9 Ways to Become a Better Travel Agent

No matter what career you are in and how good you are doing, you can always improve yourself.

Even Richard Branson has offered advice on becoming better: “Being a good listener is absolutely critical to being a good leader; you have to listen to the people who are on the front line.”

If you want to become a better agent, here are nine tips from other agents that you should listen to who are on the front line:

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Be Dependable

“Picking up the phone or quickly answering email is the first step to being a great travel agent,” said Alex Dalton, Travel with Alex, an affiliate of Travel Experts.

“It tells the client a lot about if you can’t even answer their emails in a timely manner. Even if you have to send an email telling them to give you a minute, that is still letting the client know they are important.”

Pay Attention to Detail

“I am a full-service travel consultant and pay attention to detail, but I feel I can do better with this,” said Denise Lorentzen, owner/travel consultant with Dreams Travel Consulting in Hughson, California. “Sometimes we get busy and little things get forgotten. I am working on being better organized with the little details for my clients.”

Be Inquisitive

“[I'm always] asking great questions and really getting to know my clients so I can serve them in the best way,” said Stefany DiManno Ceccato with Largay Travel in Waterbury, Connecticut.

Be Organized

"This one is key if you are doing multi-faceted, very complex FIT’s,” said Dalton. “Using Outlook Calendar or some reminder app helps in a myriad of ways. There will be times you forget stuff, it happens, the app will cover you on it.”

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Learn Damage Control

"Damage control is the best skill you can learn because, if you have grace under pressure when the emergencies hit and you keep your cool and the client calm, you have made a loyal customer for life,” said Dalton.

“Being there and ready to help when the snow storm hits or knowing what to do when you are woken up in the middle of the night to fly clients out of a civil strife zone is invaluable, especially as a marketing tool. Keeping calm can make you a huge success.”

Enhance Your Knowledge

For Samarah Meil of Amarillo Travel Network in Amarillo, Texas, spending her own time and money to travel a few times a year to new places has been invaluable.

“Within our Agency I have implemented a reward program to my agents who keep up with continuing education,” said Meil. “We do a monthly drawing within our Agency to reward an agent for completing a specialist program, attending a live training, event or a FAM."

Meil started incentives after hearing a quote on the importance of growth and leadership by Robin S. Sharma: “Leadership is not about a title or designation. It’s about impact, influence and inspiration. Impact involves getting results, influence is about spreading the passion you have for your work, and you have to inspire teammates and customers.”

Be Kind

“I enjoy spending additional time with our customers sharing stories of my own personal experiences at a destination or on a cruise ship,” said Winston Laltoo, CruiseOne Franchise Owner and Vacation Specialist in Orlando, Florida.

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Be Resourceful

“Sometimes, you just have to be creative, know the right person to speak with to get that extra amenity, that space on the airline cleared or the specific tour operator booked,” said Dalton. “You need to sometimes be a go-getter and ask for what you need without being too pushy. Some have mastered this, some have not.”

You Have to Want it

“No matter what you do you can always be better, it comes down to: Do you want to get better?” asked Tom Karnes, LaMacchia Travel of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

“Our industry offers so many ways to make yourself a better agent. One of the best ways is to align yourself with an organization or consortium that pushes you to be better via travel opportunities, online training, seminars and networking. When you surround yourself with great agents (and competitors) naturally, it drives you to be better so it becomes the company you keep.”

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