The Attributes Of A Great Travel Agent
by Cheryl Rosen /
When Insight Vacations invited TMR editor Cheryl Rosen to its gala dinner honoring its top-selling agents, we couldn’t resist asking the attendees just what it is they do that makes them so successful.
We started with Insight U.S.A. president Phil Cappelli, who noted that this is the company’s “having our best year ever, up 18%, with 94% of our business coming through travel agents. And that’s something I never would have expected 10 years ago!”
On what makes these 20 so special, Cappelli said, “They are all committed, hard-working and passionate about travel – and that comes from a natural desire to share their travel experiences with guests and get them excited. Most of these agents have traveled with us on at least four or five trips, on Insight Vacations or on our luxury Insight Gold, and have come back with a really good understanding of the product. Plus they have the ability to understand their customers, so they can put them in the right product.”
Most of the crowd was made up of Baby Boomers, but one agent is just 28 years old. “She has incredible passion; she has traveled most of the world; and she gets people so passionate that they just throw business at her.”
The 20 top travel agents offered up the following explanations of what makes them so successful:
Diane from Milwaukee: “I always put myself in the client’s shoes, dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s, and make sure every detail is taken care of. We all basically can book the same things; it’s the service level that brings clients back. I don’t just book the trip and take their money. So many people use Trip Advisor, but I try to use professional reports and valid references. We offer optional tours; we give them a Travel 42 report about their hotel with all the points of interest. I anticipate things because I have been in the business for so long. A client will say, ‘I want to snorkel in Cabo,’ and I’ll say, ‘Why would you go to cabo to snorkel?’ The client doesn’t know what he doesn’t know, but I have years of experience.”
Colleen from NJ: “What makes a good agent are good organizational skills and good follow-up. You have to take care of any little problems so they don’t occur again. I call every single client; sometimes I just leave a message to welcome them home and say I’d love for them to give me a call. Something there is some little thing that went wrong but they are upset; that call opens the dialogue. And I make it very clear which days I’m in and which days I’m off; I want to handle every call from my customers myself.”
Michael from CA: “Good agents are well traveled, and only sell what they would buy themselves. Sometimes I’ll hand-pick a cabin or a hotel room if I have stayed there. Leave no loose ends and pay attention to every little request, and remember the sale is not closed until they arrive home. And when they do get home, I ask how the trip was, how was the hotel and the tour director? Did the pace of the tour fit your expectation? I don’t push them to buy another trip at that point; if you have done it right, they will come back.”
Traci from Nashville: “I’d say the most important thing is experience. You need to sell your own experiences to the customer – but you need to experience the experience for yourself before you can begin to customize it specifically for the customer. In qualifying them I ask what they want to see, what’s most important to them, and then I match them and customize their trip to make it a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Sandy from Wisconsin: “The way to build your clientele is to always be in touch, to have touchpoints throughout the process. You have to hold their hand. I’ll call three or four days before they travel and ask if they have any last-minute questions, and I’ll call three or four days after they get back to ask what they thought of the trip, what were the excursions they went on and how was the hotel and the tour guide. If they have anything negative to say, I want to know it and take it back to my DM right away. And I always say thank you for booking with me, and please let me know if I can help with a future booking, or if you have any friends or family who might be interested in my services.”
Laurie from Michigan: “I think it’s knowing what the client’s wants and needs are. You want to make every vacation memorable. It’s a hard business; it’s important to stay in touch. I try to be focused and attentive, and I keep in contact by phone and by email, maybe send a card with a note if I see something they might enjoy. And I try to contact them when they come back from a trip, or when I come back from one, to share my experiences.”
Judy from NJ: “It’s about being a good listener to their dreams and expectations, so you can make their trip extra special.”
Susan from Ocala, FL: “Listen to your client, make it personal, and use suppliers you trust.”
Dana from Houston: “Listen. Listen to what the clients say they want from the very beginning of the conversation. And then meet their criteria.”