as an industry, travel in general requires a modest start-up investment.
Establish a Support Network.
If you work in a travel store, you might talk to your fellow agents at the surrounding desks. If you’re a one-person home based shop, you’re going to have to work a little harder. Find like-minded agents on TRO, HBTA and network with professionals who can help you with travel-specific things like marketing, PR, trade shows, events, etc. One of the best things I did for my business was join MeetUp which is an association of professionals in various related businesses – I get referrals from them, of course, but I also get a team of local business owner I can turn to for advice and support on all kinds of topics.
Specialize
I handle all sorts of vacation requests from new and existing clients (family vacations, groups, etc.) but I only MARKET to honeymooners. My brochures/fliers are all targeted at brides/grooms. I spend thousands of dollars to participate in local bridal shows. And I spend a LOT of time networking within the wedding/event sphere. I don’t turn away other business (as long as it’s within my comfort zone – no business travel, but I don’t have to spin my wheels seeking it out. There are hundreds of niches in travel, pick 3 and stay focused on them.
This is just 3 of hundreds of success tips you will receive when you use AARC as your host agency.
AARC Host Agency|
800-619-8646
www.HomeBasedTravelAgenct.org
www.aarcHostAgency.com
Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEXNufykTF0&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
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