Reaching Independent Agents: A Supplier’s Challenge

The great migration of travel agents to home-based or independent business models is having an impact on how suppliers are directing their sales efforts to connect with this large, but often elusive, sector of the agent community.

Among them is the Globus Family of Brands, which has found the growing home-based sector so important that it substantially modified its sales efforts to target—and serve—it more effectively, said Jennifer Halboth, director of channel marketing.

“For years we had an actual sales manager for the home-based channel,” she said. “But we came to the conclusion that where agents book their business is not important to us.

“So we made the adjustment of having all home-based agent serviced by the BDM [business development manager] that resides nearest to them.”

Focused training
At the same time, Globus has stepped up efforts to reach out to host agencies with specialized training and invitations to local events, she said.

Call campaigns in which inside sales consultants contact home-based agents are another strategy, Halboth added.

“We’ve had a lot of success with a proactive approach of reaching out to home-based agents for product launches or simply to discuss the benefits of using our travel agent portal, signing up for communications and looking for local training opportunities,” she said.

At Alexander+Roberts has also stepped up efforts to reach home-based agencies, primarily through host agencies, said Robert Drumm, president and CEO.

“Host agencies are very important to us because they spread their wings by having agents spread out all over a region,” he said. “They will often contact us about doing a training webinar for their network, especially those that are home-based.

“We’ll customize it for them, keeping in mind which tours are selling best in their region and with the agency overall.”

Alternatives to sales calls
Both Drumm and Halboth acknowledge that in-person sales calls and other face-to-face meetings remain the biggest challenge when trying to connect with home-based agents.

They add that they are increasing their efforts to meet that challenge.

“We can’t just drop by the agency, which is still an important part of what we do, so we look at other ways to interact,” Drumm said.

“So what we’ll do is invite agents clustered in a certain area to a special event or invite home-based agents to a training weekend.”

Get involved
Along with arranging events for home-based agents, Drumm and Halboth said participation in organizations such as OSSN and NACTA are hugely important for making new contacts and cementing relationships.

“We also ensure that we take part in regional events with OSSN and NACTA as well as with our host agency partners,” Halboth said. “They allow us to connect with agents that we’ve only communicated with via phone or email.”

According to Drumm, his company’s participation in OSSN has helped it grow its business among home-based agents, which he estimates to now account for at 20% of overall sales.

Suppliers are increasingly eager to be part of chapter meetings and national events at organizations for home-based and independent agents, said Ann van Leeuwen, president of NACTA.

“Our events give suppliers the chance to mine business that they might not have sourced otherwise,” van Leeuwen said. “It’s a different kind of sales call—they’re not stopping by an office, but are making connects at meetings and events.”

New connections for agents
Home-based agents who attend such events are benefitting too, said Lorena Romero, owner of Windsor, Calif.-based Sharp Tongued Consulting and Western Regional Director for NACTA.

Romero herself has been able to boost sales through contacts made with suppliers who have participated in meetings of NACTA’s San Francisco Bay Area Chapter.

“The more NACTA can put us in touch with suppliers, the better,” she said, crediting the organization with connecting her with Goway Travel and Salmon Berry Tours, two suppliers she might not otherwise have been aware of.

“When a client came to me out of the blue with a request for a Japan tour, which is out of my usual range, I was able to work with my Goway rep for a tour that the client loved.”

For Salmon Berry Tours, a small Alaska-based operator, involvement with NACTA chapter meetings and other industry events are a crucial part of sales efforts, according to owner Candice McDonald Kokyk.

By contrast, making in-person sales calls at brick and mortar agencies is not part of its sales strategy, she said.

“We did not ever work specifically with brick and mortar agencies, as there have not been many in Anchorage since we started our business 10 years ago,” she said.

Another way Salmon Berry connects with agents—home-based or not—is through membership in Visit Anchorage, the local tourism marketing organization.

The company participates in Visit Anchorage’s agent fam tours to Alaska and other training efforts.