3. EDITORIAL
Well it’s been a long time coming! Finally, the
Travel Agency Manager (TAM) magazine arrives.
As you know, to stay ahead of the game no matter what
you do, creativity, new ideas and a healthy dose of
reinventing go a long way. Generally I am up front, on
stage or behind the webinar mic’ and focused on new
business generating ideas that you can use to boost your
sales. I still do that, but I noticed a missing link in the
educational chain and that was Management Training Soft
Skill programs for travel agency management.
Steve Crowhurst CTC, CTM
Speaker, Trainer, Publisher & My passion has always been working with, coaching, and
New Business Generator training senior travel trade personnel who already know
their stuff and from that collective level of knowledge we
go up from there and we go as high as the audience wants to go. A dreamscape for a trainer like
me. You teach and you learn too. What could be better?
The launch of TAM supports the revamping of SMP Training Co. which as a training company
has returned to it’s original roots in training mid to senior travel trade management. As you
may, or may not know, SMP has been contracted in the past to train globally by various trade
associations, most of the major chain agencies and well known suppliers. The audience always
management and the topics always dedicated to increasing management ROI. This journey has
taken me from Vancouver to Toronto to Bosnia to Cairo to Beijing to Madrid… across the USA,
on board cruise ships and Caribbean resorts.
Along the line I had mentors that taught me well and I pass on their knowledge whenever I can.
I am also a supreme fan of the original Thomas Cook and his son, who was the whizz‐kid of the
era, also Burton Holmes who so few in the trade know of. Then there are the long lost explorers
of each century who, when you read of their exploits make you feel like you are standing still!
This combination of talent and knowledge, experience and courage are still with us in various
forms and formats that you, we, me can access for our own personal and corporate growth.
In the not too distant future I’ll be arranging a series of
specialty webinars, webisodes and cross country
workshops for managers only. Imagine that room of thirty
people each with an average of twenty years experience, a
total of 600 years of knowledge, travels and been there
done that hands‐on experience! Yowza! I can’t wait.
Various SMP workshops are in the process of being turned
into Self Study Manuals and my presentations are being
converted to Training Kits you can purchase for internal
use. A new eBook will be released in February that delivers
No‐Fluff Social Media Marketing tips and tools, and also
Dream Merchants – the history of travel agents from ‘then’
til now. TAM will be your link to all of the above, plus you
can access the SMP website for more information, too.
Page 2
4. Dear Travel Agency Manager:
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Travel Agency Manager (TAM) – I look forward to your
comments and suggestions to better the publication from here on.
Managing is a skill that is made up of other skills, dozens of other skills in fact, and at least
seventy core competencies. Managing a travel agency requires additional skill sets and levels of
knowledge not found in other industries and that applies vice versa. Each industry has its own
unique challenges and the travel trade has developed its own cures to most of these ailments
when they occur.
The concept of this magazine is to deliver what I like to call “no‐fluff management how‐to”. In
other words we will not get caught up in the stuff that’s academic and doesn’t work at the
business end. The focus will be on profit improvement ideas that work, presented in such a
way that allows you the reader to implement the ideas and concepts immediately. The layout is
more text based with limited images as TAM is meant to be a ‘good read’, a quality magazine
that offers solid agency management information.
Whether you manage a small agency or a large chain agency location there will be something
here for you. You’ll be able to chunk it down or puff it up to suit your specific workplace
situation and the rules and regulations you must live by if you work for a head office. If you are
the owner / manager of the agency then you have the final word on how things are done. So
once again, the information will be presented in a get‐it‐done format, leaving you to make the
subtle changes you need to make.
Travel Agency Manager is published on the Issuu.com site with tools that allow you to share the
document, comment, subscribe, respond, download and print. You are free to use any of the
articles in‐house as topics for discussion and training points.
Here’s to a successful 2013 for you and your agency team.
Best regards
Steve Crowhurst, CTC, CTM
steve@smptraining.com
Page 3
5. Participate and help build the TAM Community
q As you know the best form of business growth comes from being referred. If you like what
you read in TAM and feel inclined to share the information, your referral would be greatly
appreciated.
q TAM will be published bi‐monthly so as not to deliver more information than you need. This
timing also allows you to comment, send in questions, suggest topics and even write a guest
article to share with your trade colleagues and fellow managers.
q The TAM preferred social network is LinkedIn.
q Management level training information can be found on the SMP Training website where
you will also find webinar, conference keynotes and customization ideas.
q For marketing ideas, please source the content of TAM’s sister magazine, Selling Travel.
As the saying goes:
“If you don’t know where you’re
going, you’ll end up someplace
else!”
Ask about SMP’s Stepping into
Leadership programs.
Page 4
6. PROFIT IMPROVEMENT
HOW PROFIT IMPROVEMENT HAPPENS
The concept of profit improvement becomes a reality when all systems are working, all
cylinders are firing, and everyone on the team “get’s it” in terms of what needs to be done each
day to generate and retain that profit. Within this sentence lie a hundred or more actions and
thousands of thoughts that will encourage or discourage profit improvement. Truly you’ll need
every possible aspect of your agency to be well oiled and running at peak efficiency – from
senior management to the front end and everyone in between.
Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that
boast about your product or service, and that bring friends with them.
W. Edwards Deming
If you are a selling manager
or a combi‐manager then
overseeing every aspect of
your agency is a tough thing
to do. When senior
management drops in on
you and challenges you
about why some cylinders
are not firing – use my old
favourite: stand back and
say “I’d like to learn from
you, so if you could show me
how it’s done starting
tomorrow at 9am…” It Look for areas in your agency’s operations that are
not operating at 100% efficiency. Locate them, work
could also be job killer – so
out what’s causing the problem and then work as a
be careful how you use the
team to set the balance back in your favour.
show‐you‐know response.
