Search Travel Market Report

ALGV
mainlogo
  • News
  • Tours & Packages
  • Cruise
  • Hotels & Resorts
  • Destinations
  • Retail Strategies
  • Niche & Luxury
  • Well-Being Travel
  • Training
  • Who We Are
    • Anne Marie Moebes
    • Barbara Peterson
    • Brian Israel
    • Daine Taylor
    • Dan McCarthy
    • Denise Caiazzo
    • Jessica Montevago
    • Marilee Crocker
    • Mary Gostelow
    • Paul M. Ruden
    • Steve Gillick
Sponsored By NCL
Sponsored By NCL

Going Platinum: Thoughts from Three Travel Advisors Celebrating 20 Years in Business

by Cheryl Rosen / April 08, 2019
Going Platinum: Thoughts from Three Travel Advisors Celebrating 20 Years in Business

Vicki Briggs, Brenda Punchak and Cheryl Scavron celebrate over two decades in business. Photo: Shutterstock


American Express threw a party on Vicki Briggs’ first day in the travel business — and every day of the next 20 years has been an adventure.

It was Cinco de Mayo, 1999, when the former stay-at-home mom of a Marine family started her internship at the American Express agency in Manassas, Virginia. In 2010, she took the leap into her own business, signed on with Nexion, and was off-and-running.

“From day one, I treated my clients like they were family; we’d sit at my desk and talk, and then I’d follow up immediately. I got a lot of business from people who said the agency down the road never called them back,” Briggs said. “Initially, it was hard not to have clients sitting in front of me and having that camaraderie with other agents in the office, but it’s so much better working from home. You have control of everything.”

For Brenda Punchak, the first month as a travel agent was much more stressful. A star salesperson in direct sales of cosmetics, Punchak had won more than 30 incentive trips and cruises when, concerned that her husband might lose his job, she took a CLIA training course with him, and quickly was hooked.

“I always believed that God provides food for the birds, but he doesn’t drop it in their mouths,” she said. Within weeks of launching her business, she had three speaking engagements lined up; and in no time, “I had all these groups and I didn’t even know what I was doing as far as booking them. I just kept asking and asking until I got the answers I needed. It was right after Sept. 11, and the travel world was in chaos. I didn’t really know any of the reps in the travel business; I was so new, they didn’t really know who I was.”

But, determined to succeed, she “went to every travel meeting to learn as much as I could and just kept moving on. There is no secret to success; you just have to get out there and do it.”

Cheryl Scavron also credits just plain hard work for the success of the franchise she runs with her husband Ron, which in 2018, won her travel agency network’s first Lifetime Achievement Award. They left careers in the medical field, building on a love of cruising. When a local CruiseOne franchise (now she operates as Dream Vacations) became available, they “worked very hard at it,” and within four years, they were the company’s top producers.

“We started with what we knew, the Caribbean,” Scavron said. “That’s what I always tell new associates: Start with the easiest thing to learn, learn all the ships, and then expand out from there. Within the first year, our Celebrity rep put me on an Alaska cruise, so then I started selling Alaska also.”

Indeed, she said, “We’ve had a lot of good fortune in our sales reps believing in us and helping us grow our business. It helps when someone is next to you saying ‘Come on, you can do better.’”

Tips learned the hard way
Briggs also grew her business by focusing on a niche; for her, it was all-inclusives. But over the years, her clients have moved up — and so has she. “At this point, I want the trips I work on to be river cruises and escorted tours and luxury travel, and I’m focused more on groups. I don’t actively seek business; I don’t advertise; I don’t market. It just comes.”

It helps that she traveled herself. “You can’t underestimate how important it is to experience what you sell; I do a lot of fam trips and I also pay for my own trips,’” Briggs said. “When I post on Facebook or talk to my friends about going to Antarctica, people start to think in those terms. I talk about travel when I’m home, with friends, in my Christmas letter, everywhere. And I constantly let my clients know that I appreciate them. I send emails after they book, a little handwritten note, a calendar to hang on the fridge where I write something about their trip. And every year, even if I have less clients, my overall sales are higher.”

