Do we really know what we are doing? By that I mean, is what we do on a daily basis supported by some pretty strong empirical evidence that it has a good chance of actually working? Or is the selling of travel products still in its infancy in terms of accurate measurement and profit projections?
Our industry seems obsessed by the ongoing debate as to what really works. Old-fashioned travel evenings at the country club? Huge plays in social media? Mass mailings to every eligible AARP member? Google ads? Newsletters, personalized travel blogs, targeted mailings based on shoe size? We just don't know.
The local retailers of travel -- let's call them travel agents -- generally pick and choose from a smorgasbord of small-plate options, a little of this and a little of that.
Sales, of course, are handled by a corps of salespeople who are interested in increasing their volume. More stuff sold equals more income, so sell it all. The more we sell, the more we make. It's all good.
But is it? Is it really "all good"? Is profit and loss really that simple? Do we just continue to blithely sell whatever the consumer wants and give consumers whatever it is that they expect from us in the way of our precious time and knowledge?
One of my hobbies involves reading and writing about the restaurant industry. Frequent analogies come to mind, but let's just say that McDonald's can tell you exactly what it will cost to add a small pickle slice on a cheeseburger or an extra dab of ketchup. Travel agents, on the other hand, often have no idea about the actual cost of producing a $10,000 FIT in Spain.
I knew that Anne Scully, the president of McCabe World Travel in Virginia, has been urging agents for some time to leave the dark ages and enter the brave new world of travel time management.
Anne is a different kind of industry guru. She walks the walk. Forbes Magazine recently referred to her as an industry superstar who "perennially ranks among the five or 10 best travel agents in the nation by anyone who ranks these things." Her advice is sought after, and she always leaves her audience with at least five exciting ideas worth implementing.
I remember Anne once asked an audience if they were good about sending Christmas cards to their clients. Most in the audience raised their hands. Then Anne launched into a soliloquy about what a total waste of time Christmas cards are. "Your clients get hundreds. They'll never notice yours," she offered. Instead, Anne implored, "Send them a Thanksgiving card. You won't have any competition, you will beat the Christmas rush, and after all, thanking them for their business is what it is all about."
Anne has some strong views on time management. Well, to be honest, Anne can give you strong views about the weather. She and I see eye to eye on the failure of our industry to understand that not all sales are created equal. Those who sell travel need to understand that time is a precious asset, as is the expertise we bring to planning. But if our salespeople don't understand what is profitable and what really isn't, we will fail to become the well-managed, highly disciplined profession we'd like to think we are.
I spoke with Anne recently, and she shared some of her techniques to encourage everyone at her firm to think in terms of the best utilization of their time. This is Anne's take on how travel agencies ought to be managing their time.
It all starts with an assumption: As travel sellers, we seem to value our clients' time but not our own.
Anne has a daughter who is a lawyer in Washington. As you may have observed from personal experience, lawyers tend to keep careful track of their billable hours. But how many travel agents value their time enough to keep such records?
So in 2009, Anne began to follow a rather simple process that has produced some huge returns. Every call from a client generates a file folder. Not a computerized file, an old-fashioned letter-size file. This file is used for only two purposes.
First, agents working with the client keep a brief, written record of all work done on the trip, including all phone time spent speaking with the client or with suppliers on behalf of the client. At the end of the day, Anne wants to know how many hours it took to generate the profit on this booking -- based on this simple time-management technique, "what was our yield?"
This could, Anne pointed out, be simply logged on a computer. But she feels there is value in asking staff to handwrite the hours they devote to a file.
The second purpose of the manila file is a booking checklist. This should be a no-brainer, but you might be surprised at the number of agencies that still don't have one. Anne's is quite detailed and includes such items as "Do we have a copy of the picture page of the passport on file?" Or "Has a midtrip call or gift been scheduled?" Or "Personal follow-up call on return."
Every aspect of the trip, every planning procedure is included in the checklist, and Anne feels this "goes a long way toward maximizing our service while avoiding mistakes."
There are fees involved in McCabe's services. There is a $250 nonrefundable "Plan to Go" fee. Most agents do that. But Anne's technique is to send the client a credit card authorization form before work begins on a file. Anne takes it a step further by charging upfront fees for cruises and escorted tours because, increasingly, brochure programs require customization. She bills guests who cancel up to $1,500 for professional services.
"Professionals just don't allow people to waste their time," Anne pointed out.
She explained that she has one outside consultant who produced $4 million in sales last year and several who produced in the range of $3 million each. She can't afford to have them wasting their time without policies in place that will ensure yield that is sustainable.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of travel sellers operate on the assumption that accurate time management and the use of billable hours is for real professionals, like attorneys or physicians. We travel folk just do our work "because we love it."
Contributing Editor Richard Bruce Turen owns Churchill & Turen Ltd., a luxury vacation firm based in Naples, Fla. He is also managing director of the Churchill Group, a sales training and marketing consultancy. He has been named to the list of the World's Top Travel Specialists by the editors of Conde Nast Traveler for the past 13 years. Contact him at rturen@travelweekly.com.