1. TRAVEL AGENTTHE HOW-TO MAGAZINE FOR ICs, OSRs & HOME-BASED TRAVEL AGENTS
AN SMP TRAINING PUBLICATION
APRIL 2014
The ART of
Selling Travel
from HOME
Tips, Tools & Techniques

2. 4 EDITORIAL
Selling travel from home does
not have to be a puzzle when you
read IC! Find the host agency
that best suits your needs.
Share your money making ideas
in IC and help your IC colleagues.
CONTACT
Steve Crowhurst
steve@ic-travelagent.com
250-738-0064
www.ic-travelagent.com
Publisher:
SMP Training Co.
www.smptraining.com
Contributors
Steve Crowhurst
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T: 250-738-0064.
6 SELLING SUMMER
9 SELLING THE SIZZLE
10 YOU CAN’T SIZZLE IF YOU…
11 BEACH AND… VACATIONS
12 IT’S A SHADY BUSINESS
13 SELLING SUMMER KOOL
13 THE BIRTHDAY WISH
14 FISHING FOR THAT PERFECT SUMMER TRAVEL EXPERIENCE Steve Gillick
17 SUMMER BAD
18 SECRET SELLING SAUCE
19 STRIKE ZONE FOCUS Cory Andrichuk
21 AHA! SO THAT’S WHY!
24 WHAT DO YOU DO WITH…
25 HEY, WHAT’S UP CHOC?
26 CALL YOUR TRAVEL AGENT
28 QUICK TIPS
30 TRAINING PAGE
31 SELLING ANCILLARIES
32 NEW TOOLS
36 SELLING TRAVEL WITH STEVE
Advertisers in this issue: Nexion Canada Page 3, The Travel Agent Next Door Page 5,
The Travel Agent’s Store Page 20, The Travel Institute Page 34, Big Bark Graphics Page 37
TABLE OF CONTENTS – IC APRIL 2014
If it’s not yet 5pm where you live, you still have time to make one more
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4. Selling Summer & Sizzlin’ Sales
With red hair and a fair skin you’ll know that I have to dodge from one tree shade to another and
many times with a towel around each foot just like in the movie Arthur! You’d have to buy me a
ticket to the museum and pick me up after dark! Unlike me there are many millions of people
who can take the heat and love it and those sun lovin’ clients, regardless of how winter came and
went are always a summer season target audience. As the saying goes, so many beaches, so little
time!
In this issue of IC-TA we’ll explore how to sell the summer heat, turn up the heat, sell some really
cool or kool vacations for people like me who want to head to the cooler and higher areas of a
hot destination - and if you’re up for it, you can even flog the sunscreen too. Hey why not? Money
is money. Okay, no sunscreen – how about swim wear? Aw come on. We’re talking selling
summer, chillin’ out, heating up, cookin’ up a storm and cooling down. Relax and sell something
different. Here we go.
See you inside. Look for me under the palm tree.
Don’t forget to check out the new titles at The Travel Agent’s Store.
Here’s to your continued success!
Best regards.
Steve Crowhurst, CTC
steve@ic-travelagent.com
www.ic-travelagent.com
Steve Crowhurst, CTC, Publisher
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6. Selling Summer
Oh summer! What a great season to sell and right about now. April is a great month for
promoting summer travel. Most people around the globe are coming off a winter that by all
accounts was terrible with way too much snow, freezing temperatures that wouldn’t quit and
floods and in other parts of the world drought and wild fires. What can you say but “Hey! Time
to chill out. Take some time. Regroup. Relax. Take a vacation.” So, are you working on your
Summer Selling Promotion? Do you have your destinations selected? How about your tour
products? Are YOU planning to lead your own tours anywhere? Let’s sell some sizzle.
There is sometimes a misnomer that people in
general will hang locally and not bother to go
travelling during the summer months. That
statement is part true, depending on where you
live, how nice the summer months are, and the
people who choose to stay put.
I’ve listened to those
reports. My take on the
world of travel is that
there is always someone
that has saved up to go
somewhere, every day of
the year. Travel is too
personal to lump
everyone together into
the “They won’t travel in
summer…” box. Nope.
You have to have faith in
the fact that the lives of
your client’s are much the
same as yours – you need
a break and so do they.
You have your dreams and so do they. In my
book that means there’s travel to be sold each
day every day.
Beaches Are More Than Winter
Of course if where you live your winters are
harsh, then many of your clients will be booking
those beach vacations to soak up the sun, whilst
those at home are freezing their tails off. There
are beach vacations that also sell in the summer
and there’s also a clientele for this mid-year
product.
The decision is: which summer beach and
where? Many of those winter destinations are
actually year-round destinations as their climate
stays more or less even throughout the year.
What drives tourists there in the wintertime is
the weather at home. So, you can still sell Hawaii
and Mexico and the
Caribbean during summer.
The European Scene
As you know Europe as a
whole has more than a
splendid coast line
complete with stunning
beaches and hidden coves.
Then not far away would
be fabulous cuisine and
historical everything. Do
your due diligence and
explore online for the top
ten European beaches, or
explore what your
preferred suppliers are
offering this summer in Europe.
Summer Luxury
If you have the clientele with those deep pockets
then there’s luxury travel to be had – and that
means anywhere in the world during the
summer months. So what type of luxury travel
can be had during the summer? Let’s talk safaris
as in Glamping, or river cruising in Europe, China
and elsewhere. You name it there’s a luxury
version of it.

7. What’s On the Summer Travel Menu?
No doubt you have your niche to sell and that’s
probably what’s on the travel menu you provide
your client base. Whether you are 100% general
or 100% niche, it will be your marketing of a
summer vacation that attracts your existing and
new prospects to contact you.
If you know your products and you know your
suppliers and the destinations you intend to
push then all you have to do now is focus on the
wording and imagery to be used in your
marketing campaign/s. Remember sunsets and
sunrises still pull no matter which destination or
type of travel you are marketing.
Use Your Facebook Cover
You know how to use your Facebook cover image
but the question is: are you changing it to suit
your current promotion? Excellent! Well now is
the time to use it and push your summer
campaign to your Facebook pals.
Link your post to your website where your clients
can find more information about your summer
vacation ideas.
Turn Your Website Home Page Into…
Like your Facebook page, your website
homepage offers you huge screen real estate on
which to create your summer extravaganza.
Think about those screen sizes that your clients
look at each day… let’s focus on those 20”
desktop screens, then the 17” laptops and
eventually you can drill down to those small
smartphone screens too. But let’s stick with the
large screens. Time to fill that 20 inch screen with
a something screamin’ SUMMER!
What does your homepage look like about now?
Is it jam packed with loads of small hyperlinked
images? Too cluttered? Okay make a change.
Can you make the change? Could you drive your
clients to your website and when they get there,
land there, click there – would be WOWed with
your slogan, the image, the offer?
What’s Your Supplier Saying?
Your suppliers pay a lot of money to have an
internal or external team develop their slogans
and phrases. If you are selling their products you
can, with permission, use their slogans too.
Some slogans are reserved purely for your
supplier’s promotions however the non-
trademarked slogans they will allow you to use
as long as you adhere to their graphic
specifications.
Look through the ads of your preferred suppliers
and if there is a slogan there that is catchy and
suits your promotion of that suppliers products
then ask for the high resolution image.
The Sum of All Tweets
Why not? Tweet your best summer vacation
images, quotes, deals. Start a Sweet Tweet
Summer Suite promotion. It’s all words. Just
words. Make them catchy and things catch on.
Ask your host agency for help here too. They
have marketing gurus that are at your service.

