A brief review on how the travel trade is feeling about CASL and it's pending impact on sales. Responses are few however the overall information is worth reading.

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THE CASL HASSLE REPORT
Heartfelt thanks to the 39 out of the few thousand on my lists who have now opted in to the
CASL HASSLE survey. Not too bad a response really. Sort of like… well very similar to the returns
asking clients to opt-in!
I’m sharing the results as they came in up until Saturday June 27th with nothing doctored. You
can review the actual results here at this link.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-RJX2MTC8/
Would have been nice to have around 50 responses but hey… I’ll take what I can get. I’ll leave
the survey open just in case others wish to contribute.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FG85TKD
The responses are very much self-explanatory and probably represent the mood within the
travel trade. I have added my own notes after each survey question.
Good luck and keep selling!
Steve Crowhurst, CTC
SMP Training Co.
steve@smptraining.com
www.smptraining.com
www.sellingtravel.net
www.ic-travelagent.com
www.thetravelagentsstore.com
A bit of hokey pokey
CASL Hassle fun:
You put your opt-in in
You take your opt-out out
You put your opt-in in
And you shake it all about
You do the CASL Hassle
And you turn yourself around
That’s what it’s all about! HEY!
I know who you email!

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I’m sure the answer to this question is literally a mixture of what you read above. Some have managed to
send an email to everyone on their list and some are struggling to do so. If you haven’t managed your list
then of course you may be facing that 40% churn rate as people cancel or change their email addresses.
Whether or not the client will opt-in and give their consent is a decision you cannot control. After July 1st
however you can follow up by phone but not by email unless you have the client’s consent.

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Looks like the responses are very close to being evenly split as to the outcome of CASL. The fact of the
matter is this: some travel agents will indeed lose business and some of those lost clients will surface on
the lists of the competition. Some clients were looking for a way to say “Hey… stop sending me stuff!” Or,
“You didn’t take care of me, I’m moving to another agency!”
Then there are the clients you never really wanted but felt you had to service them – these are the
complainers, the cheap bookings, the clients who argue about your fees etc. Now you have an excuse NOT
to contact them.
As the months roll on you should end up with a very clean and mean list. This could be a good thing unless
you put value in a list of hundreds even if they don’t book any travel. Sort of like the LIKES on your
Facebook page. No one actually books with you, they just enjoy what you post.
So, final outcome: yes you will lose some clients and some you’ll be glad of the fact they didn’t opt-in.

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Don’t forget you are dealing with human nature here. CASL has put your clients, plus you & I in charge of
our own email inbox destiny. Not from those professional spammers of course, but from the websites and
services you did opt into and now just delete their emails when they arrive. Pretty soon, if you did not opt
in, then those emails will no longer arrive and or you can unsubscribe. The same thing is happening with
your clients when they see your please opt-in email. They’ll either not bother, had enough, were not
travelling anyway, or they will opt-in and are looking for a well-priced vacation.
You should tally up who responded and who didn’t and do not chase the cheap booking clients or the
nasty ones. Stick with the “perfect clients” that enhance your business and then set about growing more
of those types of clients.

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The answer is a resounding yes. Some of you will naturally have to wait and see, however with life in the
fast lane as it is for most people and the fact they are blasé about such things as opting in they are already
in charge of the sales process by default.
A percentage of your clients will decide to call you when they need you and bypass all the email flyers and
specials. Their life just got a little easier all round as they will reduce email into their inbox across the
board.

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As we all know – pro’ spammers can do what they want. They are always one step ahead. So all we can
do is ramp up our spam filters and turn a few things off in our Internet Settings and password where you
can. I use SPAMFIGHTER and so far so good. Once it reads your inbox and your deletes it understands
what YOU don’t want, plus of course it can identify spam and remove it to the delete / spam folder.

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If you attended the Baxter webinars about CASL you should have a pretty good understanding of what
you can and cannot do. Also there are some activities that are exempt, meaning you can do them – such
as telephone a person / client, or send direct mail. The only way to be sure you are on the right side of
CASL is to gain that consent and record the event as and when a client gave you that consent.
It looks like 20% of respondents know how complaints are registered and less how the complaint process
works. I wrote to CASL to find out and their response is shown below. I also wrote to a CASL “expert”
lawyer and have yet to hear back. Hmm?

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Here is CASL’s response to my complaint process email:
Incoming message 6/26/2014
Re CASL and CEMs
How and where does a person or company complain about email spam and what is the procedure once
CASL considers the complaint as worth pursuing?
Many thanks.
Steve Crowhurst
SMP Training Co.
Email: steve@smptraining.com June 27, 2014
Dear Steve Crowhurst:
Thank you for contacting the CRTC on June 26, 2014 asking how to complain about receiving spam.
After Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) comes into effect on July 1, 2014, you will be able to file your
complaints with the Spam Reporting Centre at www.fightspam.gc.ca. Details of the complaint process will
be made available on our website at that time under “Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation”:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/casl-lcap.htm.
I hope you find this information helpful.
Regards,
Michelle Edge
CRTC Client Services | Services à la clientèle
---------------------------------

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Clearly all respondents are concerned about CASL and its overall effect on their business. They are also
upset at the time and effort required to initiate the program. That said… the travel agent’s resilience as
already mentioned will shine through.
From a positive point of view, having to contact your clients does offer you a chance to reconnect with
the clients you wish to retain and grow. In this way YOU are back in control of the sales process.
The next thing to ponder is this: would any of your clients ever really “turn you in” and complain about
your CEMs? Chances of that happening are very small unless you really do bother your clients with
unending communication that is nothing but fluff and of no value to them in the slightest such as sending
golf vacation offers to people who don’t golf.
As mentioned some of your clients are not yet aware of CASL – so here’s a chance to arrange a consumer
event to explain it and by that I mean keep it lean and mean – stick to the fact you need consent and then
get it. Have everyone sign an opt-in page and once that’s done, carry on with the show and offer your
audience some incredible vacations.
Also get busy via your social media outlets and same thing, tell them then sell them. Do NOT go into detail
or you’ll die a death of a thousand cuts.
CASL will suffer the outrage of both the business community as profits take a dive and the general public
as it starts to hit home that they missed out on some fantastic deals because they were not kept informed.
You are on the right side of the law because you did not pursue any client who did not opt-in. Where can
the client go to lodge their issue – to CASL. Give it time and either more exemptions will be introduced
or the CASL Hassle two-step will dance another tune.
For the brave souls who just continue on, business as usual, good luck, brave the storm and fight the fight.
Also make sure you have a good lawyer on your side and one that actually is an expert on CASL and how
to work with it.

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Hope this report is of use to you. There’s more information and eGuides
available at The Travel Agent’s Store so don’t forget to visit there when you can.
If you choose to Opt-In (now I’m doing it!) and become a Store Member you will
receive a 20% discount on all store products and bundles.
COMING SOON TO THE TRAVEL AGENT’S STORE

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Resources
Spam complaints can be sent here: fightspam.gc.ca – I suggest you send every single spam you receive to
your home and business email inbox to the fightspam team.
Many of your client’s are not acquainted with CASL or CAN SPAM – so you may or may not wish to give
them a heads up in your next email as you request their consent. Why not be the company that says,
“We’d love to keep you on our mailing list and here’s why…” and then offer a Click Here link to the
fightspam.gc.ca page.
You can also use your window space and website home page to place a banner that reads:
We are CASL compliant!
Your email is safe with us.

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An SMP Publication