Recently I was speaking to a group of independent contractors and was asked about the importance of branding their business. My answer will probably come as a surprise to many (it certainly was to them) that, in my opinion, individually branding their businesses would have little to no effect on their success.

The Real Estate Model

Throughout my career, I have studied and emulated businesses that practice a similar model to the travel industry. The closest and arguably most successful is the residential real estate model.

Real estate agents are independent contractors who work through (not for) a broker representing powerful brands such as Keller-Williams, Re/Max, Windermere, and Coldwell Banker among others. Like travel, residential real estate is intensely personal. People are doing business with people. Local brokers are typically a franchisee of these brands and provide advertising and operational support like a host and consortia.

Public-Facing Brands

Franchise organizations in the travel space such as Expedia CruiseShipCenters, Cruise Planners, Travel Leaders and American Express are powerful, public-facing brands. However, most host agencies and consortia choose to operate in the background when it comes to supporting their members.

The most notable exception is Virtuoso, which has built a very public and powerful brand that is synonymous with luxury both in and out of the travel space. Anyone associated with Virtuoso gains instant recognition as a luxury specialist. It is not uncommon for newer, non-Virtuoso agents to confess to me that they didn’t know they could sell luxury travel products because they thought you had to be a Virtuoso agent to do so.

Building Relationships

An internationally known brand like Virtuoso can provide added credibility—and even panache—to your sales efforts, but it’s still up to you to build relationships with your prospects and sell preferred suppliers that are aligned with your own business strategy.

Back to my original statement about why branding your individual business doesn’t really matter all that much. Your customers don’t care about what you call your company—they care about you and what you can do for them.

Dan Chappelle is a sales performance coach and professional business advisor. His training and consulting firm develops sales-focused business leaders and entrepreneurs in the travel industry.