8. Generational Graphics
Who is your client? Do you serve all generations
or are you focused on one – the Baby Boomer or
Generations X or Y? You may wish to choose your
graphics and create your promotions based on
the type of words and images that appeal to your
clients.
It’s a fine art. You do not want to come across as
trying to be younger or older than you are. You
don’t need to try and fit in. There will be a time
to use some ole hokey expression from the 50s
and the same applies to text messaging
abbreviation – you don’t want to be seen
stringing a line of abbreviations one after the
other! But you could use:
A3 meaning Anywhere, Anyplace, Anytime.
Humour Is Good
Good humour is good. Not jokes, but humour.
It’s worthwhile studying the difference.
Videos are GREAT!
Everyone is watching videos. Different genre for
different generations. Why not source your
supplier’s best videos and use those in a social
media marketing sense.
Great summer scenery: vineyards, beaches and
bodies, horseback riding, running through
waves, dances with others, river cruising,
touring, eco-tours and adventurous activities…
they all fit somewhere. All you have to do it point
your clients towards your video channel.
Summer is All Things to All People
There you have it. A summer vacation has
different meaning to each and every person on
your client list. Look for groups with a common
summer interest – could be outdoors, up the
Amazon or heading off to Rome. Ask your client’s
what they intend to do this summer for their
vacation. It’s the only way to know for sure. 

9. Selling The Sizzle
This phrase is as old as dirt – but, still valid and a wonderful term to lock away in your head
and bring it forward as and when you are in a sales situation. What it means of course is to
make sure you are talking about the things that are or would be attractive to your client. So
attractive that they are eager to buy the travel experience from you now, today. Let’s explore:
Okay, think about the game, be out in the park,
near a camp fire, walking past a
street vendor and suddenly
the aroma of hot dogs and
onions comes zipping past
your nose… MMM!
Then there’s that steak on
the Barbie - and not only the
aroma but the sound of it
cooking. The sizzling sound
that suggests one very tasty
meal coming to your table
any minute now.
The phrase sell the sizzle not
the steak is what we’re
focusing on. In other words,
sell the benefits not the
features. You know all about that
steak in terms of what it is and where to buy it
and how to cook it. You also know that it’s very,
very tasty… AND it satisfies your hunger. Those
two comments are the key benefits. That’s the
sizzle you are selling. So let’s equate all this to
selling hot and sizzlin’ summer vacations.
What’s HOT and on the Summer Menu?
First stop is to search online for THE WORLD’S
BEST… and then you can fill in the blank with the
words: beaches, surfing, scuba, with night life
and then when you check the results of your
search you can check with your preferred
suppliers to determine if they feature that
specific destination.
When it’s time to market your chosen SIZZLIN’
vacation spot then you’ll be searching for those
words that will have your clients salivating over
what you are cooking up for their
vacation.
When To Sell The Steak
Now we switch menus for
a moment. When you
have clients who are
beach lovers and enjoy all
things sun related – then
they are savvy to the
benefits of anything you
are going to tell them
about. What you do now
is promote the features of
the “steak”.
So, this resort has a larger
swimming pool, they have 5
more night clubs than other similar resorts. The
golf course is one of the top courses in the area.
You see that in reviewing these types of features,
a savvy client would be picturing the benefits in
their mind. They know what a larger pool means
to them, same thing for the choice of night clubs
on the property and so on.
Adding The Secret Sauce
Every top salesperson has a secret sauce or an
ingredient that puts them ahead of the rest.
What will yours be when it comes to selling the
summer sizzle? Do you know the features and
benefits of your top summer destinations,
products and packages? If you do, now you can
work on your sizzlin’ sales pitch for selling those
benefits and then – for those savvy clients – reel
off those extra special features. Be HOT! Sell
HOT! 

10. You Can’t Sizzle if you…
That’s right. No sale no sizzle. No sizzle no sale. If you’re not sizzling then is might just be down
to lead generation plus the question of what your marketing is doing to drive the leads you
need. You can’t sizzle if no leads are being generated. You have three lead generators based
on the marketing activities of yourself, your host agency and your preferred suppliers. Those
are the three sources that shake the world around you – then it’s up to you to secure those
leads and waltz them to a sizzlin’ close. Let’s take a closer look:
There’s your three sources of lead generation
and they should be on fire each day every day.
Of course you’ll have your own marketing plan
and before you commit to it, make sure you have
made notes as to when your host agency has
their marketing planned. Then review your
suppliers to see what they are doing, followed by
any collaboration between your host agency and
those same preferred suppliers.
That is a lot of marketing activity and your job is
to channel every lead you can to your email,
phone or website which in turn will route your
prospects and leads back to your email or phone.
You can sizzle if you have those incoming leads.
The main thing you can do is to put yourself in
the way of the prospect and in your own
marketing promote:
“Hey… over here! I’m the best travel agent
in town! I can get you there from here!”
Whenever you see a supplier’s promotion that
you like and it’s a product you sell, then that’s
when you market yourself as the main booking
engine, the place where that promotion can be
discussed and booked. You cannot propose to be
or represent that supplier, but you can sell it as
an agent of record.
To sell and sizzle at the same time means to turn
every marketing opportunity in your direction.
Pitch yourself, join in on host agency marketing
and support your preferred supplier marketing
and you will indeed attract some sizzlin’ leads to
close. 

11. Beach and… Vacations
The beach vacation is one component of many combo styled vacations. A combo vacation is
when your clients want to add something else to their beach holiday – something extra to do,
to experience after lazing on the beach. You can also structure your own selection of BEACH
AND… combinations and market them locally to ready-made groups, associations and common
interest clubs. Here’s a few ideas for you to think on and develop your own programs.
Okay, thinking caps on. What can you combo up
with a beach vacation? That’s the puzzle we
need to solve when your client hits the ESCAPE
key. They want something more than sun, sand
and sea. And it looks like you found it: GOLF.
Yes golf actually goes with
most vacations and for sure
a beach vacation. Do many
beach resorts offer a golf
club?
Yes they do
and for sure you
can arrange the full
package for your clients.
Okay what else?
Are you thinking other sports? Right on the
money. Scuba, hiking and para-gliding could fit.
Then we still need factor in a nice air-conditioned
activity for those that cannot take the sun day-in
and day-out. Are you with me? Yes of course
SHOPPING – an air-condition activity!
Did anyone think food? Wine? Sushi? Cheese
sarnies? Come on now… food after the beach is
a gimme. Keep going… how about sightseeing
and flightseeing and if your clients are heading
to Hawaii then for sure it’s a trip to the top of the
volcanoes and bike down. If Mexico then it’s
atop the ruins they go.
Now if you’ve managed to sell your clients on a
European beach vacation then you might add a
side trip to Monaco or Rome or Paris.
So many combinations to add to a beach
vacation – about 200 activities in fact. Perhaps
start here: what do you like to do pre and post
lazing on the beach? 