There is another article in this issue of TAM and it discusses Commission Assassins. Every
business has them and they can be external and internal. Be sure you read it and apply the
information to the topic of profit generation and retention.
At this point in the profit picture you’ll need to go to the 30,000 foot viewpoint and look down
– you need that all‐seeing view to decide what connections aren’t working. Where people are
stumbling along and where routine situations have become lost or forgotten. Somewhere
within the agency the system has broken down. If this happens then the profit cannot flow as
intended. Improve and correct the operational systems and processes and you will increase
your profit potential.
“Be ready when opportunity comes…
Luck is the time when preparation and opportunity meet.”
- Roy D. Chapin, Jr.
Page 5
7. PROFIT IMPROVEMENT
YOUR PERSONAL (MANAGEMENT) VISION STATEMENT
When you accept the role of manager you accept the role of solving the profit problem. It’s just
the way it is. That’s what managers are hired to do. It may not be that clear in the job
description as it will focus on, well… ‘managing’ – but make no mistake your overall goal is
profit and how that profit manifests itself through your managerial talents. It’s your managerial
talents that are governed by your personal management vision statement that drives the bus.
Question is: Do you have a personal company. It’s all there in your history as it is
management statement? No need to worry mine. I have seen the best and experienced
if you don’t. Few travel agency managers the worst. Bullies to be exact. Managers
do. It’s never been part of the training and that waffle their way through a career and
few travel agency managers have ever managers who manage with no enthusiasm.
attended a travel agency management
course, workshop or seminar. The Once you select and believe in your PVS you
managers working for large travel chain will start to live the role you create for
organizations might have taken in‐house yourself. This is not a phoney effort I’m
courses and attended all purpose talking about. This is the real you. You with
management workshops – but generally a vision of where you intend to be, where
none that are purely focused on agency you intend to take your team, the company
management and presented by travel trade and the rituals that will get you there.
experts in their respective fields. Those that
have are extremely fortunate. Let’s return Rituals can be: saying good morning to your
to your PVS… your Personal (management) team, holding consistent and inspiring staff
Vision Statement. meetings, celebrating company and staff
achievements, buying the best coffee
To understand how this works and why you maker for the agency and on it goes. What
need a PVS is to understand what you do are your management rituals that maintain
day in, day out to increase and improve the your edge, inspire your team to believe in
profit of the agency you manage. How you you and your management expertise and to
manage is all important and the manager in do their best, on your behalf, to cause an
you must be allowed out. So you need a improvement in the agency’s profit picture?
keen sense of who you are as a manager
and you need to set a target for yourself – One ritual you should include is subscribing
the manager you are and the manager you to and reading this magazine as and when it
want to and will be. You need to complete pops into your e‐mail. In addition you
this PVS: “ I will be….” Or if already there, “I should source out other management
am…” magazines from various industries and
apply what makes sense to managing your
With your PVS stated and written down, agency. I am always looking over the fence
you now look at the daily rituals that make and around the world for ideas on all the
this a reality for you. What do you do on a topics I train. You can and should do the
daily basis to keep yourself on track with same. This flow of information might cause
your PVS? If you have worked for managers a change in your PVS and that’s allowed. If
in the past, you will recall the best and the you have any questions about creating your
worst. The managers that inspired you and PVS, call me: 250‐752‐0106.
the managers that caused you to leave the
Page 6
8. PROFIT IMPROVEMENT
STRATEGIC PATTERN RECOGNITION (SPR)
For a few years I delivered the three‐day intensive program called the Certified Travel
Manager Retreat for CITC. When I developed the content for this program I checked what was
being taught to travel agents at a management and senior management level and the answer
was ZIP! Anything that was out there was so old and dated and based on scenarios that didn’t
exist anymore. The most satisfying thing for me was to see the attendees absolutely wiped at
the end of a very long day, carrying a wow(!) smile on their faces as they realized they had
tapped into knowledge that had not come their way in twenty years. One of those Aha
moments was the discussion about Strategic Pattern Recognition. A favourite of mine.
The world of travel is absolutely made up of On the other hand, times do and will
patterns both repeated and new each time. change. Climate is having an effect where
Once the concept is grasped and you learn some seasons are no longer the same old
also how to graph statistics, you can make a months they always were. Terror is up.
greater impression on the profit picture of More wars breaking out. New niche
your business. markets coming on stream and new
destinations too.
The art of SPR is learning how to interpret
the image that lay in front of you in a Booking Period
graphical format. Once you can read the It is important to know your booking period.
peaks and valleys and project forward you That is, when your customers think about
are on a roll. No one will stop you as you travelling, make contact, get information,
are able to forecast with the best of them. return to book, return to make their final
payment and then travel and then return.
J F M A M J J A S O N D This is a pattern. The primary piece is
knowing how far out your clients start to
think about their travels.
Once you know this pattern, then you know
when and where to spend your marketing
time, effort and money.
So here we have a graph of your agency Digital Patterns
showing your annual monthly sales over 5 Patterns are here too. You can tap into the
years. From the start (orange) you can see metrics of your website to find out who
that sales built up and then the pattern visits your website, when, what time of the
started to form. No matter how hard you week, time of day and which search engine
try, your sales pattern will stay based on they used to find you. Same thing for your
your location, your customer profile and the agency’s Facebook page. These patterns
products you sell. If nothing changes there, are a must study for you.
then your pattern will stay as is, albeit move
a month this way or that depending on Learn to read your business patterns, peaks
climate and special deals. From here on, it’s and valleys, lows and highs and then plan to
down to marketing and reaping the benefits fill the voids and increase the highs.
of stability.
