Dear Tammy: I'm a relatively new travel agent, and I am doing my best to make sure that I am up-to-date on the most important information I need to give to my clients. However, there is so much training out there it's making my head spin and my budget hurt.
I really don't know what the difference is between, for example, product training, travel agent training, FAM, etc. Can you help me figure this out, please?
Tammy: You're doing a great job so far because agents who are serious about what they do make sure to keep themselves on top of new products, are trained on marketing and public relations, keep on top of all the travel changes on the destinations they service and more.
So the fact that you are eager to learn is a good thing.
Basically, product training will simply give you information about products. For example, at a Sandals product training, you will learn about Sandals offerings. Same with Hard Rock, Hawaii, Australia or Tahiti. Organizations focus on their products. They will show you this room and that property and educate you on what they have to offer your clients.
FAMs or "familiarization trips" are free or low-cost trips that you can take to become "familiar' with suppliers or travel operators.
Any training you take really means nothing unless you have someone to sell them too-and that's called a lead. Now you need training on how to get leads, how to keep them, how to sell to them, how to qualify them, etc. The list is endless.
[READMORE]READ MORE: Travel Agents' Best Tips for Boosting Sales[/READMORE]
The truth is that you have taken the right steps to make sure you have been trained to learn how to build your company. But you need to take the right training first, and that's the training on leads.
Don't take another FAM or product training until you learn about leads. You'll be building leads all the time and it's the most important training you can take. Learn what you can!
Topics From This Article to Explore