12. It’s a Shady Business
So what do you do when your clients are all sun lovers and
then there’s the odd one in the group who is not the black
sheep, more the white, the pink and the delicate one! YUP…
just like me! Remember in the editorial I mentioned finding me
under the shade of a tree, well here ya go! That’s me under
one of those very large whateveritis plants! So how do you sell
shade when it’s full on summer? Let’s explore:
Believe it or not shady vacations go hand in glove with sun, sand and
beach vacations. Let’s say you have a family heading off to a beach
vacation. They will for sure at some point in their stay need to protect
their kids from the sun’s rays and fill the time with something exciting.
That’s where your knowledge of shady vacation opportunities comes
into play. Talking inside entertainment for the whole family.
DMOZ.OG
The Open Directory Project is a fascinating thing.
Find out all about it here at DMOZ.ORG and
before you do that, click the link below to review
the list of museums that might fit into a post
beach visit.
http://www.dmoz.org/Reference/Museums/Dir
ectories/
ART Museums
Here’s a terrific site for… well you guessed it!
ART! Kids live art and you can always check for
hands-on kids programs.
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/museums.html
What Else Can You Suggest?
How about KIDZANIA? It’s one of the hottest
(our selling theme) entertainment companies to
come along for some time. Watch the video and
you’ll get the message. They are not everywhere
yet, but they soon will be.
Thinking Shade
Okay over to you. Where can you find shade for
your sun loving clients? Must be inside a building
or could be inside a forest on a day long eco
adventure. Then you have techie, all things
smart centers too. Check with your clients. Ask
about their shady preferences and surprise them
with your knowledge. 

13. Selling Summer Kool
Everyone has their own ideas about what a summer vacation is all about. Some head back to
the local beach, others go for a beach far away on a distant shore, cycling through Europe
sounds good especially with a cool one after the peddling. Then there are vacations that can
truly fit the summer fare and on the kool scale reach a 10. Let’s chill out and check in.
The Word Kool
Kool actually means cool as in not hot and also
great, different, interesting. Kool is often used in
marketing slogans to attract by spelling the word
cool with a ‘k’.
Where is it Kool to Visit?
Every traveller has their own definition of kool
places to visit – but then, many do not have an
idea of where to go next. All they know is they
want something different.
Others actually want it cool as in low heat and
they want to mix that in with an adventure or a
more cerebral type of vacation.
Off the Cliff Monasteries to Opera
Places that are cool and kool might be those
ancient places of worship that are built into and
on top of cliffs and mountains. You can find them
in Europe and Asia. Then there would be those
fabulous, ornate opera houses found in Eastern
Europe and elsewhere.
Our Summer Their Winter
Check your world map and seasonality charts to
find out when it is winter there as opposed to
where you live when it is summer. Generally it
would be on the opposite side of the planet to
where you live. Some countries experience
wonderful climates during “our summer” and
offer cool, crisp, clear vistas to enjoy.
For some countries your opposite would be
Australia and New Zealand and what wonderful
and different scenery they offer. You can even go
north in those countries to be cooler!
Go High, Go North, Be Cool
North of the Equator, above 45° or 60°
depending on the season of the selected country
and you’ll be experiencing both cool and kool. If
you have not yet sold ice-bound vacations, give
it a try. Not talking the North Pole, but to visit
Inuit villages on a tour for instance and to view
the wild life of the north is very, very kool.
The Top Ten
There is always a top ten. Most travel magazines
generate a top ten of all things travel from
cruises, to tours and everything in between and
that includes countries, inns, vineyards, treks –
you name it, there’s a top ten list. Your next click
then is to search online for the Top Ten of
whatever it is that you would like to sell this
summer that would be kool for your clients.
The Cool Travel Club
Here’s an idea for you: start a travel club for
people like me who cannot take the heat. Be
cool. Travel cool. Go to kool places. Start
KoolTravel.com. Now that’s a kool idea! 

14. Fishing for That
Perfect Summer Travel Experience
When I was asked to write an article with something about ‘fish’ in the title, I agreed to do it (just for
the halibut) but found it to be a challenge. Then I remembered the quintessential summer lyric,
dreamily sung by Ella Fitzgerald and many others. The 7th
word in the classic “Summertime” is ‘fish’:
Summertime, and the livin' is easy, Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high. There are lessons in fishing
that relate to travellers and their secret summer desires, much like a horoscope that reveals their travel
personality.
Let me begin by suggesting that I am NOT a
fishing fanatic. In fact the last time I went fishing
was on a sunset cruise in the Maldives 8 years
ago and I don’t believe anyone on the boat
caught anything… but the scenery was pretty.
The time before that was when I was a kid and
we went fishing just north of Toronto. After 5
hours of listening to my transistor radio, as well
as coaxing, hoping, wishing, spotting and
cursing, not one fish took the bait.
Now I haven’t given up on fish altogether. When
I embraced the three graces of travel,
photography and writing, I discovered the joy of
visiting seafood markets. The vendors were hard
working but almost always friendly when asked
about their products. And then there was the
fresh smell of the seafood (which admittedly
some people can’t stand, but I happen to love),
and the colourful displays, especially in Asian
markets, where the produce is arranged with
artistic symmetry and pride.
I think about the fish market in Kota Kinabalu,
Malaysia. I was there on a travel agent “Fam”
trip and was told that the market opened at 5:30
am—cool, pitch dark, and a 15-20 minute walk
from the hotel. But I was there to discover and
experience so the first morning I wandered there
alone. The vendors were friendly, smiling,
posing for photos, explaining their catches,
working hard in footgear that ranged from thigh-
high rubber boots to simple broken plastic
thong-sandals. But this was their livelihood and
as the sun rose and the crowds of locals grew,
there were times when I just had to put away the
camera and appreciate the ‘spirit’ of the market.
And I can say that the same holds true in Tokyo’s
famous Tsukiji fish market or Shimonoseki’s
‘fugu’ (poisonous blow fish) market or various
fish markets in Thailand, Turkey, Sri Lanka,
Colombia, Panama, Chile or Ireland. And this is
not to forget markets closer to home: Granville
Island market in Vancouver, and the Market in
Seattle, Washington where tossing large slippery
fish from one end of the market stall to the other
end has become one of those legendary fish
market ‘must sees’.
Not that we want to classify travellers…but with
some imagination, humour and the prospect of
summer getaways, we can enjoy a bit of
psychographic (the study of why people do
things) license.
Summer Traveller Types mixed with a bit of aqueous humour…
GUEST ARTICLE BY
STEVE GILLICK