Her focus on groups has also been a key to growth. “Groups can be a headache to pull together, but once they are together, it’s great,” Briggs said. Hers are mostly prior clients that now have friends and family they want to travel with: a 25th wedding anniversary, a fraternity group, and bride whose destination wedding she booked now wants to travel with friends. 

Punchak, meanwhile, expanded her business over time to include destination weddings “and whatever customers asked for.” She created a second company, HoneymoonsandDestinationWeddings.com, and lots of groups. Today, she has 10 independent contractors all over the country, mostly former customers; and her daughter, Alicia Kingston, who is her No. 1 agent.

Her advice? “Everyone thinks it’s so easy, but they don’t want to put the effort in to make it happen. When you hear ‘No,’ don’t be hurt — just learn what not to do next time. Get your personal feelings out of growing your business.”

And where once she gave out really nice gifts, “now I give you my service and my knowledge. My doctor doesn’t give me a gift, he gives me a bill.”

Every year has been better than the last. “I always had goals — to pay off my BMW (which I was thrilled to do in my very first year), to pay off the house,” Punchak said. “You have to have something to strive for when you wake up in the morning.”

The Scavrons, meanwhile, have followed a slightly different path. While Cheryl began by being very active in the Chamber of Commerce, building her customer base with local business people, she also cites her lucky positioning in a brick-and-mortar agency in a mall in Fort Lauderdale.

“It’s a great advantage being in South Florida, where I can take my clients to ship luncheons, and can easily get them last-minute deals. And I also learned a lot by getting on the ships myself. So, when a new ship came out, I had an opportunity to go walk around and really search out all the nooks and crannies to find the best cabins.”

A former nurse, she also was “very thorough about following through and making sure every detail was taken care of. I always want to go above-and-beyond and make sure I do more than what is expected, so they come back and say, ‘I was in the best cabin on that ship.’”

And while her location in the mall does often bring in walk-in clients — including one who has booked two round-the-world cruises! — “client referrals are what really make you jump from one level to the next; when they are out there spreading the word for you, there is nothing better than that.”

Her advice, too, is to start with the Caribbean and “learn everything you can about one area first.”

And always answer the phone. “When we first started, we called 15 or 20 travel agencies and most of them just didn’t answer the phone at all,” Scavron said. “Once in a while now, four lines will be ringing at once, but that happens very seldom, and when it does, I call them right back. Treat it like a business, not like a part-time thing where you are out shopping instead of calling them back. Make contacts — get out there, join networking groups, and present your knowledge to them. And use your own center of influence; have your family and your tennis partners talk about you; host a breakfast or cocktails. Always let everyone know what you do.”

  2
  0
Related Articles
10 Tax Tips for Travel Advisors for 2020
7 Reasons Why Small Ship Sailings Lead to Unforgettable Experiences
What Do You Do When Your Client Isn’t Sure What They Want to Do?
Holland America's Orlando Ashford Talks Executive Team Changes
Why You Should Use a Travel Agent, Now More than Ever
Super Agent Phyllis Stoller Builds A Loyal Solo Female Travel Tribe
Ezon: Embark Will Succeed Through Service, Shared Ownership, Technology
Meet Angie Rice, Whose CPA Roots Make Her Push Instead of Pull
Travel Agent Helps Mom and Dad Score Big at FIFA World Cup
New York City Lawyer Would Rather Be a Travel Advisor

MOST VIEWED

Brought To You By
  1. U.S. Will Require Negative COVID-19 Tests for All International Visitors
  2. U.S. Congress Reaches Agreement on Stimulus, ASTA Says More Support 'Will Absolutely' Be Needed
  3. Op-ed: Five Travel Predictions for 2021
  4. Reflecting on 2020: ‘Primed’ for Self-Reflection Heading into the New Year
  5. 10 New Luxury Hotels Opening in 2021
  6. Kauai Reopens to Tourists with New Travel Rules in Place

