Eight Tips for Training New Agents

Whether you’ve hired your first employee or your fiftieth, whether it’s a baby boomer or a newbie fresh out of college, good training is a must for travel agents.

Not only will your new agent have a better chance of success, their success will be your success.

Here are tips on training new employees—and creating win-win situations.

1.  Have new agents “shadow” a more experienced employee.  
“The number one thing in training is to put a new agent together with a more experienced agent,” said Susan Tanzman, owner of Martin’s Travel and Tours, Inc., an Ensemble agency in Los Angeles, Calif.

“Mentoring a new employee is the most important thing you can do.”

Patty Noonan, CTC, director of sales for The Travel Institute, the agent training and certification organization in Framingham, Mass., recalled “an owner-agent who has every new employee work as her personal assistant  for a year to shadow her, see how she works with clients, even how she handles phone calls.

“As an owner, you’re not going to turn over $100,000 worth of business to someone who’s not experienced.”

2.  Insist that new employees get travel education and certifications.
“Within two years of working at VIP, new agents are required to get their CTA certification,” said Jennifer Doncsecz, owner of VIP Vacations, Inc., a TRAVELSAVERS affiliate in Bethlehem, Pa.

“And within five years, they’re required to get their CTC.”

Noonan’s organization, The Travel Institute, has basic courses like the Travel Introductory Program (TRIP) as well as career development and certification programs.

Like Doncsecz, Noonan thinks owners should insist that new employees take courses and get certifications. Besides gaining knowledge, said Noonan, “if new agents have some skin in the game,” they’ll be more invested in their careers.

3. Have new agents attend conferences and workshops.
As part of the educational process, new employees should attend as many conferences, workshops and fam trips as possible.

“It’s important that a new employee go to as many seminars and fam trips as possible,” said Tanzman of Martin’s Travel and Tours.

“One of the biggest mistakes people make is not having knowledge of destinations,” she said. “It’s not even just about knowing the facts, it’s about looking at a destination, getting a feel for it.”

4. Encourage new agents to network with other travel professionals.
New agents should form as many networks in the business as possible.

“I’m big on building relationships and networking,” said Noonan. “New employees should spend time at trade shows and spend time with people in the industry.  I’d have them join Women in Travel as well as their local Skal club.”

Debi King, owner of Southern California-based DK Cruise and Travel, an Independent Agency of Avoya Travel, said, “I’d recommend them getting a network of support.”  

“My host agency, Avoya, has forums, support meetings and regular professional development meetings.”

In addition to your working with your host agency, “you can also reach outside the box, join other organizations, and be on Facebook and other social media.  The more people you’re connecting with, the better,” King added.

5. Help new agents specialize in their passions.
“An agent can’t be everything to everyone,” explained Noonan.  “Ask a new agent, ‘What’s your passion?’  Have a new employee go with what they already know.  

“Let that be their specialty and let them start taking specialization courses on that destination.”

“Find out your new agent’s particular passion,” agreed King. “I have a new mentee who’s been a wedding coordinator.

“Of course, she should start by working  with destination weddings and honeymoons. She already has a handle on this area.”

6. Emphasize good customer relations.
In a sales-driven business like travel agencies, good customer relations are key.

“Why do you pick one agency over another?” asked Tanzman of Martin’s Travel and Tours.  “It’s all about customer service. You don’t call a client back in days, you call back in hours.”

When it comes to good skills in customer relations, to a large degree, “People either have it or they don’t,” according to King.  

“But if agents are motivated, they can be taught,” she added. “I put them in the client’s shoes.

“I say, ‘Why would a client come to you?’ ‘Why wouldn’t they go to some online booking agent?’  So, they say, ‘because it would be wiser to use me to get this kind of service.’”

7. Teach good listening skills.
Also essential to good customer relations are good listening skills.

You have to emphasize to new agents that “you’re not selling the kind of vacation you’d like. You’re listening to the client and giving him what he wants,” said Tanzman.

8. Emphasize the importance of warmth and empathy.
“I find that the empathy factor is sometimes lacking,” said Doncsecz of VIP Travel.

“It’s hard to be close to someone via social media or e-mail,” she said. “When new agents get someone panicking on the telephone, they often don’t know what to do.  

“One of my new young agents, Ryan, went three days without luggage, and I think it was an important lesson,” Doncsecz added.

“I try to emphasize that you have to put yourself in your clients’ shoes.”