15. The Halibut
Travel Theme: Summer Time and Living is Easy…
Travel Image: Lazily fishing by the creek on a hot
summer day, wearing a straw hat tilted over the
eyes, chewing on a piece of straw, dipping the
fishing rod into the creek and waiting for a bite.
Travel Type: Laissez-faire, let everything unwind
as it will. Traveller does not want to be scheduled
to death. Needs lots of free time. Travel
Communication: This is your text/twitter-
communicating client who will decide this
afternoon that he/she needs a travel add-on
tomorrow and will want you to arrange it. This
client is long term; wants you to take
care of details but only as requested.
Travel Accommodation: Prefers small
intimate hotels.
The Marlin
Travel Theme: Summer
Time and the Fish are
Jumping… Travel
Image: Deep sea fishing
adventures with the
wind blowing in his/her
face, strapped into the
‘fighting chair’ with rod bent
over and reel spinning as a blue-fin Tuna
flies out of the water. Travel Type:
Adventure, independent, DIY, throw
caution to the wind, do it for the bragging rights.
Travel Communication: This client prefers
email—the less contact, the better. When
something goes wrong he/she will just ‘fix’ it and
tell you about it later. Once you interview the
client and create their CRM profile, don’t ask the
same questions again. Travel Accommodation:
Prefers small hotels, will not tolerate mass
tourism but ensure that the hotel bar is fully
stocked.
The Flounder
Travel Theme: Summer Time and the Sounds of
Silence. Travel Image: Standing hip-deep in a
river, wearing waders, and casting your fly
fishing line into the water again and again. The
emphasis is on peace, quiet, fresh air, the ripple
of the water, the sounds of nature. Travel Type:
Outdoors, walker, hiker, trekker. The person
who appreciates at least one day on a holiday
that is off the beaten track—communing with
nature—and recording their peace and quiet
with photographs and even writing. Travel
Communication: This is your Blog or Facebook
client who likes to record and relate things in
detail. They are likely to book a customized
package tour where at least one day can include
a get-away-from-it-all activity. Travel
Accommodation: Hotels/ Resorts/ B & B’s are
not really an issue as long as there are people to
meet.
The Grouper
Travel Theme: Summer Time with So Much to do
and So Little Time to Do It. Travel Image: Fish
markets, temples, attractions, restaurants,
shopping, beaches & tours. This is a busy
itinerary for a busy person who likes to do and
see. Travel Type: Likes to have fun, prefers
to have someone else do the
organizing and scheduling. Has
no issue with group tours as
long as the itinerary takes
in everything and the
coach or waterway
cruise allows plenty of
time to see and do. Travel
Communication: This is your
selfie-photo person. He/she is on
Instagram, Pinterest and Flickr.
Probably also on Facebook and Twitter,
as communicating everything possible to
everyone at every possible moment is very
important. Travel Accommodation: All
inclusives are great, as you can have choice, try
different foods, eat quickly and get back to your
activities.
The Sardine
Travel Theme: Summer Time and I Hate Fishing
aka Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer
Travel Image: Slathered in sun protection, lying
on a beach, lazing under a beach umbrella,
sipping sweet summer drinks from a straw
(paper umbrella in drink, of course). Travel Type:
All-inclusives, package holiday veteran. Wakes
up early, reserves 5 lounge chairs with towels,
then goes back to sleep and eventually returns
to pool or beach after breakfast, 3 hours later.
Enjoys watching hotel activities, the buzz of
talkative hotel patrons and the evening
entertainment. Travel Communication:
Telephone and in-person. Attitude is ‘show me
what’s available at my price point and send me
there’. Thank you. That’s All. Travel
Accommodation: All-inclusive but great

16. potential for upselling—appreciate the value of
spending more to experience enhanced
convenience—and also cross-selling—willing to
try new destinations and new resorts as long as
quality and value are not compromised.
The Angel Fish
Travel Theme: Three Little Fishies in an Itty Bitty
Pool (in the summer time). Travel Image:
Parent(s) and Kids(s) loaded down with
luggage, wearing sunglasses, shorts and
sandals in the departing airport and
talking incessantly about what
activities they will sign up for.
Travel Type: Family Traveller.
Everything is for the kids. Hotel
staff better be kid-friendly and
show it.
Travel Communication:
Before the trip: in-person
and telephone. During the
trip: Emails, texting and
collect phone Calls. After
the Trip: Letters. Travel
Accommodation:
Family-oriented all-
inclusives are perfect
but will accept other ideas as
long as there are tons of kid-oriented
activities available (and some for the adults too).
Menu choices have to be kid-friendly. There’s no
such thing as too many hamburgers and fish and
chips.
The Carp
Travel Theme: Summer Time and “I Want it My
Way”. Travel Image: Arguing on arrival with
customs, lecturing the taxi driver, fighting for a
better room at the resort, complaining about the
air conditioning, grumbling about the
temperature of the pool, criticizing the food,
whining about the wine selection….you get the
idea. Travel Type: Professional Anger
Management Candidate. Mouth is almost
always open wide, permanent frown on face,
eyes say “go away”, but absolutely loves to travel
as often as possible. Travel Communication:
Everything that gets the message across. Letters
to the manager, letters to the airline president,
letters to you and your supervisor, letters to the
tourist board, blogs, Trip Advisor review. Travel
Accommodation: Mostly all-inclusives but will
try anything once. The attitude is that
everything is fair game for a
complaint so why not
experience it to add to
the inventory of ‘don’t
like this”
The advent of
summertime travel
brings out all sorts of
travel types and this is
just one fun way to
appreciate them.
Segmenting your market and
understanding that each and every person has
their own travel wants and desires is very
important… as is maintaining a sense of
dedication to responding to your client’s needs,
and maintaining a sense of compassion mixed
with humour in working with those clients.
Fishing for
summer
clients…

17. Summer BAD
It’s summer. People heading off to the beach. They don’t
need anyone waving an insurance brochure in their face.
What can happen? The family are all healthy. Never had
a problem before. None of their friends bother to
purchase travel insurance and they travel a lot.
That was easy! Didn’t have to struggle with that sale, trying
to argue the issues, pros and cons about whether or not travel
insurance is a good buy in today’s world.
I mean come on. There’s an app for that. Isn’t there? Surely.
Well an app or a video. One of the two will work. So you fall
over, sprain your ankle on the middle of nowhere, you hit the
Emergency App button and “they” come and rescue you.
Whoops! There was no mention of the cost of extraction, the
chopper, the team. You mean that Buck-99 was just the cost
of the app. You mean that didn’t cover EVERYTHING?
Explaining why travel insurance coverage is needed to a young,
healthy, fit young person is a tough road to haul. However, this
is where your experience comes into play – if you have it that
is. Most senior travel agents know from first-hand experience
why insurance of any kind is a good investment. Younger travel
agents may need to have something stolen, lost, or their health
challenged before the message actually sinks in. It’s the worst
way to learn a lesson of course, but sometimes it is the only
way. The worst of worst lessons would be having a friend die
in your company because no hospital or doctor overseas would
tend to them. Click the link below to view the Infographic in a
larger format and then scroll to the bottom of the image and
you will find a link to the HTML. Copy it and paste into your
website to embed this image on your insurance web page.
The Travel Insurance Niche
Specialist eGuide is a great
resource and one every
travel agent should read.
Click here to view.
http://www.insureandaway.co.uk/why%20do%20i%20need%
20travel%20insurance/#sthash.RgImXla1.dpuf

18. Secret Selling Sauce
Selling with extra sizzle calls for something more, something added to the mix and that will
translate into a secret sauce of some kind. A hot sauce. Something Frank’s would put on their
label. Talking Red Hot. Bollywood hot. Slammin’ HOT! So what have you got in your selling kit
that’s hot, hot, hot? What do you have that’s secret to you and no other travel agent in your
neck of the woods? What can you whip up and dole out that’s a zinger of a closer?
Most sales pros have a secret sauce of some
kind. Very few people know about these secret
sales sauces due to the fact that… that’s right!
Secret. When you study a variety of sales and
marketing books both generic and travel sales
related you can read between the lines to
determine the ingredients to that sales person’s
success.
It might be their personality, natural or
developed, could be their knowledge in general
or of a specific destination, might even be their
preferred closing technique. All we generally
know is that they make money and close more
bookings than anyone else.
The secret sauce for some travel agents develops
over time. Some learn from their travel agent
parents, others from travel trade mentors and
others pick it up from reading and mixing with
high producing sales people. Others are born to
it and have “it” flowing in their veins. One of the
best ways to develop your own secret selling
sauce is to first of all learn the craft of sales. Next
is to mix with those high producers to listen and
learn. Then when you feel you have the basics,
you can determine what it is you would do
differently to set yourself apart from the rest.
Something unique. Something so hot, everyone
will want to get a taste. Today that difference,
that secret sauce means something techie,
something socially alluring.
Selling From Where You Are
Selling on Location is the new HOT sauce.
Sending Wish you were HERE! e-mails and
posting the same on your agency Facebook page
has a whole new meaning when you are on
location. Your pitch is: I’m here now. It’s
fantastic. I can book your vacation now. Be it
package, cruise, tour or resort stay or wedding &
honeymoon combined. You are onsite and
selling that fact. It’s your secret. Your
competition has no idea where you are – only
your customers and your suppliers. That’s secret
and it’s saucy and that’s HOT. 

