By Helen Prochilo Maley, Owner, Promal Vacations, LLC, Owner, The Travel Agent Whisperer, and member of The Travel Institute’s Professional Educators Program (PEP).
Years ago, I had a poor experience with an online cruise company when arranging a group cruise for 17 people. I could never get the agent on the phone; others would only tell me I needed to speak to the booking agent.
After this, I thought, “I can do this better.” At the same time, a friend told me she was leaving to become a travel advisor with a company that allowed agents to work from home and encouraged me to do the same.
I took her up on her offer and thought this would be easy—just tell family and friends, and business would happen. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. I had no idea how much I didn’t know.
I mentor agents and find that almost all have faced the same misconceptions I had.
These are the five most common things agents wish they knew:
1. As soon as you announce you are an agent, people will automatically want to do business. It took me a year to get my first booking. Travel isn’t a commodity that people book multiple times a year. Many want to know how much you know about destinations before they will trust you. Be patient and spend time educating yourself. Study rules for flying, passports, and visa information. Take time to become an expert to distinguish yourself.
2. Friends and family will want you to book all travel. Many find that friends and family don’t want to do business with them. Some don’t want to pay you a salary or share credit card info. Or they have unreasonable ideas of what you can do. Family may not be your ideal client.
3. That this isn’t a sales job. It is absolutely a sales job—you should be able to paint a picture of what their ideal trip will entail and how you can make their dream vacation come true.
4. Legal issues you don’t know about can get you in trouble. Making a mistake can open you up to a lawsuit or having to pay from your own bank account. Do you have terms and conditions to reduce liability? Do you have a PCI-compliant credit card form and CRM? Do you know how to verify the identity of a stranger? These are things you don’t want sneaking up on you.
5. Setting up your business properly. Make sure your business is set up properly in your town. Have a business checking account and errors and omissions insurance. Do you know the difference between a sole proprietor, LLC, or Corp? Have a lawyer develop terms and conditions to protect yourself, and have every client sign.
