Are You Ready for 2017?

Dear Tammy: Happy New Year! I was anxious to let 2016 go, it wasn’t the best year for me, but I’m anxious about 2017 too and what it means to be a travel agent. Do you have any advice for me?

Tammy: Happy New Year to you too! So many people want to put 2016 behind them, so if it was one of those years for you too, it’s time to start fresh. But what does that mean?

First, ignore making New Year’s resolutions. In most cases, these resolutions are too hard to stick to you are probably setting yourself up for failure. Instead, it’s time to create achievable goals for the new year. However, even before you do that, you need to ask yourself a few questions:

1. What did you want to achieve last year?
2. Why did you not achieve that goal?
3. What is holding you back?

For example, if you are a part-time travel agent and wanted to be a full-time agent by the end of 2016, but you’re not, ask yourself why? Did you really put the work in? Were you distracted by other non-essential things? What can you do differently to achieve that goal this year? Can you say no to some other activity that would free up time to improve your business?

Maybe you did put the effort in but fell short on income. Again, why? Did you create a travel niche that was so specialized you didn’t have enough customers to make enough of money? Did you not know how to market your brand?

Before you can move forward and achieve your goals, you need to figure out why you were making mistakes before and how to avoid them this time.

Once you know what you want your goals to be, it’s time to put a plan into action. Write down your goals and the steps you need to take to achieve them. Break down the goals into doable actions. For example, making six figures is a great goal, but you have to start with a doable action, which could be to call or email potential clients on a weekly basis.

You could also take a course, such as the one I teach called T.A.S.K., which stands for Travel Agents Success Kit. I teach travel agents how to win against online booking engines, gain clients’ trust, and redefine what it means to be a travel agent. You can do an online T.A.S.K. or participate in a T.A.S.K. live event.

No matter how you proceed, the idea is this: it’s your time to shine. Figure out the best way that works for you. It’s not about making resolutions. It’s about sticking to a plan, making adjustments along the way and working hard. Cheers to 2017!  VISION + PASSION = SUCCESS