An Educated Agent

Name: Brett Hall

Agency name and location: Brett Hall Cruises Inc., South Hamilton, Massachusetts

Host agency: Cruises Inc.

My other career: Educator

Why I chose a travel career: For many years, I helped friends and family plan vacations and wanted to monetize my hobby. After learning about Cruises Inc. and winning its Teacher Appreciation Contest [for educators interested in pursuing second careers as independent agents], it made perfect sense to join forces with them. Working from my home during the evenings, weekends and summers allows me to continue my full-time job in education and fuels my passion for travel.

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Why I chose my host agency: Cruises Inc. offers great support and training, which makes me better at what I do. It also offers great technology, which allows me to focus more on listening and matching my clients to the right vacation experience and less on formatting invoices and keeping cumbersome records. Lastly, the size of the World Travel Holdings family [of which Cruises Inc. is a unit] allows me to pass pricing advantages along to my clients.

My biggest challenge starting out: The biggest challenge was (and is) generating leads.

How I solved it: It’s about reminding people about what I do. I work hard on my social media presence—I have over 1,500 followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter combined—but I find that word-of-mouth and referrals come through time and time again. I talk about my passion and that eventually leads to business.

I hand out insulated can sleeves and other promotional items and reward my existing clients when they bring me referrals. Once I have a client, I go above and beyond in service and they come back again and again.

My greatest challenge right now: I had an amazing first few months of the year. I wish I could move that business to the summer when I have more time.

What I like best about the travel business: That’s hard to answer; so many things! I love traveling and matching people to the right experience. I love researching and finding answers to difficult questions. I love the products out there right now; They are amazing and really immerse the traveler in authentic experiences and culture.

READ MORE: The Agent's Corner: We're All a Group

How my other career has helped me run my own travel business: My experience as a teacher absolutely informs many aspects of my role as a vacation specialist. When working with students, you listen, evaluate, research, prep and then execute. This is the same for travel to a large extent. I take the time to get to know clients, understand their needs, propose solutions and then prepare them for their experience.

Why I love what I do: I love connecting people to the right experience and then hearing all about it afterward. Knowing that I helped bring someone happiness makes it all worth it and makes me want to do it more!