Three words—I got it!—have won, or in some cases, lost, countless baseball games. If you are not a fan of baseball, “I got it” is yelled out by a player usually when there is a ball hit high enough so that two or more players have a chance to catch it. The desired result of the blurt is to keep players from running into each other, while enabling the one who yelled it to concentrate on catching the ball without fear of crashing into a teammate.

Although those three words seem straightforward, each time they are uttered their implication changes—and in ways that are relevant to selling travel.

Be prepared. First, you need to be confident and possess the skills needed to make the play, or in travel, the sale. For independent contractors working in brick-and-mortar offices, there may be four agents ready to answer the phone when it rings. Someone will yell, “I got it,” which we all know is not about just answering the phone but also making the sale or pleasing the customer. So it’s important to know—beyond a shadow of a doubt—that when you answer that phone, you are the best candidate to make the sale.

Communicate confidently. A baseball player can’t whisper “I got it” and expect his teammates to know that he is the right candidate for the play. A player must have complete confidence that he or she is absolutely the right person to make the catch. It is not a competition to see who yells it first or loudest. Rather, it is an indication to teammates that the player can make the play, period.

In the agency business, it’s not about the volume of your voice but getting your message across. Prospective customers need to know right away that you are the right person to help them, and that you, well ... got this.

Don’t drop the ball! A player can have confidence and communicate clearly, but if he drops the ball on a regular basis, then the opportunity to make future plays will be taken away. So it is in selling travel: If you can’t make the sale then the customer will go elsewhere. Ballplayers have the advantage of working as a team in multiple games together to establish trust. You need to quickly gain the trust of your clients by providing sage advice, high-touch service and a diligent follow-up—the end result of which will be the creation of lifetime customers.

Now get out there and make some spectacular sales. You got this!