19. Strike Zone Focus
Although I never played organized baseball growing up, I now find myself helping to coach my
nine-year-old son, Caden in his community baseball development team. As my baseball skills
are limited, my wife and I decided to hire local pro, Coach Shawn, to help Caden fine-tune some
of his baseball skills. Coach Shawn is not only a true professional but an exceptional
communicator. One of the key elements of sport he spoke to Caden about was discipline.
A key feature of discipline is the ability to
eliminate distractions. In order to do that,
Caden must practise with a specific purpose in
mind. For example, one purpose might be
to throw his pitches with accuracy.
To achieve this requires
delivering the throw in the strike
zone, which is the invisible
space between the batter's
shoulders and knees. This he
must picture in his mind. The
purpose of this "strike zone
focus" is to eliminate all
distractions and create a reachable target.
After hearing this, it occurred to me as a business
coach that my clients could use this
"strike zone focus" when conversing
with their own clients. The value of
delivering such "strike zone focus" is
priceless as such communication can
determine the difference between
getting the business or not. So, how
do you eliminate distractions
and deliver "strike zone focus"
in your conversations with
clients?
Here are 3 tips to help you:
1. Define your purpose. 2. Ask questions. 3. Actively listen
Before the meeting, decide
what you want to accomplish.
Anticipate your client's needs
and possible objections and
prepare for them.
During the meeting ask closed,
open and meaningful questions
to determine the big picture
and get as many details as
possible. Taking notes is
essential.
Actively listen summarize
and/or paraphrase your client's
conversation after they finish
their sentence or thought. This
will help you clarify their
thoughts and demonstrate you
are on the same page.
Try these tips and I guarantee
you will deepen and grow any
business relationships you
want.
Batter up!
GUEST ARTICLE BY
CORY ANDRICHUK

20. Are You On The List?
As a member of The Travel Agent’s Store you’ll recieve advanced notice of new
titles when they hit the shelves AND you’ll receive a discount too.
The BIG ALL Store Bundle valued at OVER $200
now on sale for ONLY$124.95!
Click here to join The Travel Agent’s Store member list.

21. Aha! So That’s Why!
I caught this book, author and superfast interview with the author Paul Taylor on the Jon
Stewart show. It doesn’t really matter where you live, the information here would related to
almost every country in the world – except for a few obvious non-players. You could change
the title to The Next… and fill in the blank with the name of your own country. In a nutshell the
information is pointing towards a number of trends that travel agents need to be ready for.
This is a direct copy from the review on
Amazon.com and it starts with this: The America
of the near future will look nothing like the
America of the recent past.
I suggest that’s going to be true
for every country in the world
and especially the countries
opening up to more immigration
and facing similar generational
events as in the US.
Every marketing website and
journal is talking about the next
generation and marketing to
Millennials. So what’s a travel
agency to do when, as the book
points out: Today’s Gen Y-
Millennials well-educated, tech
savvy, underemployed twenty
somethings are at risk of
becoming the first generation
in American history to have a lower standard of
living than their parents. Okay, not every 20-30
year old has a low standard of living. Many are
Presidents and CEOs of their own businesses.
This next situation is happening world-wide as a
certain age group turn 65 and retire. The word is
for the US that: 10,000 Baby Boomers are
retiring every single day, most of them not as
well prepared financially as they’d hoped.
If the retiring Boomer is under financed for
retirement then that’s a challenge for the travel
agency community who sells to this client base.
This graying of our population has helped
polarize our politics, put stresses on our social
safety net, and presented our elected leaders
with a daunting challenge: How to keep faith
with the old without bankrupting
the young and starving the
future.
There are 214 million people that
no longer live in the country they
were born in. This mass
movement has caused a few
challenges too:
By mid-century, the population
of the United States will be
majority non-white and our
median age will edge above 40
both unprecedented milestones.
But other rapidly-aging
economic powers like China,
Germany, and Japan will have
populations that are much older.
The next 20 years of selling travel is going to be
very interesting – interesting can mean many
things, usually “Oh no!” Keep the faith. Watch
the trends in new faces in your community. All
new faces mean, trips ‘back home’.
The younger generations of all races will more
than likely be hooked on social media channels
so nothing will change there. The aging Boomers
will still have money to travel, some more, some
less. 
http://www.amazon.com/The-Next-America-
Millennials-Generational/dp/1610393503

22. Just Published
A 38 page eGuide full of tips, tools and techniques
that will help you use your photography
to generate more travel sales.
Only $15.95 + tax*
*Become a Store Member by joining the mailing list to receive advance notice of
new publications and a special Store Member’s price.
The Travel Agent’s Store

23. The Photo Page
Wintry Palms
Taken with an iPhone 5 – subject: frosted glass patterns that resembled palm trees.
Steve Crowhurst

24. What Do You Do With-
It’s 9pm at night. Do you know where all your travel keepsakes are? Ya do?! WOW! Excellent.
So what are you going to go with them? Talking marketing here. Those coupons, tickets,
programs and other goodies you collected over the years are now called “content”. What do
you do with your keepsakes to help market your travel services? Here’s a few ideas:
Here’s a couple of coupons I found as I was
searching through my own horde of “stuff” and
this is what got me to thinking about what you
might have tucked away and
whether or not you use it to
help sell more travel.
It’s this type of scrapbooking
travel keepsakes that proves
you were there and it also
makes your marketing more
real to the reader.
Selling a summer trip to Egypt
would indeed be a sizzling hot
trip to make… but oh, what a
feeling once you stand by those
ancient monuments, tour the
museum or head out into the
dessert. Exchange Egypt for a
summer scene somewhere else. A beach. A
mountain top view… what have you got, kept,
retained (legally of course) that you can use in
your marketing activities?
The Date
You have to decide, if there is a date on the
keepsake you intend to use, whether or not it
will work against you. Some dates, old dates can
prove you were there “way back when…”
allowing you to market your past experience.
A more recent date, puts you in the realm of
being current and up to date with what’s
happening at the destination you are marketing
today.
If you have a photograph or a postcard that’s
dated as in the image below – then you could use
this as a before and after, a then and now
promotion.
Postcards From Clients
Postcards: always a wonderful
item to use to promote your
services and especially if there
is a nice quote from the client
who sent the card extolling
your services and the trip you
arranged.
If you use a client’s postcard
be sure to blot out their last
name. Their personal home
address wouldn’t be on the
postcard if they are mailing
from the destination – but if it
is, then that too should be blotted out. Easy
enough to do in any of the scanning / photo
editing software programs.
What Else Do You Have?
It’s better if the keepsake is yours. You might
even take a Selfie showing you holding it. If you
are into videoing then switch on your webcam
and record a short video of you holding an item
and relate the story around it. Then post that
video on your agency YouTube account or post it
to your agency’s Facebook page and start a
conversation about travel keepsakes. Add the
line: More keepsakes waiting for you here: then
pitch your summer sizzlin’ promotion. 

