by John Frenaye
Monday June 22, 2015

2015 is almost halfway gone and if you are a smart agency owner, you are probably thinking about getting your 2016 ducks in a line pretty soon. As we all know, business does not go anywhere until someone is interested in our product. Very few of us have a stable of high-spending, loyal clients. My own business (by definition) will turn over my client base about every ten years. So, it is imperative that you are always looking for new leads and prospects. A few weeks ago I was brainstorming with some non-travel business owners and came up with some obvious methods and some less-than-obvious ones. Here are our top 5.

Easter always reminded me of the days when hunting for eggs played an important role in our development. Realizing it or not, this little exercise taught us how to have fun; how to accept rejection; how to celebrate our small victories; how to remain persistent; how to run fast and think on our feet; and many other important lessons that I just can't recall at the moment.

Looking for Easter Eggs was a great event as the adults giggled and were entertained as the little ones bobbed and weaved throughout the house and perhaps out onto the lawn to seek these rewards, and to bask in the applause from their parents. Those were the…

by Richard Earls
Saturday June 20, 2015

This weekend marks the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Long ago, humanity lived by such agricultural markers. But your clients, and all of the potential clients "out there" have their own schedules. They travel when they are ready. Their travel plans have nothing to do with your preparations, business plans, or agendas. But someday, Ms. Client will look at Mr. Client and say something like, "Let's go to Ireland this year."  Before they next think of price or plans or preparations, will your clients' thoughts turn to you?

Too often, we treat marketing like it's a bag of "tricks" and techniques. Sales down? Better start marketing. What should we do? Email "blast"? Take…

Bryna Blum – AKA “The Printress” – is President of The WCBS Group (“WCBS”). Bryna and her partner and IT Manager, Marty Gronewald, have grown WCBS from providing invoice and itinerary forms to a local clientele in 1981, to becoming a national, full-service company with 4 websites under the WCBS umbrella. WCBS has clients in all 50 states, Canada, the Pacific Rim, and the Caribbean, and has suppliers across the USA and Canada. WCBS provides everything from online offset, digital, and large format printing to promotional products, logo design, and corporate packages. WCBS continues to evolve to be who their clients need them to be.

TRO: Tell us how you got started in the marketing and…