Codie's Corner: Effectively Communicating With Clients

Similar to most career paths, communication is one of the major keys to success for travel agents. It’s not always the easiest thing to grasp, but over time agents will learn how to properly do so.

First and foremost, you’ll want to make sure you are aware of which form of communication your clients are interested in.

This will vary between customers, and it’s not always easy to figure out. In these cases, simply ask them what their preference is—some people prefer email and others always want a phone call. You also may come across clients who always prefer to make a visit to the office.

Honoring their preferred method of communication will increase their comfort level with you and will allow them to have a more pleasant experience all around.

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Another thing you’ll want to keep in mind is to never over promise and under deliver. For example, if you’re working on researching a quote for your client, it’s better to give a time frame on when they will receive it instead of an exact deadline. A travel agent’s schedule can be unpredictable, and you never know what will pop up.

Instead of saying you’ll have their quote by Wednesday at 4:00 p.m., instead say something along the lines of “I will forward a quote to you by the end of the week.” This way, you can hopefully get the information to them by the end of the day Wednesday when you plan to, but if something comes up to set you back, you can have it to them by Thursday or Friday.

Don’t provide a specific time unless you know you can 100 percent guarantee it. This will help alleviate any unnecessary stress for yourself as well as for your client.

If you do happen to get behind and it’s unrealistic that you’ll have their quote ready by the time frame you provided, be sure to communicate this right away. You may have to deal with an emergency or another client’s vacation gone wrong, and sometimes these things can consume an entire day.

Instead of blowing your other clients off, give them a call and explain their quotes will be coming to them a day or two late. They will be a lot less frustrated knowing this instead of thinking you forgot all about them.

Along these same lines, if you realize you’ve made a mistake—whether you quoted the wrong dates or an incorrect price—see what you can do behind the scenes to fix it.

If it is an unfixable situation, contact your client right away to let them know what happened. They will appreciate the honesty, and what matters most in this case is how you handle the situation.

Communication is key, and properly interacting with your clients will lead to repeat business, referrals and lifelong clients.