25. Hey, What’s Up Choc?
You know it’s coming soon. The question is: What are you going to do to promote travel come
Easter? One activity might be to start promoting your faith based tours going somewhere in
the summer months. Easter time as you know is full of religious based TV shows, news and
social media coverage too. It’s a prime to ride on the usual promotions and to sell your own
products. You might even want to tie in a few chocolate giveaways. Hmm?
You have two things happening here. One is
wrapped around the other. The main event
being the most important and oldest festival of
the Christian Church, celebrating the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. The other event is
all about chocolate and rabbits and eggs and
who knows what – and these goodies are
available right now in your local grocery
store and elsewhere.
The question is whether or not to use the
ongoing Easter promotions to promote
your own faith based tours. The
answer is of course, yes you should.
A Little Humour Adds to the
Faith: The world is always in need
of good humour and a silent
chuckle and handing out
chocolate fellas like this guy
is one of those things you can do to cheer
someone up AND tell them about your Faith
Based Tours at the same time.
You might be able to tie in your own church
group or attract people from any faith to come
and listen, ask for your flyer & more information.
Your chocolate giveaway does not have to be
huge. Small things go a long way.
Chocolate Gift Cards
All your favourite brands of chocolate can offer
you a gift card to use as a deposit or final
payment “Thank You” gift. There are companies
who also offer you Religious Chocolates.
Yes indeed. What a way to pray!
Even Pope Francis has been
replicated in chocolate! True. I’ll
let you explore that one online.
So, chocolate, Easter, faith, the
Pope… it all ties together nicely
for a great April promotion to sell
something in summer.
What Event, Where?
Search your favourite
destinations online to find a
faith based event you can
identify with and one that
your clients would be
interested in seeing,
attending and witnessing.
20 Days and Counting
The clock is ticking. Start
planning your Easter ads
and social media promotions now. You’ve got 20
days, correction, make that 15 days to get your
summer faith based tour ideas sorted.
Chat with your preferred faith based suppliers
and see what they’re up to. Perhaps you can join
in and represent them locally. At the very least –
buy yourself an Easter egg and enjoy the
moment. 

26. Call Your Travel Agent
As you may have heard, a survey was conducted in the US and whoever responded to the
survey confirmed that they wished to be referred to as a Travel Consultant or Counsellor not
as Home-Based Travel Agents. This “what shall we call ourselves” has been going on for some
time and all sorts of reasoning has been put forth about why travel agents are no longer travel
agents. They don’t “agent” any more. They don’t represent the companies that supply the
cruise, the tour, the air seat and so on. Travel agents, sorry Travel Counselors work for the
consumer. Yup. That is apparently how it works. Yup! Better get this sorted, and especially if
you are new to selling travel from home as you might be falling into a trap and not know it.
I’ll write this as if you have never been in the
travel industry, just joined and now setting up to
sell travel as an independent travel agent from a
home office. This page should also interest you,
the person selling travel from a physical location.
It’s Travel Agent – Not Counsellor
Just like an Accountant is an Accountant not a
Ledger Counsellor, or Number Consultant, so
you are a Travel Agent and it doesn’t matter
where you sell travel from. High rise tower,
street front, your home or the beach – you are
still a Travel Agent as the Accountant is and
always will be an Accountant.
Then there’s this – how travel suppliers market
and promote you in their own advertising:
With all that money behind all those ads
promoting call your TRAVEL AGENT why would
you want to confuse the consumer with Travel
Counsellor? That’s not good business at all.
When you remove yourself from the term Travel
Agent you are moving yourself away from the
potential sales generated by supplier ads.
Travel Agent – Specializing In…
Why not be the travel agent you were meant to
be and promote your skills and niche talents with
a byline under your
name. That way
you’ll have the
best of all worlds.
Remember this is
all about making
sales. Generating income. Not labelling yourself
to suit misguided commentary.
It’s Sales – Not Consulting
First things first. Yes of course you will be talking
with your clients, advising, questioning,
answering and counselling their decisions as
they consult your knowledge, extensive or
otherwise. But in all the chatter, never lose sight
of the fact that you are in a sales role. You sell
travel.
Opportunity
With so many suppliers promoting: Call Your
Travel Agent… why not create a website and
name it Your Travel Agent. Then, when you
promote yourself, local customers will see that
you are the one ALL those ad’s mention. You are
YOUR TRAVEL AGENT – and, you must be very
good, because almost every travel supplier is
promoting you.
Your Name,
Travel Agent
Specializing in
Jamaican Honeymoons

27. Suppliers are not promoting Call Your Travel
Counsellor and that’s because few if any
consumers really know what or who that is
except for travel trade companies and
associations. Be known as a travel counselor or
consultant internally, but outside your work-
world is where your clients live and it’s your
clients who book with you, not your colleagues.
About Being an Agent for Suppliers
As someone new to selling travel you will no
doubt hear that “things have changed” we as in
sellers of travel, are no longer agents for
suppliers. We are agents for our clients. Let’s
hold it right there. Once again, the commentary
is slightly off base. Without travel trade suppliers
investing in and creating products for travel
agents to sell, there would be nothing to sell.
Like any other store with products on its shelf,
you too, like that retail store owner, have two
clients to service. You have your suppliers and
you have your clients. As your supplier is a client
to you, so you are to them. It may not seem like
it at times – but there is always that two-way
relationship.
The Agent of Travel
You are an agent for your supplier AND you are
the agent of travel for your clients. It’s your role
to work with each client, helping them select the
best travel product for the type and style of
vacation they are seeking, explain the features
and benefits, discuss travel insurance details and
then close the sale.
Do not be swayed by trade talk that Generations
X & Y do not know what a travel agent is or what
they do. To reach these so called younger
travellers, (actually adults not kids as some in the
travel trade seem to talk about them) – all you
must do is reach out through the communication
channels they use. Nothing has changed on that
score. Baby Boomer aged clients are still with
you as a customer for the next 20+ years and you
know how to reach them I am sure – AND they
know who and what a travel agent does for a
living. They have booked with travel agents since
they started travelling.
Travel Agent Ng
No matter what age you are, you are heading
into the next phase of travel agency work.
Whether you know it or not, you are a Travel
Agent Ng and that’s because of existing
technology. Forget the Home-Based Travel
Agent tag and think about the fact that you can
sell travel from anywhere. All you need is a
laptop, tablet and or smartphone. From those
tools you can research, market, promote and
sell. The Home-Based Travel Agent tagline is
purely to help the trade identify whether you are
an owner of a bricks & mortar or not.
Last Word…
Do not be too keen to throw away 150 years of
history that some would have you believe holds
no relevance today. It’s called provenance. That
history includes your roots. Before that, the job
of procuring travel arrangements for customers
dates back to Roman times and beyond. Seize on
the romantic side of the job you do. Seize the
history and grandeur of all those past explorers,
adventurers and the people who gave you the
industry you work in today. And with that rock
solid foundation, go sell something and be the
TRAVEL AGENT you were meant to be. 