Page 7
9. Bring all managers
together and take this
two-day program and
Find out what kind of
ship you’re running.
Are you on course or
have you lost the map,
need a new crew or
need time to plug the
leaks?
This is a fun-based learning experience
that uses the language of an old sailing
ship as we explore every nook and
cranny of your agency. We focus on the
good things and set our sights on
correcting what’s not working. No one
walks the plank! Did I mention we work
hard from 9 – 6 both days?!
After taking this program you and your shipmates will have a
better understanding of what it takes to run a smooth ship,
hire the right crew, carry only the best fare paying passengers
and deliver everyone at your planned for destination having
also learned how to survive squalls, storms, typhoons,
mutinies and more. What you write in your log books, you’ll
be able to apply the next day.
For more information email me here:
steve@smptraining.com
Your Captain for this
workshop…
Page 8
10. PROFIT IMPROVEMENT
The topic of travel insurance always had my attention. It did when I managed an agency and
it did when I owned an agency and it still does today as I work with management teams to
meet their travel insurance goal. After all these years it seems the trade papers still have to
write about how the frontline retail agent just doesn’t understand the importance of this
product. Here’s a few tips on how you can manage this deficiency in your agency.
TRAVEL INSURANCE & TRAVEL SAFETY ADVICE -
YOU CANNOT TELL OR SELL ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER
Perhaps it’s because my father sold the life rafts onboard their own cruise ships
insurance for 43 years or the fact that I saw worked. I ran a Travel Safety 101 webinar
my dear Mum exit from the airport on a and it sold out. Someone was interested! As
stretcher heading for the emergency room the manager of your agency, here is the
and certain financial ruin had it not been for root to increasing your insurance sales and
the travel insurance coverage that was avoiding litigation, too. Become a Travel
included in their ticket. What’s that phrase Safety & Travel Insurance Specialist.
we use so often, “been there… experienced
that.” Talking about and closing insurance Travel has never been safe. There has
is an easy topic for me and now you’ll always been inherent risks from a slight
understand why. scratch from a rusty nail, to a cut from a sea
shell, to being stung by a poisonous plant,
The question head office will be asking you to breathing in toxic air to slipping and
as you work on your budget is how much falling on rocks to twisting an ankle on a
travel insurance have you planned to sell 14th century cobbled street. The greatest
this year. If there is no head office to report killer of tourists as you may well know is the
to you still have a sales budget to prepare automobile. The car. Mostly with the tourist
and it should list insurance sales. Either inside the car, driving or as a passenger and
way, I can guarantee both targets are below being involved in an accident.
what they should be.
Travel safety and the sale of travel
After the sinking of insurance go hand‐in‐hand. They are tied at
the vessel Costa the hip. They are both sensitive topics and
Concordia and the each member of your agency team must be
many disasters trained in how to open the conversation
that followed that and close it confidently – especially when
ranged from other children are travelling.
marine tragedies
to hotel fires to The cop out is the waiver. Of course with a
climatic events, Boston lawyer opposite you, your waiver
the topic of travel evidence will crumble and you’ll be paying
safety, it occurred to me, was lost in out $50K just for a client getting sunburned!
translation. No one was talking about it “They never told us the sun would be that
other then CLIA and the cruise lines. I wrote hot…” – don’t laugh, been there etc., etc.
the manual Travel Safety 101 and during my
research I was appalled to find out that So here’s the plan you need to grow your
even cruise line BDMs did not know how insurance sales and it includes travel safety.
Page 9
11. Hiring Requirements If you focus on sales and commission, the
I’ll mention hiring requirements many times main reason for selling travel insurance will
throughout issues of this e‐magazine as so be missed. The main reason for selling
many hassles that befall a travel agency travel insurance coverage to your clients is
manager start at the point of hiring – most to protect their health, their loved ones and
of which can be cured at that same point in their financial investment and in the event
time. of a tragic event, assist in financing
whatever outcomes transpire. Selling travel
In this case you’ll need an insurance sales insurance also helps to protect the agency
hiring requirement that the new hire agrees from litigation.
to and fully understands that acceptance of
the position with your agency means they Follow These Steps
must always offer and present travel Step 1: Decide that ALL clients should not
insurance and close 99% of their clients. be travelling without travel insurance
coverage / protection.
Now the question: What are your current
insurance sales hiring requirements? Let’s Step 2: Create selling scripts for your
start with what the majority of sales surveys frontline team and have them practice with
tell us. Travel counsellors generally leave you for 30 minutes or more until they can
30% or more of the available insurance deliver, without hesitation, the telling and
commission, on the table. They don’t chase the selling components like a professional.
it and they do not follow up with the client Step 3: Create closing scripts. Telling, selling
to try again. That’s 30% of your clients and closing are different stages in the
travelling unprotected. process. Closing requires it’s own scripts,
techniques and practice time.
