by Lisa Iannucci
Last updated: 9:00 PM ET, Mon September 18, 2017
As fast as this year is going, there's still plenty of time to accomplish your 2017 goals.
If you haven't set a list of things you should do this year, it's not too late for that either. Resolutions to make changes in your life and career can happen at any time, not just in January.
We help you along with ideas after talking with travel agents themselves:
Learn
Samarah Meil believes the biggest issue facing travel agents today is a lack of knowledge.
"We all get so busy with daily work tasks," said Meil, with Amarillo Travel Network in Amarillo, Texas. "We are blessed to have so many newbies in the industry, but they need to focus on training, learning and even traveling so they can have true knowledge."
Meil has made a two-year goal for all her agency staff to do monthly training and then travel as much as they can on fam trips so that they can have true experiences.
Kimberly Milnes, owner at Family Travel Boutique in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, improves her knowledge by attending conferences.
"Nothing motivates you more than being around other travel professionals and hearing about their business," said Milnes. "This lights a fire for me and gets me motivated to move my business in a new direction or to try something new."
Milnes also suggests signing up for a webinar or additional online training.
Travel
It might seem obvious, but Marianne DeIulio-an independent travel consultant with Just Travelin' in Yorktown, New York-said that agents need to get out from behind the desk and travel more.
"This is huge for me," she said. "I try to do this each year so I can learn more about the destination. I do online training and read up about it so that I can talk to potential clients about a great place to go."
Dive into Social Media
To bring in more clients this year, make some time every day to post on your social media of choice-whether it's Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook. Milnes spends an hour a day on her social media accounts.
"You need to be front of mind to your clients and potential clients," she said. "Eighty percent of my job is just marketing. Bringing in leads and then clients. Referrals are good, but if you want to continue to grow then you need to market. Social media needs to be a big part of that strategy."
To help with regular posting, Milnes suggests using social media scheduling programs like Buffer or CoSchedule.
[READMORE]READ MORE: 5 Free Ways to Promote Your Travel Agency[/READMORE]
Market Smarter
In addition to social media, DeIulio said that agents need to increase their marketing strategies.
"Whether that is by getting new business cards, gifts for clients with your logo or simply new ways to get your name out there," she said. "I put a business card ad in high school sports brochures or other charity events that are a nice donation and inexpensively get my name out there."
[READMORE]READ MORE: 6 Ingredients of a Successful Travel Agent[/READMORE]
Get Organized
Most people make a New Year's resolution to get organized, but DeIulio suggests travel agents make it (and stick with it) right now.
"Throw away those 2013 brochures and go through your old files and reach out to clients you haven't heard from in a while," she said. "I always try to stay busy doing something even during the slowest times of the year."
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