28. Quick Tips
Here’s a few tips to help with your marketing activities. Also a couple of tongue-in-cheekers to
help make your day a little brighter.
Testimonials have the magic power of Persuasion
Make sure your clients can access them, use them in your email signatures, post them in your blogs and
throughout your social media channels.
Offer interesting How-To information on
 Taking travel pictures
 Packing
 Buying luggage
 Travelling with kids
 Travelling with grandparents
 Travelling with a grump!
 Storing a pet
 Planning a trip
 Purchasing travel insurance
 Travel tips
 Price tips
 New places to go
 A sports tip
 A savings tip
 Tips from other customers
Post articles about…
 Fam reports
 Vacation reports
 Brand related
 Your achievements
 New service
 New travel apps
Inspirational Travel Quotes
Inspirational quotes can help open up your clients or prospects to a new way of
thinking about travel, or perhaps learn to accept the challenges of travelling in
the present day as they realize that some of these quotes where quoted long
ago - the author had the same challenges as we do today – despite a difference
in transportation.
Brochure Speak for the New Travel Agent
Phrase
1. Old World Charm
2. Majestic setting
3. Options galore
4. Explore on your own
5. Nominal fee
6. Plush
7. Light and airy
Translation
1. No bath
2. A long way from town
3. Nothing included
4. Pay for it yourself
5. Outrageous charge
6. Top AND bottom sheets
7. On the hurricane path
You’ll know when it’s a No Frills Airline when: They don’t sell tickets, they sell chances. All the
travel insurance machines in the terminal are sold out. You cannot board without the exact
change. The Pilot asks all the passengers to chip in for gas and a pizza. The flight attendant asks
you to join their frequent near-miss program and to enjoy the in-flight movie in the plane next to
you! 

29. Marketing Tip
What have you got planned around the FIFA World Cup event?
It’s a prime time to be promoting your tours to South America and to
take advantage of the TV coverage as they showcase Brazil.
FIFA World Cup 2014 begins on Thursday, June 12 and ends on Sunday, July 13

30. Training Page
THOMAS COOK
Whether you are new to
selling travel or not, this 7
minute video will inspire you
to go for it, whatever your
“it” is. The video is short
review of the legendary
Thomas Cook. If you can
create a fraction of what he
created and accomplished
you’ll be up there with the
best of ‘em. So watch, listen,
learn, take notes and then
ponder what you are actually
doing with all the tools that
Thomas Cook could not even
dream about. Enjoy.
BURTON HOLMES
The George Eastman House
video is a brief insight in the
life of one of the world’s
foremost avid travel video
and photographers, the one
and only Burton Holmes.
Unlike Thomas Cook who
was poor, Burton Holmes
had money. Even so, money
or no money, he did what he
did and accomplished so
much in the realm of travel
and recording the world for
others to see.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZGO_F3IElA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwC9COY_TEo

31. Selling Ancillaries…
You are independent right? Yes. You are the entrepreneur, correct? If you love an opportunity
and want to make more money selling travel then you might as well start profiting from selling
the add-ons, the peripherals, the ancillary sales. Your suppliers are already down this road and
more so your airline partners who according to the IdeaWorks survey took home a cool $42.6
billion+/- in 2013. Let’s explore the ancillaries you can sell, too.
Travel aside, you’ll be thinking about what a traveller needs to
complete their travels. If you service a niche market then the same
thought occurs – what is it that your niche clients need and purchase in
order to better enjoy their trip?
The concept of selling ancillary products is based on convenience for
your clients. Save them an extra step or click and place before them
those things they need on or during their trip.
You’ll not be trying to compete with the local department stores or
online stores. In most cases you’ll be offering your clients the same
products as an affiliate outlet for the branded product your clients
would normally purchase away from your business.
Affiliates Programs
Today almost every vendor operates an affiliate
program of some kind. Most of them a free to
join and your role is to promote the product via
your website and in your social media marketing
too. Select the product and brand you would like
to sell, go to their website and scroll to the
Footer area and there you will find the link to
their affiliate program. Here’s a quick look at the
REI program.
Drive traffic from your site to REI.com or REI-
Outlet.com and make money! You'll earn a
commission on every purchase made by customers
you refer. Our top affiliates average $40,000 a year in
commissions. Know a non-profit or local outdoor
group looking for extra income? Refer them to the REI
Affiliate Program—a great way to earn money in
support of stewardship and educational pursuits in
our communities.
Ancillaries You Can Sell
Here’s a list you can add to. Starting with
additional travel add-ons over and above the
generic flight. Travel insurance being the #1 add-
on to sell. After travel add-ons comes books and
luggage etc. Select what works for you and
locate the best affiliate program for your agency.
Advice
Car Rentals
Hotels
Tours
Travel insurance
Books
Camera
Clothing
Flash drives
Laptops
Luggage
Notebooks
Pens
Phones
Safety gadgets
Shoes
????
Check with your host agency to find out which
affiliate programs they have arranged for you. 
IdeaWorksCompany, the
foremost consultancy on
airline ancillary revenues,
and CarTrawler, the
leading provider of online
car rental distribution
systems, project airline
ancillary revenue will
reach $42.6 billion
worldwide in 2013. The
CarTrawler Worldwide
Estimate of Ancillary
Revenue represents a
massive increase of 89%
from the 2010 estimate of
$22.6 billion.

32. New Tools
Welcome to ClockLink
Get your free world clock. ClockLink.com provides the most widely used Web clock in the world with over 30 million
views around the world. In addition, clocks can be set to display any time zone
in the world online, so they are not only decorative but very practical as well.
You can use our world clock to see all time zones of the world, and it's free to
use. Use it to show what time it is in your area. There is no charge to use any of the clocks or for the world clock on
your website or blog.
Everyday for iPhone
This is a great video to watch. Quite humourous and offers a terrific Selfie tool for
travel agents. It reminds you to shoot a Selfie each day – so imagine you are on a
Fam or vacation and capturing yourself here, there and everywhere. Then, you can
click the button to create a Selfie movie. What a great marketing tool this is.
The Pocket Spotlight
A continuous light source you can mount to your phone's headphone jack, your
camera's hot shoe or off-camera in your hand. A flash can be surprisingly harsh
(especially on the iPhone) and it's always fleeting. The Pocket Spotlight is a constant
light so you can actually see what you're shooting and set your focus and exposure
before you snap. Charge it via USB for up to an hour of brightly shining, gently
diffused light. Light up an Instagram of your candle-lit dinner or use it on the move
for a light painting.
24-7PressRelease
24-7PressRelease is a leader in the online press release distribution industry.
Through its multi-channel distribution network, 24-7PressRelease helps
corporations and organizations disseminate their news to consumers, editors,
journalists, bloggers and websites. Basic price $49.
Marketing with Phone Cards
Who thought that phone cards are still in use? Well they are and they have
always been a great way to market your agency. Now, you can have your
custom phone cards printed and this time they can be used on a mobile
phone using the Phonecard app.
Marketing with Bookmarks
Bookmarks have always been winner as a simple marketing piece. Today you
can use a ready-made template, add your own graphics, include a QR code at
the top or on the reverse and send a bookmark to every client. If you are taking
a group departure then you would adapt the images to suit the group theme.
Book marks come in all shapes and sizes and range from paper to metal clips.
For your luxury clients – make it leather stamped. Not paper.