It is not an easy product to understand, to
talk about, to answer questions about or to Step 4: Review your preferred supplier’s
close. Much of this deficiency can be put brochures, products and pricing each week.
right in a series of insurance sales training Answer any issues, questions that are
programs. Your preferred insurance troubling your frontline.
provider can deliver these training sessions
for you free of charge. The challenge here is Step 5: Decorate the agency window,
this: few if any insurance vendor BDMs website, emails, social media channels and
have sold their own products to a ranting each counsellor’s desk with a ‘we sell travel
customer sitting one desk width away as insurance’ statement plus graphics and
they loudly state they are fully covered and images that show the outcome of not
have gold credit cards to prove it. buying travel insurance. This is a tricky thing
to do as the imagery cannot be too graphic,
Of course you should take advantage of this but it must deliver a powerful message that
supplier training. They have the facts and for instance parents must protect their
figures you need such as how many clients children.
were in fact injured last year, size of claims Step 6: Discuss the issue of travel safety
and also how many clients are in litigation with your frontline and create a Travel Safe
with travel agencies because the travel booklet / guide that your frontline can hand
counsellor forgot to mention travel to their client. This booklet can deliver the
insurance or presented the wrong message that counsellors find difficult to
information and sold the wrong coverage. articulate face‐to‐face.
These stat’s are scary enough to push any
counsellor towards selling more, or not.
Page 10
12. The Travel Safe Guide melt and you can imagine the outcome of a
This guide could be a one‐pager or it could sandal glued to the carpet, from there on
be a 10‐page printed booklet. You would it’s bare feet on hot steel! You get the
add your logo to the cover and by using message.
headlines and imagery inside the booklet
you can ask the hard questions and make Same applies to clothing. Clothing that
statements such as “Your chances of bares skin is an accident waiting to happen.
surviving an air crash are 8 million to 1. The
chances of being injured in a car accident Slips, trips and falls happen at home and
are imminent!” It’s up to you to choose the they happen in hotels far away from home.
level of fear‐based advice for your travel They happen on cruise ships and they
safe guide. Don’t be too aggressive happen on adventure trips too. Slips, trips
however your role here is to protect your and falls are killers. They injure some
clients from themselves and potential people to the point of losing the use of
events. limbs to become wheelchair bound.
Cruising Safely Car accidents as stated kill over a one
Assume you have sold your cruise client the million people each year and a high
correct insurance product to cover their percentage of those people are on vacation,
deposit, their luggage, cancellation and all either driving themselves or in someone
the generic items travel insurance is else’s car. A relative’s car or a taxi or a tour
designed to cover. What’s missing here is company coach. You’ve seen the news. It
survival advice that should be delivered at happens.
the same time you close the insurance sale.
Enough Said…
You should be able to advise your cruise I can go on and on about the travel safety
clients how they can get off that ship as and issues and why travel safety advice and
when required. The Concordia event travel insurance go hand in glove. Your
happened close to shore which by default frontline team MUST be aware of what
saved the passengers. Imagine what might accidents are likely to happen and forewarn
have happened if the sinking had taken the client, offer safety advice or links to
place further out in the ocean away from websites and close on the correct insurance
land? product, each time, every time.
With your travel safety advice you will help There are some travel agencies who will not
save your clients and with the sale of travel take the client’s booking without travel
insurance you will help protect them post insurance being purchased. That’s almost
survival. extreme, but in my book the best way to go.
You may lose one or two customers, but
Simple Safety Advice handled the right way, allowing your
It may sound crazy, but I always used to concern for your client’s safe return ‘all in
advise my clients to wear leather shoes one piece’ – will override the downside and
when flying. Yes I know. Leather shoes through good PR you will attract more
when heading to the islands for a beach clients and increase your insurance sales,
vacation – “are you nuts!” – could be, too.
however, in the event of fire onboard an
aircraft or a crash landing and they have “What we do not understand,
happened, (and they do happen) – leather we cannot control.”
soled shoes do not burn. Rubber sandals - Bonewitz
Page 11
13. PROFIT IMPROVEMENT
COMMISSION ASSASSINS
It’s a war out there! It’s a war in here, too. No matter where you are located someone or
something is attacking your commissions. The attacks can be intentional and also unintended
outcomes of poor training and lack of knowledge. The fact remains your commission is being
eroded by something or someone. The FBI and MI6 are busy, so you’ll have to go it alone.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know that every q Accountant not advising that one or two
dollar your agency generates is going to extra sales would move a certain
land in your bank account, untouched commission rate to the next level.
except to be counted. That would be nice.
However there are certain elements that q Costly mistakes causing refunds.
will try to siphon off some of that
commission. You’ll need to strike up an q Poor information causing more time to
anti‐assassin stance to track down the be spent with clients after commission
culprit/s. earned. Extra time erodes commission.
q Old technology, poor website, lack of
timely follow up… all are commission
assassins.
q Lack of training.
Commission Assassins
The assassin comes in all shapes and sizes q No agency sales or staff meetings.
and at times they can transform into a
person, a thought, a system or a decision. q Failing to collect on under‐collections.
The action is sometimes premeditated to
opportunistic to plain stupidity and also q Failing to up‐sell, add‐sell.
untrained staff.
If these assassins go unnoticed then profit
will flow out the back door and there could That should be enough for you to start your
well be a loss of leisure clients, groups and anti‐assassin campaign. Set the rules in
corporate clients, too. place and manage them. Decide the Who,
What, When, Where, Why and especially
Don’t let the assassin’s greed become the the How of commission loss.
assassin’s creed! This isn’t a game.
The Hit List of Commission Assassins
q Failing to sell preferred.
q Not collecting the right commission.
The Commission Assassin workshop is
q Not charging service fees. available as an onsite program or keynote.
