Are you ready to 'Make the World Your Office?'
Cruise Planners wants savvy entrepreneurs to know they can. Its ad campaign is encouraging those looking to start their own businesses to do what they love and, if they love travel, Cruise Planners is looking for them.
Cruise Planners is out in the consumer workforce with advertising that invites those looking for a career change or a new business opportunity to "Make the World Your Office."
"This campaign has been running all year," said Vicky Garcia, COO of Cruise Planners. "We advertise to the consumer looking for a career change. Eighty percent of our franchisees are new to the travel industry."
The Cruise Planners model is based on the premise that franchisees can run their travel business from anywhere. The business platforms seamlessly translate from mobile devices to tablets to home computers.
"We have invested a lot of money in developing this content," said Garcia.
How easy is it to live your dream of travel? Cruise Planners takes all of the mystery out of owning a travel agency and selling travel.
"It is a business in a box," said Garcia. "When our clients buy a franchise, it includes training online and onsite. They spend six days at our headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with in-house training and training from suppliers."
Franchisees learn all of the ins and outs of the business.
"At the training, they learn how to market, they learn how to book travel," said Garcia. "They are learning directly from the owners when they come for their six-day training. We are at each class."
Even before they come to training at Cruise Planners HQ, they begin learning online.
"Franchisees have an internal coach who guides them through the online university," said Garcia. "There is a coaching team with them after the on-site training as well."
Cruise Planners' online university is open 24/7 for its agents to continue their training, making the courses convenient for those who want to enhance their travel-selling techniques after hours. Short, 20-minute courses guide them through each facet of the travel industry and the classes are always available if anyone needs a refresher course. Classes are as intense as how to work on a group charter or as simple as learning how to receive commission.
So who is taking Cruise Planners up on their offer? People from all walks of life.
"We have mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, retirees," said Garcia. "Over the years, we have had great results from veterans and family members of veterans. It is the same with first responders. The beauty is that these groups have a lot of loyalty and generate a lot of repeat business."
Garcia noted that teachers, nurses, real estate agents and work-from-home moms also make up a lot of their franchisees as well.
"Ultimately, it's for people who have a passion for travel," said Garcia. "'Make the World Your Office' is really targeted for them."
One of those people is Sheila Korte, a Cruise Planners franchise owner in Babylon, New York.
"We were looking for home-based opportunities," said Korte. "As soon as I saw Cruise Planners featured in Entrepreneur magazine a few years ago, I knew they would be a perfect fit for us. Travel has always been our passion and it's amazing to be able to share our love of travel and to plan dream vacations for our clients. We love what we do and we love Cruise Planners. CP is a perfect fit for us!"
Garcia noted that one of the essential qualities franchisees need to have, more than education or experience, is the right attitude to embrace and share about the industry.
"We came up with a word 'cruisitude,'" she said. "It means passion or zest for life. That's what we look for. If someone is shy or doesn't have a passion for travel, they are not going to be successful. All you need is to be enthusiastic and outgoing."
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