We ended our 2017 live event schedule on a high note last week at our October Boot Camp for new travel agents. Our team welcomed 39 travel agents from around the country to Northeast Ohio for three days of professional development, networking and hands-on instruction.
This year’s Boot Camp events have all begun with a welcome from Marie Smith, Director of Agent Development and Engagement. She also briefly introduces the staff and gives a general outline of the attendees’ backgrounds and locations.
This leads right into an overview of the Supplier Relations team and how they can be an important resource for agents.
The first day’s sessions — Building on Your Past and Passion, Building a Business Mindset, Building a Marketing Mindset, truly lay the foundation for the rest of the event. We also fit in overview of the benefits offered by our consortium, Travel Leaders Network, and a discussion on how to choose the right supplier for a client’s trip.
“Attend to get a clear direction and the support from you extended family at KHM Headquarters. They will help you take your travel business to the next level,” said Jacqueline W., an agent from Maryland.
That evening, agents are asked to prepare their 30-second commercial to share with the group and gather feedback about the next morning.
Days 2 and 3 of Boot Camp are held at the Holiday Inn in Strongsville. Thursday was heavily focused on cruising, with presentations from our friendly Carnival Cruise Line BDM Chris Schutz and a hands-on cruise booking workshop following lunch.
Compliance and working in myTravelCRM, our agents’ client management system, wrapped up the remainder of day two. A portion of the KHM Travel staff also made themselves available later that evening for more hands-on instruction or one-on-one guidance.
“When you first walk in the door at KHM they are all there to greet you and they make themselves available to you at the social and the late session if you need additional help,” said Cheri F., from Texas. “They make you feel welcome and at home right immediately.”
Agents didn’t lose steam on Friday, which included an in-depth look at the sales cycle, plus a review of the geography in the popular tourist regions of the Caribbean and Mexico.
After lunch, agents heard from our Preferred Supplier Apple Vacations and also walked through bookings in Apple’s travel agent website.
We hope each Boot Camp agent left prepared to take their business to the next level, and establish themselves as true travel professionals! We enjoyed hosting you, and learning more about your businesses last week.
View more photos of the fun from our October Boot Camp in our Flickr album!
Our 2018 event schedule will be released soon on TravelAgentMeeting.com, KHM Travel Group’s site for information, photos and more from all of our live events like Boot Camp and Destination Success.
Our New Agent Boot Camp is just one of the many opportunities KHM Travel Group offers its agents. We invest our time into developing the best travel agent education, tools and support to give agents the knowledge and confidence needed to build successful businesses.
For our free Travel Agent Information Guide that will answer your questions about starting your own home-based travel agency, fill out the form on the right or call 1-888-611-1220.