NEST (Network of Entrepreneurs Selling Travel), at its conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., unveiled several new training events for the second half of 2012 and first half of 2013. The 500-member home-based agent consortium’s new training programs complement frequent webinars, an extranet and personal one-on-one sales and marketing support from dedicated business development managers.

 “Our training programs are constantly evolving with the travel industry,” said Kathryn Mazza-Burney, president of NEST, which is owned by American Marketing Group. “We listen to the needs and wants of our travel professionals, and then build programs around those requests. Whether it’s just a few hours or several days, our goal for every training program is to provide rich, informative content that our travel professionals can take advantage of immediately.”

New training opportunities include personal business development managers, Lunch ‘N Learn live seminars and special business-building boot camps. Every NEST agency is assigned its own personal Business Development Manager (BDM). BDMs provide one-on-one sales and marketing support to assist travel professionals in growing their business with preferred suppliers. Following the debut Lunch ‘N Learn sessions on Long Island earlier this year, NEST will hold its first West Coast session this September in California. The three-hour event will bring travel professionals together with a handful of preferred suppliers in a more intimate setting for an afternoon of learning and networking. Lunch ‘N Learns will be held semi-annually moving forward on the East and West coasts to accommodate all NEST travel professionals.

NEST also will hold a series of two-day regional business-building boot camps in spring 2013. Boot camps are fast-paced, action-packed learning experiences focusing on timely sales, marketing, finance, operations and technology issues. In addition an annual Elite Retreat is designed to recognize and award top producing agencies. Elite Retreats are hosted in conjunction with a preferred supplier, allowing travel professionals to familiarize themselves with supplier products and network with their peers. The next Elite Retreat is scheduled for Spring 2013.