Page 12
14. HUMAN RESOURCES
PLANNING THIS YEAR’S JOB REQUIREMENTS
There is a common curtain call going on, I think it’s American Idol followed by every travel
agency in need of new talent. Reading the travel trade magazines hiring ads there’s a lot left
unsaid, unqualified or quantified. One of the reasons for the disconnect is this: the hiring
agency is thinking person versus job situation. It’s an absolute that the job profile / description
be created first, followed by the required skills & competencies, then levels of efficiency. After
that, the person with the matching talent can be searched for. Placing a generic add requesting
‘exceptional customer service skills’ leaves a lot to be desired and will attract 100’s of resumes
and responses that are not exceptional. Not even close. The ‘exceptional’ qualification needs to
be quantified. Let’s explore a few more talent based needs and how to attract them.
What’s the Rush? If you are in the power seat and manage the
Current IS Obsolete and more… HR function for your agency then it would
Here’s the challenge. Most travel agencies be a good idea to investigate online job
rush to hire their next employee, giving assessment and planning tools. The one
little thought to the many possible that I am familiar with and use when I am
outcomes, and they are: involved in the hiring process is DRAKE P3.
q the new hire’s skill levels are obsolete This program allows you to construct a job
q the new hire needs time consuming profile based on how your top agents do
coaching and that’s management time their job, the skills and competencies they
q the new hire’s personality does not rely on and are required to do the job to the
blend with the existing team level of expertise you need now, and more
q top talent leave as conflict with the new so, looking ahead three years.
hire escalates
q efficiency levels and customer service Once the job profile is completed the Drake
levels drop as management focuses on P3 program will match a candidate’s profile
the new hire to the job profile. Pretty easy, and no
emotion involved as long as you have
It’s the knee‐jerk reaction that causes the developed the correct job profile. Your next
square peg – round hole situation. When activity is to review the top five candidates
this happens few managers act quickly and suggested by the program.
invoke the termination policy that is
generally allowed within the provincial and The interview and skill testing comes next.
state hiring laws / rules. Real‐time testing is something few agencies
conduct. Testing should be a component of
In a large travel organization the human the interview process and based on actual
resources department will oversee the agency situations, processes, trade‐craft
agency hiring needs and this too has and knowledge ‐ not some obscure test
culminated in a challenge at the agency based on “three eggs in a basket, the door
level. Some new hires are problem staff opens twice, how many cars are left on the
being moved from one department to road?” We must keep it real and keep it
another. Given the various laws that do travel focused.
preside over these activities the local
agency manager cannot refuse the new hire Any counsellor worth their salt will be able
that’s coming to their agency on Monday! to sit down at any GDS and produce a
Page 13
15. booking as you watch. They should be able Minimum Requirements
to dazzle you with their email phrasing and What will be the minimum requirements
word patterns too. They should then be that you’ll accept for this job? Do you need
able to demonstrate how they would follow 5 years of active sales in a leisure agency
up on a client who refused travel insurance and a proven production of $3 Million in
coverage. Following this they would sales or will 3 years work? A candidate who
demonstrate their telephone skills as you does not demonstrate the minimum
role play with them from another office. requirements should not get to first base.
What else would you require as minimum?
This type of testing will show you who has
the talent and who has faked their level of Hiring Agreements
expertise. We know that sales people tend How about punctuality? Is late okay with
to over promote – that’s a built in response you? How many times can a person be late
to being interviewed. That’s why you test. before being terminated? Better write it up
into the agreement or contract and
If the candidate ‘knows’ social media, set whatever is detailed in the hiring
them a task. Having the candidate create a agreement should also be listed word for
Facebook promotion would be one place to word in the Agency Operations Manual.
start.
Hiring Next Generation (Ng TA) Counsellors
Also, with the way travel and technology The Ng TA will be a person who lives online,
move so well together, any travel lives mobile and works the Cloud for
counsellor going forward must know how to support and resources. They do not need
use social media tools such as email, an office and they can sell travel to anyone,
Facebook and YouTube. PowerPoint is also to anywhere from wherever they’re located
in the digital marketing mix. Progressive ‐ even when enjoying a FAM trip.
agencies often ask the candidate to send in
a multi media resume – not a paper version The Ng TA is a different profile to manage
that a resume writing firm created for fifty than you are used to. The closest role to an
bucks. The multi media resume could also Ng TA today would be the home‐based
be video based, with additional text and travel agent – formerly your OSR now
imagery and show the candidate’s on equipped with fantastic technology.
camera confidence.
Boost Your Profit Through Your Next Hire
Another aspect to be tested would be the Hiring the best talent will always increase
candidate’s communication skills and this is your profit potential. This is not always
covered by asking the candidate to deliver a simple but it is a fast way to profits when
stand up presentation to you and perhaps it’s done correctly.
two members of staff. If you do this, be well
prepped on the interview panel rules for Then there’s the “be careful what you ask
your area of the world. There is sometimes for” comment. Some top talents come with
a limit to the number of people on the a history of ME! ME! ME! Remember:
panel and how the event is conducted. decide the job profile ‐ then hire to fit.
The event must encourage the candidate to
succeed not fail. Anything noted as “I believe you can get everything in life you
want if you just help others to get
subversive against the candidate could
what they want.” Zig Ziglar
result in litigation.
Page 14
16. HUMAN RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT SKILL SETS GOING INTO 2013 & BEYOND
There are some things that never change, Dealing with senior management requires
in our industry and in others. These things another set of skills. How do you say no to
are inherent to the specific industry and a senior manager and keep your job?
fundamental to the front end business. Always a tough situation, but it can be done
One of the main things that every manager and all it requires is a complete
is challenged with, is staffing. The human understanding of time management, how
resource factor is always staring managers to prioritize and how to communicate with
in the face, day in and day out. dominant personalities.
