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Five
good reasons NOT to be a
home-based travel agent
If
this is all sounding too good to be true, I know exactly how you feel.
I felt the same way. In fact, I still feel that way. Part of me keeps
wondering when I'll find "the catch." So far there doesn't seem to
be one. But if what you've read on this site has pumped you up too
much so far, perhaps it's time to bring you down to earth a bit.
If there is a catch to the new travel game, it's letting your goals
outstrip your gumption. Another way of saying that is you've got to
determine, first, what you want out of your travel business and, second,
if you have what it takes in terms of skills, time, commitment, and
whatever to get it. For me the goals were pretty simple. I wanted
a way to make something I loved - travel - more a part of my daily
life. I'm not looking to make selling travel my sole means of making
a living (I'm not going to be one of those $100,000 a year outside
reps). I am looking to stretch my travel budget, to get more mileage
out of my travel dollar. And I am looking to supplement my income
by sharing the joys of travel with others. In both those areas I am
succeeding to my satisfaction. So I am happy and feel my travel business
is on an even keel.
To
help you guide your own thinking as you explore this site, let me
share some thoughts that may help you put all this in perspective:
This
is no get-rich-quick scheme. Those who make large sums of money
selling travel work very hard and earn every penny. How much money
a person makes and how hard they have to work to make it, varies from
person to person. Some people have more time to devote to their travel
business than others. Some have more drive and determination than
others. Some folks are natural salespeople; others will have to work
harder to hone their skills. It may sound like a cliché, but
how much money you make is up to you. I certainly can't predict how
much you'll make, but I can guarantee you that if you think you can
make a small fortune working just a half hour a day while watching
television, you'll be disappointed.
It's
a business. The statistics tell us that the majority of new businesses
fail in a year or two. There's no reason to expect that your travel
business may not meet the same fate. The saving grace is that, if
you follow my strategies, you will not lose more money than you can
afford in a failed venture. Also, if you decide being independent
is not for you, you should have enough of a track record to make you
an attractive employee for a local agency. It's quite possible to
use my strategies knowing you'll earn just a few hundred dollars a
year. If that's fine for you, then everything's okay. Of course, you
can also seek to make selling travel a moneymaker. And that's fine,
too.
It's a service business. Whatever else you are selling, you
are selling customer satisfaction. If you have never worked in a setting
in which you had to "please the public," you may be surprised at how
much people will expect from you and how readily they'll blame you
for things over which you have no control. Believe me, if the toilet
in the luxury hotel in Nairobi backs up and overflows, it's your fault!
Things
go wrong. Most people who go into business have at least some
bad experiences. I certainly can't guarantee that you won't have some
of your own. You may just accept problems as a natural part of life.
I think that's a healthy attitude. On the other hand, you may decide
that the kinds of problems that tend to come up in this business aren't
worth whatever you're getting out of it. So be it. For those who are
truly serious my home study course discusses in depth some of the
things that can go amiss and some ways you can protect yourself.
It
involves selling. No matter how glamorous travel may be, to make
real money at it you have to sell. That means looking for new customers,
finding out what their travel needs are, presenting them with attractive
options, answering their questions, dealing with their objections,
and, above all, asking them to part with their hard-earned money.
I happen to have a background in sales and marketing. In fact, over
the years I have trained hundreds of salespeople in a variety of industries.
I know from experience that selling is a skill and that like any skill
it can be learned. I also know from experience that not everyone is
cut out for selling. It's not so much that they can't, it's just that,
for whatever reason, they find out they don't enjoy it that much.
You may be one of those people.
Above
all, here are no guarantees. I can show you every trick in the book
(and I do!), but ultimately the only one who can guarantee your success
is you.
If you are ready
to order our home study course and launch a scuccessul home-based
travel agent career, CLICK HERE. For
more information on how to start up and succeed in a home-based travel
business, click here.
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