Travel Agent Tips to Gain More Clients

After moving to Charleston, South Carolina with her husband this past April, Stefany DiManno Ceccato is still trying to figure out how to get more clients for her travel agency.

Fortunately, her ideas are working out well.

“We've done a couple of presentations at retirement communities and have been working with a new client that we met at one so far,” said Ceccato of Largay Travel. “I also put together a Uniworld river cruise to Burgundy and Provence with a well-known chef here in Charleston, so that is bringing me new clients with the people who are signing up to go on the trip. We also have found clients at the Harbour Club we are members of and potential clients through our Chamber membership.”

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Pam Walker said she doesn’t go looking for new clients, they find her: “I find that having a great website, being part of Virtuoso and sending people on experiences that they would not normally think of, has brought me lots of clients,” she said.

“I would also recommend posting on Facebook and other social media sites to let folks know that I am not your run-of-the-mill travel agent,” she said.

Samarah Meil of Amarillo Travel Network in Amarillo, Texas said that referrals are always the best, easiest and cheapest way to get new clients.

“I tell my agents to not be afraid to ask for a referral either,” she said. “When a traveler returns and is pleased with their trip, then ask them if they know of anyone who you can also help. We do a referral program, and all my agents handwrite thank you notes too.”

Tom Karnes, president of LovinAway of Kenosha, Wisconsin, agrees that referrals work: “The best way to find new clients is the oldest way to find new clients: client referrals. Unless you have extremely deep pockets, most all other tactics are just average, and the market is so saturated. A happy client is your best form of advertising. You just need to learn how to leverage that.”

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Pam Walker of Walker Adventures, an affiliate of Travel Experts in Palm Coast Florida, also recommends that you book time on local television shows or radio stations to talk about travel.

“You can also write about travel for your community newspaper and attend every social and business event in your town,” she said. “Talk about the amazing things that you can create through those worldwide contacts you have that the ordinary travel agent does not. Be positive and be out in your community doing good and sending people on fantastic experiences that only you know how to provide.”

“I have found that "cold networking" is not nearly as productive for me in generating new clients as "warm networking",” said Margot Kong, from Journeys Unparalleled, an affiliate of Travel Experts in San Francisco, California. “In the past, I have tried going to networking events put on by my alumni clubs, Chamber of Commerce, Asia Society, etc. I find that going to events like those where no one knows me and I don't know anyone doesn't work for me.”

However, she said that she is more successful in smaller groups or one-on-one sessions, networking among people who already know and trust her: “For example, going out to lunches with people from my ballet class at San Francisco Ballet, setting up coffee dates with old coworkers from companies I worked at in my former career or creating a 'Momtrepreneurs' monthly meet-up group made up of moms who have started their own businesses.”

The trick to sales is to talk about what one does without coming across as too ‘sales-y.’

“I guess some people might call this the soft sell,” said Kong. “While this doesn't always generate business right away, it's all about creating and developing relationships. And with time, the clients often come to me.”

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The other channel that has been very successful is her daughters' Chinese immersion school.

“Setting up one-on-one coffee dates with other moms after morning drop off has been a great way to develop relationships and make sure that people know what I do,” Kong said.

She also organizes annual moms’ getaways near the Bay Area for moms from the school: “The first one I held attracted about 20 moms. In the second year, over 50 moms attended. Organizing these events takes a lot of work and a lot of attention to detail.”

She hopes the moms are thinking that if she can put together these events, she can organize their family vacations.

“My advice to agents is to look at your own life and tap into the communities to which you already belong,” said Kong. “Network and be sociable without trying to make a hard sell. When you come off as trustworthy, knowledgeable and likable, then when they are ready, they will come to you with their business.”

Debbie Brisky depends on her newsletters to get more clients.

“I actually print them out and take a day to do a walkabout,” said Brisky, owner of Beach Monkey Travel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “I visit local companies and take a small box of goodies and ask them if I can leave some business cards and newsletters. I have been turned down very few times. The saying is true, ‘If you feed them they will come.’"

Whatever you decide to do, gaining more clients is largely about being consistent and approachable with your efforts.