Travel Agent Musings

By Neil Hamilton

How will the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating affect travel? That seems to be the question of the day. Personally, it’s not changing my travel plans. We will be leaving for Cape Cod next Thursday.

 I really don’t think it’s going to affect too many people. People, like me, who have been deferring their holidays out of concern for the economy are tired of the whole mess. I need a holiday to get away from the news; not from a bad economy, but from the news itself.

 My wife is a TV news junkie, and I must admit, I got caught up listening to the dire predictions of every newscaster over and over and over again for the past few weeks. I have put my foot down: I will watch one half hour newscast per day.

 By the time Standard & Poor’s did the bad deed and the media got jittery investors to sell off more investments at a loss, the whole thing really seemed anti-climactic. I was numb to it all by then. The sun came up. I ate breakfast. I went to the bank and withdrew our vacation spending money, which we have been accumulating from loose change for the past year.

 I am ready for a holiday. The hotel is booked and paid for. On the way to Cape Cod, we will stop in to see my daughter and her husband, who live about an hour and a half outside of Boston. They are way ahead of me. They took CNN off their TV channel guide years ago.

 So I really don’t believe the debt fiasco caused by irresponsible politicians, and magnified by even more irresponsible TV reporters will really have an effect on the economy, or travel. Droughts and oil spills influence economies because they affect our supply chain. Running out of money because banks won’t lend the free capital they got from the government affects the economy. These things matter because they interfere with the free flow of goods and services to people.

 Italy’s economy is in even worse condition, according to Wolf Blitzer ─ who finished Celebrity Jeopardy with a negative score by the way. But Italians have nine times more in personal savings than the average American. So I don’t think Italians will quit travelling any time soon.

 Strikes by airline employees, volcanoes that interrupt air traffic, or irresponsible politicians who won’t pay FAA employees ─ these affect travel. But the downgrading of the US credit rating to AA+? I’ll see you in Cape Cod.

By Dan Kraus

Dan Kraus is the president and founder of Leading Results, and focuses on getting small businesses to stop wasting money on marketing that doesn’t get results. Leading Results is a Duct Tape Marketing coaching organization and has helped hundreds of companies make their marketing more effective. You can learn more at www.LeadingResults.com

Business is slower than you want it to be. You need to find some new customers. Since business development is clearly part of your responsibility, what do you do?  One of my favorite sayings is that to be successful you need to keep your hands on the wheel, your foot on the gas, and your eyes on the horizon.

Said more simply: know where you are going, keep the pace, and keep an eye on the future. When you are looking for new business, this is especially true.  You need to have business development plans for the short term, a month or two distant, as well as the long term to ensure your business stays consistent.

 In the short term:

• How is your follow up?  Are you using a system to keep your commitments?  There is little that frustrates a prospective customer more than commitments that aren’t kept.  If you aren’t doing what you promised when you are trying to sell them on something, how will you be acting when they buy?
• Who have you talked to recently that hasn’t made a decision?  Often times we are so focused on the next bright, shiny object (hot prospect), that we neglect those that were warm or un-enthusiastic.  Get back in touch with them and if they still aren’t ready to make a decision, ask them for a referral to a friend or colleague that might be.

In the mid-term:

• Stop cold calling and start surveying.  Rather than make a cold call that has little chance of success, instead, survey.  Ask your prospect what kind of educational information would be helpful. And then ask for permission to stay in touch.  The internet has changed the buying process for customers – they can get almost all the information they need.  What you can help them with is the insight that comes from experience.
• Ask for introductions.  Use LinkedIN to see who the person knows and then connect for an introduction.  You may make 75% fewer calls, but if the calls you do make include an introduction, you will be 100% more effective.

In the long-term:

• Make yourself your referable.  The best way to build your business is by referrals, but to do that you need to be remarkable, not just average.  Set the stage with each prospect before they become a customer.  Tell them: “You are going to be so happy in working with me that you are going to want to tell 5 of your friends, and I am going to ask you to do just that, after you are satisfied”.
• Back to systems – how are you keeping track of both current customers and long-term prospects?  You’ve got to have an organized, systematic process to stay in touch with both groups with insightful, and useful information.

In the end, remember: none of us like to be sold, but we do like to buy products, services, and experiences that appeal to us.  Be the educational and informational source for your prospects and customers and you won’t need to sell or cold call; they’ll be calling you.