From Monday, May 1 through Thursday, May 4, Travel Leaders Network held their first conference since the three companies (Travel Leaders Associates, Results! Travel and Vacation.com) joined forces in August.
The conference, held in Orlando, had speakers such as technology icon Steve Wozniak and author and business coach Mike Marchev. The topics ranged from sales techniques and marketing strategies to the technologies travel agents can use to grow their business.
If you ask any conference-goer, they will tell you the top reason they attend conferences is the “networking.” What does that mean in the travel agent world, though? Networking at the Travel Leaders Network International Conference can be broken down into two main categories: networking with suppliers, and networking with other agents.
EXPOSURE WITH SUPPLIERS
Supplier presentations and online training programs can be great, but there’s a key piece missing. The travel industry is built on relationships. A good relationship with a Business Development Manager can make all the difference when it comes to closing a sale. Your BDMs are a resource you can and should be using to grow your business. Many of them can provide great marketing techniques/ideas and advise you on decisions like getting an LLC. Communicating with your BDMs doesn’t need to just be about their product!
FINDING A MENTOR
Unlike the live events hosted by KHM Travel Group, at the TLN Conference you have the opportunity to meet travel agents that aren’t affiliated with KHM Travel Group. Travel Leaders Network is a consortium with 38,000 sellers of travel and this year’s conference had 2,100 attendees! The travel industry is unique in the way “competitors” can collaborate and share ideas. Travel agents from other hosts or non-hosted agents can be great to network with and bounce ideas off of. Usually the same struggles that KHM Travel Group agents face are shared by other travel agents.
HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS
The day before the Travel Leaders Conference this year, Ron and Claudiu from Travel eSolutions held a workshop exclusively for KHM Travel Agents on myTravelCRM. The workshop covered the new email template functionality as well as Workplace Extensions. (Both of these features are a part of the Advanced package that is provided to KHM Travel Agents at no additional cost.) Agents were able to provide feedback and share the pain points they have with either the system or with the sales process.
INSPIRATION FOR YOUR TRAVEL BUSINESS
Hearing others’ success stories is a great way to find inspiration and motivation to drive your business. Bringing together KHM Travel Group agents, Business Development Managers, the Travel Leaders team, and the KHM Travel Group team means more opportunities to discover others’ “Why” and what drives them.
GETTING INSIGHT INTO THE FUTURE
Travel Leaders Network is especially well known in the industry for providing cutting-edge tools for travel agents. Among their products are Agent Profiler and Engagement. The conference welcomed a very special guest this year – Fellow of Apple and a pioneer in the technology industry, Steve Wozniak. He shared his thoughts on how travel has changed over the years with the advancements of technology. Fireside chats like this provide a unique experience for you to get an idea of what the future has in store for travel agents.
KHM Travel Agents can learn more about Travel Leaders Network and the tools and resources available to them in the Portal under Suppliers.
If you are interested in partnering with us to start your travel agency, request our free Travel Agent Information Guide by filling out the form on the right side of the screen. Our experienced team is here to support your goals for your travel business at 1-888-611-1220.