Richard Turen
This week, I thought I would suggest a bit of advice that might be appropriate for newly hired staff members joining our industry. You will not, of course, agree with everything I say here, but hopefully there is enough advice that will work in your agency to make this useful.
Welcome. You are about to walk through a door that leads to the outer world. As part of the country's second-largest industry, your eyes and what you know will give you the privilege of helping others through the door. Your task is crucial. You will be handling the very finest moments of your clients' lives. Never forget the trust they have placed in you.
Don't worry about what you don't know. Ours is an impossible task. You will never know the world. Your goal is just simply to do your best and to accept the fact that you are the "sales rep" for the planet.
The travel mantra is really simple, and you don't have to go to the mountaintop to learn it. Just treat all clients as if they were cherished members of your immediate family.
You will never know your product. The best you can do is commit to learning as much as you can about as many places as you can. You will never go to bed feeling that "I know this job." Everything we do leads us to want to know more. And just when you think you know a product, count on it changing.
Do not specialize for the first five years. Be a generalist. When you have done it all, you will know where your travel passions really are.
Know that you have entered a profession that you will likely never leave. Statistically speaking, you're likely to be a travel lifer. So it is best to start the learning curve as soon as you can. You don't want to be looking up the capital of Croatia when you are in your 70s.
Yes, the internet and a huge dose of incompetence have combined to run 40% of all travel agents out of our industry. But the best-informed travel consultants and trusted advisers are thriving, and there is a severe shortage of qualified employees who have seen the world and sort of understand it.
Immediately after being hired, go to a bookstore and buy the best black journal it sells. Make this your secret black book of people and places. When it is close to being filled, transfer it to a file on your desktop. Your personal black book is what will separate you from all of the travel pretenders. And they are legion.
Know that consumers are generally unaware of the fact that they have been charged for using our services, even when they go it alone. Make it your mission to inform the public that direct bookings are never in their best interest.
If you see yourself as a salesperson, please consider the used-car business. We are in the dream-fulfillment business. We try to determine the client's needs and then, to the very best of our abilities, fulfill them. We are worldwide enablers, helping clients navigate a rather complex series of hurdles to reach the kinds of experiences they are truly seeking. Today's consumer can generally spot a sales pitch half a mile away.
Trying to sell someone a vacation they don't really want is unethical and completely out of date. Instead, try to create a short list of options, pointing out the upside and downside of each one with your recommendations. Listen to the gurus you will meet at sales meetings but dismiss most of what they said. Instead, try to be a travel truth-teller. There is a rather severe industry shortage.
Always respect home-based agents. They tend to understand that technology enables them to practice their craft virtually anywhere, and some of the country's leading travel practitioners are just a few steps away from their kitchen tables.
Know the difference between "traditional sightseeing" and "contemporary life sightseeing." Most of your clients will choose the latter.
Understand that consumers have been lied to for years about the relative quality levels of competing products. You need to design your own accurate rankings and must be able to prove the validity of your findings.
Try to divide your learning into two very broad categories: What you need to know about the world and what you need to know about specific destinations. Learning about travel products and destinations is going to be easier than you might have thought. Technology has produced the ability to attend webinars and to take virtual-reality tours. Preparing to know the world takes a bit more thought.
Subscribe to The Week magazine for an overview of events around the world. Read the leading industry magazines. Subscribe to the Wall Street Journal. Make certain that you can get accurate information about security issues wherever your clients are traveling. Knowing the itinerary stopped being enough years ago. You need to be familiar with world events as they might affect travelers.
Understand that the internet is the single greatest source ever invented for the rapid dissemination of totally false and inaccurate information. It is going to be, for instance, virtually impossible for you to find truthful information about a specific hotel with both upside and downside information. Learn where to source this information. Understand that you will have access to information that is simply unavailable online.
Have high expectations of your suppliers. If they can't share specifics about their product and company that are not available online, do not give them too much of your time. Expect them to share successful marketing stories and don't be afraid to imitate something that has worked well for someone else.
You are mostly going to be working with rich retirees. Accept that fact. Few working adults can take the time required to take a two-week vacation outside the U.S. Read AARP's magazine. Most retirees worked their entire lives to enjoy what you have in store for them. Make sure that you never screw it up.
Take a pledge that you will always -- not sometimes, always -- call every client to welcome them home and to get their impressions of their travels. Studies show that clients place a high value on these calls.
Some 60% to 70% of your clients will self-identify as foodies, which means you also need to know a little something about worldwide cuisine. You need to be able, on short notice, to produce a list of the three or four top restaurants in cities worldwide. Watch as much Anthony Bourdain as you can.
Never assume that people want the lowest price. When it comes to travel, the lowest-priced product can mean bedbugs, ladies of the night outside the front door or a cabin next to the engine room on Z Deck. Only sell what you would recommend to a family member. Get over price-intimidation trauma as quickly as you can.
Try not to know the commission on the products you recommend. It will only distract you from recommending the product that best meets your client's needs.
Smile tonight, just before you go to sleep. Know that you are going to enhance people's life experiences in ways they could never replicate on their own. You have entered a tolerant business and an ethical business. You are fortunate to have chosen our "never boring for one moment" profession.
We hope you will come to love what you do as much as the rest of us.