33. When you need one-to-one training contact the
Home Based Travel Agent Trainer…
If you would like a one-to-many training session, invite your local home-based colleagues to
your home office then gather round your computer screen for the training session.
All sessions are conducted using Skype –
so be sure to download the program here: www.skype.com
Send your topic and request an hourly or project training quote.
steve@ic-travelagent.com

34. Romance travel is always a pleasure to sell,
come see why and get a sneak peek at our
revised course - coming April 22nd 2014.
A Closer Look at The Travel Institute’s
Honeymoons & Destination
Weddings Course
hosted by
Chelle Honiker Yarbrough, CTC
Director of Operations

36. CANADIANTRAVELLER.NET FEB 20144
H
AVE you noticed how much WOW we
use in our conversations? The WOW
word has become the word to describe
any and all of the destinations featured in
each issue of CT magazine. Not only the
country as a whole but also the cities, towns,
the buildings, the people, the cuisine…
the beer! So many places so many WOWs
to shout out.
Where’s this “Why WOW?” going you
ask? Why WOW? What the WOW! It’s
time to rev up your WOW Marketing
Plan and factor in the WOW word. Let
me explain starting here…well back in the
1500s actually.
Och Aye The WOW!
Yes most people would
end that statement
with ‘noo’ – but not I!
We needed a WOW in
there as the reason was
you see, it appears that
the word WOW (not
always written or pronounced in caps…)
was born in bonnie Scotland. Here’s the
skinny: The word ‘wow’, a Scottish interjection,
was coined sometime in the 1510s as a natural
expression of amazement. It was borrowed in
1924 by American English slang as a verb
meaning “overwhelm, delight or amazement”,
but has been used as a noun since 1920 meaning
“unqualified success”. It gained a second
resurgence in popularity in the 1960s.
How it came about and who said it first is
up for discussion but I sense the wind was
a blowin’ one day out on the heather and
as the kilts blew skyward the clan ladies
all let out a joint “WOW!” in obvious
amazement and probably followed with
a “Well wil’ya noo look at that!” and a glen
full of laughter.
The Power Of WOW by Steve Crowhurst, CTC
A 3-Letter Word To Help Your Commissions Rise Beyond
Your Wildest Dreams
Steve Crowhurst, CTC, is an author, speaker and trainer specializing in New Business Generation for the travel and tourism industry. Visit Steve at www.sellingtravel.net and
Like his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sellingtravel. E: steve@sellingtravel.net; T: 250-738-0064.
Marketing With WOW
If you’ve travelled far and wide or just
close and narrow you would have seen
more than a few sights to behold anyone’s
eyes. Before the 1500s you might have
heard those hardy explorers as they came
upon a glorious sight, say something akin
to “I say Nigel…would you take look at that…
must tell mummy when we get home…” How
times, things and language have changed.
I like the WOW word and it just seems to
be emitted constantly. I hear it from others
and on TV, too. It’s a common word now
and so, to the marketing mind it says: use
it. You can use the word by itself to push
the beauty of a special place in the world
you love and want to share, and then
you can look for acronyms that might
also work for your headlines. You might
even check to see how one cruise line has
started to use the word in their marketing
to travel agents.
WOW Acronyms
This’ll WOW ya! According to the Acronym
Free Dictionary there are 95 WOW
acronyms and many of them just perfect for
embedding in your e-mails and social media
posts. Or anywhere for that matter. Here’s
a couple that suit the travel WOW: World
of Wonder, Words of Wisdom, Wonders
of the World, World of Wonders, Women
On Wheels, World of Wisdom, Wide Open
West, Wonder of Wonders, Word of Wisdom,
SELLING TRAVEL
WITH STEVE
World of Water, Week of Welcome, What’s
on Where?, Wide Open World, Wish Only
Well, Walk Our Way, Wise Older Women,
World Ocean Watch, Women Organising
the World, Warriors of Wellness, Writers on
Writing and Wonders of Wildlife.
WOW With Images
What’s a WOW without an image to
support it? And what’s an image without a
WOW? The two go together. It’s the way it
is. So look for your best imagery and add
a WOW to it. If you’re not sure how to do
that check in at The Travel Agent’s Store,
and join their mailing list. Then you’ll be
able to review the various how-to eGuides
on marketing with WOW.
www.thetravelagentsstore.com.
For now, you can simply
copy and paste your image
into a Word document by
opening a text box and
inserting your image, then
open another text box over
your image and type in your text.
WOW Words & More
The word WOW is one word. After that,
what else? Think how you and or your
clients use the word WOW and then listen
for what follows. “WOW! You should see
this!”, “WOW! It’s unbelievable.”, “WOW!
You’ve gotta see this for yourself!” – you get
the idea. You have to capture the WOW
moment and project it out through your
marketing channels and then ask your
recipients to share it, send it viral to their
friends. Study the Way of WOW and
you’ll see your commissions rise beyond
your wildest WOW dreams – and we’re
not going there! That’ll be a “Och aye the
noo way!”
“You have to capture the WOW moment
and project it out through your
marketing channels and then ask your
recipients to share it ”
SW_Ca
REPRINTED WITH KIND PERMISSION FROM CT MAGAZINE

37. A HOME FOR THE
HOME BASED AGENTS
Big Bark has all your print-marketing needs covered!
201 – 3011 Underhill Ave.
Burnaby, BC
V5A 3C2
BonVoyage
BonVoyage
THE HUNTINGTON GROUPHUNTINGTONThe agents choice since 1973
Thank you for choosing to travel with MyEscapades.com.We take pride in providing one-of-a-kind travel experiencesin Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. The majority of ourclients require a trip customized to their likes, interests andbudget.Whether you wish to travel in the lap of luxury or chooseto indulge in an authentic adventure (we call it ‘roughing-it’) wewill create a trip to suit your preferred tastes. In other words,we will give you a travel experience that goes beyond yourexpectations. Rest assured, MyEscapades.com is your perfecttraveling companion.
Before You Travel:• Ensure that you are carrying your up-to-date passports and have obtainedany required/necessary tourist visasfor entering the country(s) you arevisiting.
• You trip involves cancellation penalties in the unforeseen eventthat you cancel/postpone your travelarrangements. Ensure that you areaware of these penalties.
• Carry your Out-of-Country Hospital/Medical/Travel InsurancePolicy with you.
• Be aware of luggage restrictions such as weight, size and type of suitcasesallowed on the international anddomestic flights on your itinerary.Excess baggage charges are steepand can cause great inconvenience• Ensure you have obtained recommended or requiredinoculations. Certain inoculations are mandatory for travel to endemicareas. Your travel agent will have provided full details.
• Check out the availability of local ATMs in your destination and/orpurchase some local currency ortravellers cheques.
• Give family/friends the contact information at hotels/lodges youwill be staying during your travel.Information on your accommodationsis provided within your documents.• We recommend that you put your newspaper subscription on hold forthe duration of your trip and haveyour mail collected by a neighbour orheld at your local post office.• It is always recommended that you secure your home with a securityalarm before you leave.
0 Ridgeway Dr., Suite 17, Mississauga, ON Canada L5L 5M5
8.887.9710 | info@myescapades.ca | www. myescapades.ca
BonvoYage
THE HUNTINGTON GROUPHUNTINGTONThe agents choice since 1973
BIGBARKGRAPHICS.com
T: 905.857.6333 | TF: 1.866.607.1556 | sales@bigbarkgraphics.com
THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM PRINTER FOR OVER 30 YEARS
TOP 6 WAYS WE ARE
DEDICATED TO THE HBA:
1. Easy to use, do-it-yourself, 24/7 online
print-ordering store.
2. No design/setup fees – choose from our
selection of pre-designed templates or
Design Your Own.
3. Full use of our image gallery at no extra
charge.
4. Travel related marketing products such
as calendars and magnets plus all your
standard business products – business
cards, envelopes, letterhead, flyers, and
more.
5. Wide selection of ticket packaging
options for groups, weddings, and
niches.
6. All products available in small quantities
(some as low as 25).

38. www.ic-travelagent.com
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