The HR challenge has been with us since the There are 70 core competencies that
first business was created. Even my old pal generally fit into corporate assessments and
(not that I knew him personally) Thomas today they include EQi that measures one’s
Cook had his ups and downs with his son emotional IQ and conscientiousness is
who actually did more for the firm than did another add on. Resilience is another
Thomas himself. New ideas and new ways factor, too.
of doing things were as rampant then as
they are now. In the end, it’s how When I surveyed experienced managers
management interprets the next step and some years ago the top three answers to
how the front line act on that next step that “what keeps you successful…?” were: #1: a
brings success ‐ or failure if everyone gets it sense of humour; #2: flexibility and #3: sales
wrong. skills.
The skills required for success in 2013 A sense of humour is worth gold in our
remain constant. Managing is managing. industry. Most travel agency managers
Today however and going forward there are have it, some don’t. It depends whether or
new elements to be considered and not you manage for a salary and don’t pay
managed. They fall into categories that the bills, versus owning the agency,
relate to the development of HR via social managing it and paying the bills. That
media, next generation travel agents, monthly outgoing is a very stressful
managing a social media marketing team situation and can erode any sense of
and contracting with home‐based agents humour down to a Monday grunt, growl
also known as mobile agents, virtual agents, and get‐on‐with‐it response.
independent contractors and outside sales
reps. So what are your skill upgrades going to be
for 2013 and beyond if you can plan that far
A travel agency manager today must ahead? You can start with your personal on
acquire or refine their meeting skills, public the job requirements and then wade into
speaking skills, online presence and webinar the team that you manage to jot down who
skills, study social media and enhance their needs to upgrade what. You first!
project management, training, coaching and
assessment skills.
“You can only manage what you
If the social media marketing falls to you as can measure.”
the manager then you will need to develop
your Facebook and blogging skills and more.
Page 15
17. Once you know your skill upgrade needs,
then you plan and plot the W5 outcomes
which refer to the Who, What, When,
Where, Why and How of getting it all done.
From another survey I conducted, the main
internal challenge for agency managers was
communication. I know it’s true, but isn’t it
crazy that we can talk to a customer, chat You’ll want to make sure the office buzz is
with a stranger but get into conflict at the positive 99% of the time and be quick to
office with people we work with and settle any conflicts or individual dilemmas a
perhaps have worked with for years. This team member might have.
lack of communication generally comes
from not knowing, and not understanding You can do this by setting the rules of
the ‘working personality’ that each person engagement and that quite literally means
switches on between nine to five, Monday when someone new joins your agency you
through Friday. If you didn’t know, you do set the rules as a hiring requirement.
now, we all have two sides to us. The you
on the weekend and the you at the office. You set the rules in terms of being self
They change. Some go off the chart others motivated, selling insurance 100% of the
are small shifts, subtle, small but significant. time, that the agent take full responsibility
for their own education, that they
As a manager it is very important that you participate and communicate openly at and
know which personality you have switched during office meetings.
on when dealing with your agency team.
You may not know, but your team will. The A very important management criteria for
comment that even when we are sitting agency managers will be to always test new
quiet we are always communicating hires. Not testing means you might be
something is true. The “look”, the sharp hiring the best of the worst and perhaps
eye, the huff and puff, the wave of the hire someone with obsolete skills.
hand, the shrug, the dropping of a
document, the slamming of the phone and The hiring plan for 2013 and beyond should
the throwing down of the headset… you show the position, the job and the functions
know them all, and at times you do them, offset by the skills and competency levels
too. The message being sent, delivered and required to do the job, now and in the
picked up depends upon the howl, the future. Once the job outline is developed,
scream, the grunt or the “Yahooooo!” that now you can look for people with those
follows any one of those actions. skills to fit into that role. You can also
review your existing team and determine
Slamming something and shouting “YESSS!” who could be trained, upgraded, have their
as you pump the air with your lunch would skills enhanced to also fit that future role.
generally mean you scored, you sold, you
closed, you won… something good just Planning around the job, not the person is
happened. This projection is very, very one key to HR success in 2013.
important to the team you manage. You
need to manage yourself well and coach If you always do what you’ve always
your team too, in this regard. done… you’ll always get what
you’ve always got!”
Page 16
18. HUMAN RESOURCES
SAMPLE OF AGENCY SKILLS‐TRAINING NEEDS & OUTCOME ANALYSIS
What skills need to be increased and Where?
Key: O: Owner; M: Manager; F: Front Line; S: Support; ?: Other
SAMPLE SKILLS / TRAINING NEEDS O M F S ? 10% improvement means:
Accountability
Adapting to Change
Administrative Skills
Attitude
Budgeting
Business Etiquette and Professionalism
Calming Upset Customers
Closing Skills
Common Sense
Communication Skills
Computer & Reservation Skills
Concentration Skills
Creative Decision Making
Creativity & Ideas
Customer Service & Satisfaction
Decision Making
Delegating
Direct Mail
E‐Mail
Empowerment
Facilitation Skills for Managers
Finding Information
Flexibility
Forecasting Business
Goal Setting Skills
Grooming – Personal Image
Humour
Internet
Leadership Skills
Managing Change
Managing Human Resources
Managing Performance
Managing Quality Customer Service
Marketing Skills & Strategies
Meeting Skills
Mentoring
Motivational & Inspirational Skills
Negotiating Skills
Networking
Organizational Change ‐ Acceptance
Organizational Development
Participation
Planning
Page 17
19. Presentation Skills
Prioritizing
Problem Solving
Processing Documentation
Project Management
Prospecting
Publicity & PR
Recruiting Skills
Sales Management
Self‐Management
Social Media (general)
Stress Management
Supervisory Skills
Teamwork
Technology
Telephone Skills
Time Management
Training Attendance
Travel Consulting ‐ Overall
Writing Vision, Values and Mission
Writing Skills General
Other – fill in below what’s missing for you:
NOW ADD UP YOUR CHECK MARKS
By taking the time to review your personal and departmental training needs you can quickly
determine which area of your business requires immediate attention. Your next step is to prioritize
your training needs for yourself and all other departments.
