Being a travel agent is more than just making people's travel dreams come true. A lot more. In fact, if you're running a one-person agency, keeping all the balls in the air can be a daunting task.
Luckily, there's Travel Planners International (TPI) to the rescue. With Travel Planners, agents can relax knowing that they have a partner and a much-needed boost to growing and running a successful business.
With 28 years in the business, Travel Planners knows what makes an agency successful. And to help get you started, Travel Planners offers new entrants to the industry two training tracks: Express Training, a self-taught, entry-level course designed to introduce the basics of the travel industry, and Enhanced Training, an instructor-led course that provides more in-depth training on everything from booking to marketing.
Travel Planners offers agents three plans with 70-percent, 80-percent and 90-percent commissions. No matter the plan, all agents receive a branded consumer website that allows you to showcase your business to current and prospective clients; a help-desk team that is there to support you every step of your journey; and a 3-star Consumer Connect listing, putting you and your business specialty before consumers. This listing allows agents to showcase their destination specialties and travel types to consumers, and in return get live leads. TPI's 5-Star Consumer Connect plan puts your name at the end of their "Plan Your Trip" page, where consumers who have already chosen their destination and type will be shown agent profiles that match their search.
Additional benefits of working with Travel Planners include the capacity to book better cruises, thanks to TPI's group leisure specialist's ability to secure thousands of cabins at the lowest negotiated price. The TPICentral web portal provides 24/7 access to all the tools you need, including an air/car/hotel booking engine, supplier information, accounting tools, event schedules, dynamic invoicing, business development training and even built-in CRM software. Agents also receive a weekly e-newsletter.
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Once your business is up and running, growth is the name of the game. Take advantage of Travel Planners' partnership with Power Sales University to ramp up your sales game. For those close to the company's headquarters in Maitland, Fla., TPI offers two-day, in-house training for agents of every experience level. TPI offers up to six webinars a week on everything from making reservations to increasing profits. TPI also extended its T.E.A.M. program to help agents network and foster relationships with each other and key suppliers.
In addition to helping agents grow the business aspect of their agency, TPI offers agents all the tools they need to promote themselves to prospective customers. TPI provides all types of collateral including newsletters, postcards and other promotional materials. TPI also offers an easy-to-use email marketing system that allows agents to reach out with targeted high-impact, low-budget messaging. Travel Planners also offers its agents access to Brand Boosters such as a toll-free number, and ESP and Social Link services that provide them with a competitive edge.
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