Our competition comes from every direction, every day. Our competitors are the internet travel companies, the cheaper-to-buy-direct-online hotel sales strategies, the airlines advertising low fares, the crowd-sourcing social media platforms and now with AI, there are even more potential threats to our profession. Or are there? Really? I don’t think so. Nothing can match the personalized attention of a very well-traveled, extremely knowledgeable and caring travel advisor.

Here are 50 strategies for achieving and maintaining the success your valuable services deserve.

Getting Established: The Groundwork

1. Identify your market. While it may be tempting to be all things to all people, best to narrow down your market and focus on reaching them.
2. Define your vision for your company. Do you want to be a sole practitioner working under a host firm? Do you want to build a company and eventually have your own IATA number?
3. Create a business plan. Once you establish a vision and the direction of your travel company, it will provide structure and keep you on course. But at the same time, you need to revisit the plan annually and revise as necessary.
4. Shop around for host firms. A host firm might offer you a runway to get you started selling travel but that doesn’t mean you should be beholden to them. Read the fine print they offer. Are they “giving” you all sorts of useless bells and whistles? Are they mandating that you sell to their partners in the consortium they belong to? What kind of split are they offering you?
5. Decide whether a consortium is right for you. Great to have a network and it can yield some terrific amenities for your clientele. But at the same time, don’t underestimate the potential of a strong independent agency where relationships with suppliers are direct and first-hand.
6. Carefully nurture and control your brand from Day One. Your brand is your calling call. Guard it at all costs.
7. You can be a generalist, but at the same time have some specialties that are magnets for new clients. Once the word gets out that you are an expert on certain destinations (the Caribbean, Scandinavia, Southeast Asia) or certain types of travel (cruises, adventure travel) you’ll have a natural flow of inquiries.

Managing the Day-to-Day

1. Set daily, weekly and monthly deadlines and stick to them.
2. Have office hours. Even it means you have to start work at 5am to deal with partners in Japan or the Antipodes or you work late to accommodate partners and clients on the west coast.
3. Organize a database of DMC partners, hoteliers, colleagues with as much detail as you have including payment terms and conditions. Keep updated.
4. Stay abreast of AI and all technologies. Provide clients with travel information and itineraries in the newest formats available unless they prefer more traditional methods.
5. Don’t multi-task. This is when mistakes happen.
6. Don’t send e-mails late at night. Always proofread in the morning with clear eyes.
7. Make sure your e-mails, your itineraries and other documents are error-proof. These are reflections of you and they show how well you pay attention to details.
8. Hire a bookkeeper but have a solid understanding of how your books are run.
9. Evaluate how necessary it is to attend trade shows and travel events. You don’t need to go (or send a staff member) to every show every year. They can be very time consuming and costly.
10. Get in the habit of watching world currencies for areas you typically send clients to. Stay on top of this as a weakened economy can offer excellent opportunities. If the South African rand is weak against the USD, it is a great selling point. If the Swedish crown continues to go down, it’s a great time to shop while there!
11. Be up to date on international news. If a client brings up a country that has had terrorist attacks, how do you respond? How do you react to news that’s misleading? Evaluating a country by what you see in the news is like seeing a room through a keyhole. Make it your business to understand the whole picture.
12. Keep up to date on holidays in destinations you’re likely to sell. For example, know when Tet is happening in Vietnam. Know when to go and when NOT to go to certain places.
13. Sell trip insurance but unless you’re an insurance expert, encourage your clients to ask specific questions to the insurance providers.
14. Plan your own travel strategically. Every year, identify the places you need to visit to be up to date for your clients. And when traveling, have as many experiences as you can, so that you can effectively sell them to your clients. Take a samurai lesson in Tokyo. Try the via ferrata in the Dolomites. Spend the night in a ryokan in Japan, a riad in Morocco, a paradore in Portugal.

Client Relations

1. Maintain a very thorough database that includes all details of clients (passports, TSA numbers, dietary preferences, allergies, etc). Review as necessary. There’s software for this, but devising your own system on Excel or otherwise, can work too.
2. Stay on top of client celebrations. Clients will often tell you it’s an anniversary or graduation trip. But be proactive—if you are aware of something coming up, mention it. And always let the suppliers know. You can get creative with this: Baby Moons, Empty Nest Trips, etc.…
3. Keep in touch with clients throughout the year. Send post cards, short e-mails.… Remind them that it’s time to book the ski trip or the spring break trip.
4. Schedule client calls. If an established or potential new client wants to discuss a trip, schedule a time to talk. Don’t just drop everything when they call or write unless it is something that requires immediate attention.
5. Don’t use your gift for gab when speaking to clients. Clients want information and they want it fast. They really don’t need to know about your amazing life.
6. If possible, meet clients in person. If not at your office, have a cup of coffee out or visit them in their home.
7. Be a good listener and be curious.
8. Project knowledge. Clients want to know you know your stuff.
9. Pay attention to world challenges and have sensitivity when making suggestions. For example, the subject of exploiting animals for travel entertainment is an area of grave concern. Make it your business to keep abreast of what’s happening and how to keep your business away from it.
10. No job too small. Someone just wants a half-day private guided tour in London for a family of four? Take it. It will give you an opportunity to show your skills and they may come back for a more elaborate trip.
11. Process requests quickly after receiving them. Important to get the ball rolling but also if there are issues, you will know quickly (no availability, that sort of thing).
12. Before a client travels, offer to go over the itinerary day by day on the phone or in person.
13. Keep in touch with clients when they are traveling. Don’t only be there for the bad news. A simple note via WhatsApp a few days into their trip is always a good idea. “Let me know if you need my assistance with anything.”
14. Be reachable 24/7 or have a backup. Be ready to pivot and make changes as needed. Vespa foodie tour rained out in Ho Chi Minh City? No problem, shoot an e-mail to your DMC to switch nights.
15. Suggest a five-year travel plan for all your clients. This is something you can sit down and develop with them, taking into account budget, ages, interests.
16. Avoid sticker shock. Talk about budget early in the process and convey your commitment to your clients that you will seek maximum value within their budget.
17. Get feedback from clients after a trip and share it with partners and suppliers that you worked with.
18. Thanking your clients. When your clients are traveling, it’s a good idea to throw in a surprise gift along the way. Whether it be a bottle of wine or fruit basket or a private visit to a museum they expressed interest in, it’s a nice reminder that you appreciate them.
19. Be patient…no matter what.

Promotion and Marketing

1. Always be thinking of ways to promote your company, yourself and your employees. Become the go-to source for media outlets.
2. Be active in your community. Get involved in silent auctions and other fund-raisers where you can get your name in front of residents. Set up speaking engagements with local Rotary Clubs, libraries and schools.
3. Use your website to inspire travelers. Post new content and promote it via (opt-in) e-letters.
4. Use social media strategically. Develop a campaign rather than just randomly post photos. For example, one week, devote all postings to summer travel; another to African safaris.
5. Don’t fall into the social media trap. Allocate a certain amount of time you can use social media for your company promotion and stop after that.
6. Don’t post selfies. Nothing looks less professional than a travel agent with their selfie face in front of some iconic travel site. Leave that to the amateurs.
7. Don’t post photos of the goodies the hotel sales staff leaves for you in the room. These are not something your clients will necessarily be getting (unless you gift it to them).
8. Avoid posting cliché pictures on social media. Be original and inspire your clients with your original thinking.
9. Collect testimonials and use them on your website, in social media and in publicity campaigns.
10. Look Ahead. Have a younger person in your office you’re grooming to move up and share the limelight with them.