TOP FIVE TRAINING NEEDS BY DEPARTMENT
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Page 18
20. Service Standards Summary
Sales and Customer Service Checklist
Here’s your chance to analyze yourself and your agency team in accordance with the Occupational
Standards for Travel Agents. This checklist is reprinted here with the kind permission of the CTHRC. You
can obtain the full Occupational Standards directly from their website. (Source: Canadian Tourism
Human Resource Council and CITC)
Place a check mark in the applicable boxes ranging from Poor OK Good VG Best
Poor to Best. Rate your overall mark opposite the green
box for each Skill and then for Skill 2 rate each component. 1 2 3 4 5
SKILL 1: COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY
SKILL 2: SELL TRAVEL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Create Relationship With Client
Determine Client’s Needs
Recommend Travel Products & Services
Manage Booking For Travellers With Special Needs
Overcome Objections
Close Sale
Follow Up On Client Reservations
Maintain Long-Term Relationship With Client
SKILL 3: HANDLE CLIENT’S COMPLAINTS
1. What is your most urgent sales / service training need? “Success is the sum
of small efforts,
2. What is your overall (individual, team, agency, company) need? repeated day in and
day out.”
3. Who can you use internally to help with the training?
- Robert Collier
4. When will you start / finish your skill upgrade sessions?
5. Other:
Page 19
21. HUMAN RESOURCES
DRESS CODES: OFFICE, FAM, NICHE AND MORE…
“Relax… it’s a
FAM… chill out.. or
chilli-dawg why
don’tcha!”
I know what you go through when it comes to policing the agency dress code. From belts that
represent a short dress to chest hair from shirts unbuttoned to the navel, too much make up
or not enough to yesterday’s beard and hair like an unmade bed. Tattoos and piercings that
act as a wifi hot spot – it’s all happening. Oh and the body odour too. Yup been there and
sprayed that! So what’s a manager to do in the current world of anything goes? Try this.
The main challenge to enforcing a dress Deciding The Code as a Team
code for your team is usually because there Once again we need team input. You need
isn’t one. A dress code that is. If you had buy in too. You might also need to buy the
one written down and in the operations first round of white shirts / blouses to kick
manual approved and vetted by your lawyer off your new dress for success code. Be
and national, federal, provincial and state guided by team input, help finance the
“HR laws” – then you are good to go. change and you’ll see the change not only
in teamwork, but also in the faces of your
Every employee has rights, as does the customers and at the bottom line, too.
company you operate. You are allowed to
establish your dress code and hire only Well Dressed, Well Sold
those who understand it, accept it and sign In my experience when employees “feel”
on the dotted line that they will adhere to like a million bucks, they sell like it too.
it. That’s called an employment agreement. You’ve seen the difference at trade shows –
Signed sealed and delivered. So where’s the the slovenly agent shuffling through the
problem? aisles and then the well dressed and
manicured professional, straight back, eyes
The problem comes in enforcing it when bright… looking like they belong to the
one of your team decides that they have a greatest industry in the world and ready to
right to turn up with a four letter word close a $300,000 cruise. Create your code
printed on their forehead. And they do have for Fams, trade shows, supplier training, in
that right to adorn themselves that way. the office and when wearing your branded
But, not working for you. attire after 5pm.
Page 20
22. HIRING THE SOCIAL
HUMAN RESOURCES
MEDIA TRAVEL
MARKETING
ADVISOR
Imagine the new style jobs
that are coming on stream
as the travel trade and
related industries continue
to move along the digital
track.
At the same time we’ve got
senior management not
knowing their click from
their Tweet and young
fresh to the workforce who
are social media savvy (not
adept) but cannot function
face‐to‐face too well.
Somewhere in between
there is a well travelled,
fully functioning, outgoing
socially and online, travel
trade and marketing savvy
individual who can tell and
sell and bring to the table a
creative style that can
develop a social media
strategy, implement it,
manage it and report on it,
too.
It used to be hire the
neighbour’s teenage son or
daughter to put your
Facebook page together –
and that’s fine for a
personal page – but not for
business. Your business
page needs to have more
marketing and monetizing
components than simply
social interaction.
Page 21
23. This infographic from
mindflash.com offers the
generic advice to a
younger person or any
person really, looking for
a job in social media. The
challenge with a good
number of people
entering social media is in
fact their lack of social
skills in the so called ‘real
world’.
Working behind the
scenes in technology is
often reserved for the
reserved person – that
would be the person who
is not outgoing and
yakking it up with the
sales team. They prefer
the back room loaded
with computer ‘stuff’ and
delivering their skills in a
quiet spot out the way
from all the office noise.
You may have to sit
through more than a few
interviews or construct a
one‐pager to help you
diagnose the personality
you want and need to
start or improve your
social media marketing.
It’s also quite possible
that this special person is
located within your
company and on your
team right now. Show
them the graphic. Always
worth checking in‐house.
