by John Frenaye
Monday October 05, 2015

Make up a crisis! I am not suggesting running into your local theater and screaming “fire” and trying to sell people trips on the sidewalk as they evacuate. But something a lot more discrete, and a lot more legal. Take a look at the past and the ever changing world of travel and see if you can create a demand for travel-or at lease a demand to think about traveling. At worst, your name will rise to the top. At best, you will receive some bookings.

In 2007, WHTI became effective. If you were in the industry leading up to that, you remember how frantic travelers were to get their passports. There was confusion. You now needed passports to go to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.…

The gift of gab has no place in business today. There's no need for memorizing and rehearsing come-backs and proactive sales pitches. After taking the time to understand one's particular buying motives, your one and only recourse is to simply recommend what you feel is best for the buyer.

All the sales books I have read include a lengthy chapter telling how it will be in the interest of you and your pocketbook to up-sell people. If the prospect says this, you say that. If they do that, you do this. When they finally do by this, you slide on a few that’s. Sounds pretty manipulative if you ask me. I feel strongly that you should think less of yourself if you ever find yourself trying…

by Richard Earls
Sunday October 04, 2015

Have you had the experience when driving of unexpectedly seeing a car or pedestrian emerge from your “blind-spot”?  The sudden awareness of a nearly missed accident is more than a little disconcerting. One moment everything is fine and then without warning you are blind-sided by something as obvious as a Ford Explorer.

The same thing can happen to you in your travel practice unless you take terrific precautions to be self-aware.

As a travel consultant, you know your business. You work to develop an understanding of travel product.  You study marketing, sales and customer service. The longer you are a part of the industry, the better you understand the essential workings of being an expert in your field.  You know your…