Former Ad Exec Finds Success Selling Travel

“Are you crazy?” That’s what Mary Beth Casey heard from friends when the former high-powered advertising and marketing executive announced she was leaving retirement to open a travel agency.

Today, nine months after Casey, 55, and her husband opened their Expedia CruiseShipCenters franchise in Weston, Fla., those friends must be singing a different tune.

Already, the bricks and mortar retail outlet has added nine sales consultants, including two independents, and it has crossed the half-million-dollar sales threshold. The agency, which is also a host, has recruited another 38 independents, or “mobile” agents, as the franchisor calls its home-based agents.

In a way, Casey herself was surprised at the choice to open an agency. She and her husband had looked at franchises in fields as far-ranging as flower distribution and destination management. “I went through a lot of debate,” she told Travel Market Report.

It was only after spending three days at the Vancouver, British Columbia, headquarters of Expedia CruiseShipCenters, which is part of Expedia Inc., that she was convinced. Casey said she saw strength in the franchisor’s cruise-centric model and in the brand power of Expedia, and she was intrigued by the opportunity to be its first U.S. franchise. (There are now others.)

“I entered this as a business opportunity,” said Casey, who sees her retail location as a “launch pad, sort of a beta test” for a growing host operation.

This month Casey’s husband left his job as director of sales and marketing at the InterContinental Miami to join his wife in the agency business. Here, in Mary Beth Casey’s words, is a snapshot of the couple’s plans for their fast-growing business.

Strategy: The business will grow based on the volume of mobile agents, on finding consultants who are eager, productive. It will also grow based on our ability to train effectively.

Recruiting Agents: Two qualifications make a difference. One, they have a love of travel. Two, they have a natural ability to be a salesperson. They probably have not sold travel before. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t like to attract high producers.

The Team: I have an amazing team internally. None had sold travel before. Many are avid cruisers or worked in other areas of cruise. I had to get them up to speed. The mobile agents are largely part-time; some are working their way toward fulltime. Many started working as mobile agents while winding down other careers. Quite a few have been in real estate. Roughly 20% are men. I’d say 5% to 10% will not make it this year.

Selling Cruises: We do not cold call. Everybody we talk to – they either walk in here freely or they’re already in our database. By asking questions to qualify them, if we do our homework correctly, they should be lighting up [when we suggest a cruise]. We shouldn’t have to pressure them. It’s too easy to do the research and provide options for what they need.

Marketing: For the retail center, I put together a marketing plan to build our database; we have over 3,000 names. Mobile agents are responsible for their own marketing. Where we’re having the most success getting our name out there is on social media – Facebook, Twitter.

The Agency Biz: What I see everyday is the value of the human touch. That relationship that exists or that you build is a very important component of our success as a bricks and mortar human services industry. How you service your clients, how you communicate with your clients, becomes an important differentiator between us and our providers. The cruise lines pay us. We take that money and turn it into real service.

Looking at 2011: Next year, I’m going to be way more focused on mobile attraction. I have a database of about 300 [potential] mobile agents to recruit. I need to get to major cruise markets where there are mobile agents available and attract them. At this time next year, I project having a sales manager for the retail center. We’d be at least at $4 million [in sales]. I’d like to have a training person, and I’d do marketing and recruitment.