On the next page you’ll find job descriptions and requirements for senior social media people
giving you a decent cross section of what you might be listing as your hiring requirements.
http://dailyinfographic.com/how‐to‐get‐a‐job‐in‐social‐media‐in‐5‐minutes‐infographic
Page 22
24. HUMAN RESOURCES
LOOKING TO HIRE A DIRECTOR TRAVEL SOCIAL MEDIA
Ad content: We're seeking a dynamic, experienced digital marketing leader to develop strategy
and execute it effectively as a Director of Travel Social Media. This individual will be responsible
for blended traditional/digital and social strategy. The Director of Travel Social Media will
provide leadership, strategy, content creation, community management, platform design and
development, and staff mentorship. We're looking for an individual who can guide us through
the ever‐evolving travel social media landscape, advising on social media‐centric initiatives and
directing a social media team. (Source: the following have been collected from several job sites)
We're interested in speaking q Have proven experience overseeing travel
to candidates who: social media teams, acting as a mentor to
staffers, and collaborating with colleagues
q Have (X) years of social media marketing and partners across geographies.
and strategy experience preferably in the
travel or tourism environment. q Are passionate about the social media
landscape, and can demonstrate thought
q Can collaborate effectively with senior leadership in the travel & tourism space.
managers and digital leads to create
compelling social strategies for launching, q Can create a team culture that's innovative
growing, and promoting our travel and enables team members careers to
products, services and brand in social thrive.
channels that meet our business objectives
and maximize our social ROI. Primary responsibilities:
q Provide insight on emerging trends and
q Can develop an always‐on content studio social media developments as they affect
that creates rich and compelling graphics travel trade public relations and marketing.
for our partner’s travel products, services, q Develop strategies to harness advocates
promotions and brands. online, whether those are travel industry
influencers, consumers or partners.
q Are talented writers (travel blogging) and q Design and implement complex social
up‐front presenters, with outstanding media engagement campaigns,
communication skills, including the ability predominantly for our products, services,
to own and create programs from concept consumer brands and companies, host
through to presentation and execution. agencies, franchisees...
q Create and execute accurate budget
q Are skilled at developing relationships with estimates for long‐term and short‐term
our preferred travel trade partners. programs.
q Provide insight on how to utilize real‐time
q Possess superb execution and management travel social media marketing to create
skills, and can allocate resources effectively, valuable and sharable content as part of an
structure teams and deliver excellent always‐on strategy.
programs in a timely manner (including, but q Become an expert on our brands and goals
not limited to, travel content creation, and develop creative solutions that boost
community management, social media the brands reputation.
monitoring and influencer outreach). q Take broad campaign concepts and strategy
and translate them into meaningful,
q Have experience in engagement metrics, actionable operating plans.
use various reporting tools, and who can q Identify ways to measure success against
use travel data to drive strategies for the campaign goals and achievable
content creation and concepts. outcomes; determine methods to collect
Page 23
25. and present data to colleagues, brand team, to ensure that projects are delivered
partners and executive management. in a seamless and integrated fashion.
q Oversee content production from concept q Coordinate with the travel social media
to execution. team as necessary to ensure that copy
q Oversee community management to developed is consistent with the online
maximize travel customer engagement. visibility strategy of our promotions.
q Oversee web platform development from q Develop and test alternate approaches to
concept to execution. managing the copy queue and development
q Guide, mentor, and motivate staff. process.
q Play a key role in new business q Work closely with the travel social media
development and presentations to the manager, product and brand managers to
travel trade / customer base; anticipate / understand our customer’s needs and
identify emerging client needs. ensure that the team delivers on the same
via current and proposed products.
We are seeking a Team Lead,
Social Media Content: Job Requirements ‐ Qualifications:
q Bachelors Degree, English / Journalism /
Job Duties: Writing / Digital
q Lead the team of staff and outsourced q Marketing/Communications degree
travel writers responsible for delivering q (X) year's relevant experience
social media and SEO (e.g., blogs, press q (X) years of online marketing experience;
releases, pay‐per‐click) copy for customer q (X) years team lead experience
campaigns and websites. q Familiarity with travel social media: Use
q Manage a small in house team and vendor LinkedIn, Facebook, and/or Twitter and
resources to produce a high volume of other social media channels and have an
social media blogs and other deliverables to interest in learning more
satisfy social media travel campaigns. q Vendor management skills: (X) years
q Ensure that the quality and timeliness of experience working with travel suppliers &
the team's work meets the standards partners, including providing feedback and
required to enable the team to achieve its keeping on‐schedule
goals and monitor these things through q Working knowledge of SEO: (X) years using
reporting and metrics. or equivalent training / courses in natural /
q Manage the daily operations of the team, organic SEO
including solving internal issues and q Ability to successfully manage multiple
addressing customer / project escalations. projects in a deadline‐driven environment
q Develop standard operating procedures to q Strong execution, leadership and
guide the team's delivery, and evolve these implementation skills
as necessary to react to changing products, q Demonstrated ability to build and staff a
traveller’s needs, and internal goals. new organization; setting direction, defining
q Coordinate with other groups within the goals and driving results
travel social media team, including the q Strong presentation / communication skills
project management team and design q Other… (your turn!)
Whether you manage a small or large travel agency the time is coming when you will need the
services of a Travel Social Media Marketing person on your team. That person might be you,
could be one of your counsellors who shows an interest in the position or you might outsource
as required. Whatever route you take, the above will give you some idea as to what your social
media person should know.
“Keeping a little ahead of conditions is one of the secrets of business…”
- Charles M. Schwab
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