Photo courtesy Hawaii Tourism Authority/Tor Johnson

This month’s Hawaii Mentorship Alliance candidate is Marilyn Clark, owner of Lighthouse Travel in Huntington Beach, Calif. Recognized as a Travel + Leisure “A List” travel specialist, Clark holds Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau certifications, as well as credentials for Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Hawaii Island.

Here are Clark’s seven key ingredients to success.

BE DETERMINED

When mentoring travel agents on how to develop their personal brands, I often begin by asking this question: “What one word best describes you?” The answer becomes a window into the unique character of that agent’s brand.

For Clark, her word was “determination.” “My mother instilled determination in me throughout my childhood. When my mother set her mind on something, she followed through and allowed nothing to defeat her,” she says. “I admire her for that and, similarly, when there is something I want to do, I will do whatever it takes to make it happen.”

DO WHAT YOU LOVE

“One mistake too many businesses make is they try to be everything to everyone,” says Clark. “This causes many businesses to work exceedingly hard for very little satisfaction.” Furthermore, she believes that it is imperative that agents choose specialties that they are passionate about. “If you’re not passionate about what you sell, your clients will see through you. You’ll never realize your greatest potential if this connection between passion and specialization doesn’t exist,” she says.

LET YOUR NICHE FIND YOU

“The first time I went to Hawaii, it was for a familiarization trip. I didn’t sign up because I was passionate or because I knew at the time I wanted to specialize in Hawaii,” says Clark. “My initial motivation was to fulfill a basic need of my market – being based in California, I was getting a lot of requests for Hawaii.” Having never been enamored of the beach, Clark says she never felt a strong desire to visit the Hawaiian Islands for her own personal fulfillment.

For Clark, it was the people that compelled her to fall in love with Hawaii. “When people ask me what the best attraction in Hawaii is, my answer never changes – it’s the people,” she says.

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“People think I’m crazy when I say that, but it is genuinely what I believe.” That first trip inspired her not only to specialize in Hawaii, but also to achieve certification with the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau and its four individual island visitor bureaus.

INSPIRE YOUR CLIENTS

Whether working with first-time visitors or seasoned repeaters, Clark inspires her clients to incorporate something out of the norm into their vacation experiences. Anchored by her personal passion for history and culture, she typically incorporates Hawaiian cultural experiences into itineraries to illustrate the destination’s uniqueness. She says she makes it a point to get her clients out of their comfort zones, which is a signature practice that has proven successful for Clark far more often than not.

CHOOSE YOUR PARTNERS WISELY

Clark says one of her most important business-building tools is her partnership with Signature Travel Network, which now functions as an extension of her marketing arm, guaranteeing that her brand is consistently touching her clientele with stellar, regularly scheduled marketing materials. “Everyone knows they need to do marketing, but you need to do it consistently,” she says.

SEE CHALLENGES AS AN OPPORTUNITY

For a second consecutive year, Marilyn Clark has made Travel + Leisure’s “A List” of travel specialists. In her first year, she welcomed Travel + Leisure readers as new clients but found they had a habit of working with specialists exclusive to each destination on their bucket list. “Their readers are well-educated and have a higher income than the average consumer, and they love to use a different specialist for every trip they do,” she says. “Typically, you only work with them once in your area of specialization.”

Recognizing the trend, Clark embraced the challenge with her usual determination and has since turned many of those one-time bookings into loyal repeat clientele. One of those clients called her recently to map out trips for the next seven years.

STRESS REJUVENATION

Many of Clark’s Hawaii clients are seasoned repeaters. What is it about Hawaii that keeps them returning? “Most of them go back for the main reason that Hawaii is simply a great place to relax and rejuvenate. So many people live such hectic lives that they need the release,” she says. “I often remind my clients that they’re not just going back to relax and rejuvenate, but more importantly, to reconnect with family, friends and themselves.”

Vacations are indeed life-essentials; take the time to remind your clients.

Hawaii is a place like no other. Six iconic islands. Six unique experiences. Learn uncommon details about what makes each island so distinctive, yet all part of one ‘Ohana (family). Once you complete the Hawaii Destination Specialist Program, you will possess the expertise to send clients on a journey to experience the aloha spirit that can only be found in the Hawaiian Islands. They receive the vacation of their dreams … and you receive boundless opportunity.

Visit Agents.GoHawaii.com.