Looking to Add ICs to Your Team? Here’s How to Ensure a Good Match

If you're a travel agency owner or manager who's interested in expanding your independent contractor network, you're facing some tough decisions.

Determining upfront whether an individual will thrive as an independent contractor (IC) isn’t easy. Most agency owners will tell you they’ve made a few bad choices along the way.

“Even after doing it for a number of years, it’s really difficult to pre-guess who’s going to be successful,” said Scott Koepf, senior vice president of sales for the host agency Avoya Travel / American Express.

Travel Market Report asked Koepf and other agency executives for their views on what to look for in prospective independent contractors.

Ask the right questions
Sandy Anderson is owner of Riverdale Travel Leaders, a storefront agency in suburban Minneapolis with 15 independent contractors. “I would call myself a boutique host,” said Anderson.

When Anderson talks to independent agents, she assesses both their integrity and business potential.

“I ask, ‘What have you been doing in the industry? What part of the industry excites you? Where do you want to grow, and how do you think working with me would help you grow your business?’”

The answers she wants are, “their passion, their history and their dedication and knowledge,” said Anderson, who also conducts background checks on individuals to make sure they’re not felons.

(A Google search and a look at someone's social media activity can also provide insights into a prospective IC.)

Prepared to sell
Personality plays a big role in the success of independent contractors, according to Anita Pagliasso, president and founder of Ticket to Travel, a Vacation.com agency in San Jose, Calif.

“The best thing is to have somebody that isn’t afraid to get out there, isn’t afraid to sell, isn’t afraid to get involved with the chamber of commerce, with networking groups.

“In the long run, you’re salespeople,” said Pagliasso, who is president of the Professional Association of Travel Hosts (PATH).

Koepf agreed. “You have to have sales skills and comfort in selling–– great people skills, being able to communicate well and work with customers on a very proactive basis.”

Enthusiasm counts
At Cadence, a travel management company in La Jolla, Calif., founder and CEO Wendy Burk is particularly attuned to the passion that potential affiliates bring to their specialty or niche.

“If they are into spas, then they’re going to love it and they’re going to want to do it, and they can sell it. We look for someone who’s passionate about travel and who wants to help people and be in a service industry.”

Cadence, a member of Virtuoso, works with about 120 “independent affiliates,” who comprise its entire leisure team, said Burk. She is a former independent contractor who opened her own agency in part to help independents succeed.

In addition to passion, the firm looks for independents who are “entrepreneurial” and have “a desire to continue to educate themselves,” Burk said.

Serious about business
Most traditional agencies are not interested in bringing on independents who don’t have the drive to succeed or who are in it primarily for the travel perks, so assessing an agent’s motivation and determination level is critical.

“I really try to find out how serious they are,” said Stephanie Turner, CTC, president of Brentwood Travel, an Ensemble agency in St. Louis.

“We look for people who we think will build up a following or who have a following.”

If an agent has been hosted by another agency and wants to move his or her business to Brentwood, “then I know they’re serious, because that’s a big job,” she said.

Brentwood Travel charges new ICs a nominal setup fee and passes along direct costs, which helps weed out candidates who are “just goofing around,” Turner added.

Commitment is key
Gauging an individual’s commitment to growing their business is key to Avoya’s vetting process as well. “That’s going to answer probably 90% of our questions,” Koepf said.

Host agencies can’t require independent agents to work fulltime or track their hours, Koepf cautioned. “What you can do is determine what they plan on doing within the business,” he added.
 
It’s equally important to give independents a clear picture of the nature and level of support your agency will offer, Koepf advised.

“There needs to be an understanding of what is and isn’t provided on both sides. If there’s a comfort level there, then you move forward.”