MOST EMAILED

Brought To You By
  1. U.S. Will Require Negative COVID-19 Tests for All International Visitors
  2. Caribbean Destinations, Hotels Work to Meet to New CDC Requirements
  3. Kauai Reopens to Tourists with New Travel Rules in Place
  4. U.S. Congress Reaches Agreement on Stimulus, ASTA Says More Support 'Will Absolutely' Be Needed
  5. ASTA: CDC Testing Requirement ‘Threatens to Create a Logistical Crisis’
  6. What Advisors Need to Know About the Latest COVID-19 Relief Package
Tip of the Day

I think being in contact with [my clients] gave them more confidence in me and the suggestions I offer.

Linda Kinsey, Custom Travel & Cruise

 Share...
Daily Top List
Brought To You By

5 Things Every Travel Agency Should Do To Boost Business

1. Specialize
2. Give a personal touch
3. Find your niche and sell an experience
4. Maintain a high standard of quality
5. Become a salesman…but inspire trust

Source: Azavista.com

 Share...
Previous Daily Top List
Top Stories
When You’re Ready, We’re Ready

Here's to traveling at your own speed. When you're ready, we're ready with clean, sanitized vehicles and a low-touch rental process.

Read...
ALG Vacations | Ready. Set. Go.
Read...
Why Sustainable Luxury Travel Will Be in Demand Post-COVID-19
Why Sustainable Luxury Travel Will Be in Demand Post-COVID-19

Torunn Tronsvang, CEO and Founder of Up Norway, discuss why sustainable luxury travel will be in high demand.

Read...
Travel Advisors Talk Service Fees
Travel Advisors Talk Service Fees

Advisors talking to TMR describe the case for, and against, charging fees

Read...
A Ship Board Romance Led to A Marriage and Travel Agency
A Ship Board Romance Led to A Marriage and Travel Agency

For Marc Hayes and Marisel Aleman, cruising holds a special place in their heart.

Read...
7 Day Challenge

USTOA President & CEO, Terry Dale, issues you a "7 Day Challenge" by sending a handwritten note to a USTOA Member to say thank you for being a friend and a partner. Please send this letter to your U.S. elected officials about the devastation the travel and tourism industry has experienced from the COVID-19 pandemic.

 
Read...
News Briefs
  • Valerie Wilson Travel Adds Vagabond Travel as New Affiliate Agency
  • Allianz Partners USA Promotes Elena Edwards to CEO
  • Valerie Wilson Travel Hosted Virtual Suite Access Fair
  • Terry Thornton Retires from Carnival After 31 Year Career
  • Disney Veteran Josh D’Amaro Named Head of Parks
  • In Memorium: TravelOnly Founder Patrick Luciani
TMR Outlooks
Expedition 2020
Wellness Outlook
Distribution Outlook
View All
Advertiser's Voice
https://img.youtube.com/vi/9LEYlsgImf4/0.jpg
Video: What Was It Like to Be the Travel Expert for the CBS Morning News?
About Travel Market Report Mission Editorial Staff Advisory Board Advertise
TMR Resources Webinars Calendar of Events
Subscribe to TMR
Select Language
Do You Have an Idea Email
editor@travelmarketreport.com
Give Us a Call
1-(516) 730-3097
Drop Us a Note
Travel Market Report
243 South Street, OysterBay, NY, 11771
News|Leisure Travel|Land Vacations|Cruise|Canada Retail Strategies|Well-Being|Luxury|Training
© 2005 - 2021 Travel Market Report, an American Marketing Group Inc. Company All Rights Reserved | 243 South Street, Oyster Bay, NY, 11771 USA | Telephone (516) 730-3097| Terms and Conditions
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy