1. August 2014 Issue No. 117 $8.95 www.agentathome.com
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2. Education
On-DemandCLIA rEdEsigns its travEl ag€nt training
program with n€w intEractivE I€arning
CLI;
N ever one to rest on its laurels,
CLIA is in the midst of
revamping its portfolio of
training and certification programs for
next year. It will also introduce a new
learning management system.
“We have purchased and will be
piloting new software later this year,
which will allow us to deliver live,
online instructor-led courses,” says
Margaret Murphy, senior vice president
of strategic marketing at CLIA. “‘This
means we can bring high-quality, live
interactive instruction to you, no matter
where you are located.”
The new management system is
scheduled to be up and running in the
fourth quarter. “It’s going to allow us
to deliver this training how and when
travel agents want it,” she says.
Murphy says CLLA will also add
more short-form webinars into its
educational offerings as well.
The redesign will be based on
specific recommendations from CLIA
members. “Our members tell us the
CLIA certification is the gold standard
of education, and they do not want us
to compromise the rigor or the integrity
required for a CLIA certification — but
they would like to see the process be
more flexible and more automated,”
says Murphy.
All things considered, a return
on investment is paramount, she says.
“Agents want training when they want
it and they want flexibility so they can fit
the education into their busy schedules.
And they want training that is highly
relevant to growing their business.”
A recent CLIA survey uncovered
that agents also want shorter courses,
but not at the expense of what they
learn. For instance, says Murphy, they
would prefer three 20-minute courses on
a topic as compared to one 60-minute
course. “Agents are teffing us that they
want a high return on their time,” says
Above: The cruise industry offers cutting-edge tools for
agents to earn about selling and marketing its products,
such as Royal Caribbean’s zipline on Labadee, Haiti.
Murphy. “No travel agent has extra time
that they don’t know what to do with.
And that means they want the education
delivered in multiple formats that work
for them.”
The surveys found that agents want
a mix of online and in-person training
sessions. Seventy-nine percent of the
respondents ranked online courses
as valuable or very valuable, while 73
percent ranked in-person courses as
valuable or very valuable.
Agents said they liked videos
within courses, but that the footage
should never run for more than six
minutes, says Murphy.
“What they are looking for,
she adds, are programs that are
more flexible and automated. “Our
continued on page 72
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BY CLAUDE1TE COVEY
70 I AUGUST14 www. agentathome. corn

3. continued from page 70
programs will remain the standard in
the industry — but I think they’ll also
be game changers.”
CLIA is indeed working toward
ensuring that its programs are flexible.
“People learn differently and want
various learning options, a mix of
online and in-person courses — of
short courses and more in-depth
courses,” says Murphy. “They want
to hear from a variety ofvoices — from
our CLIA training team, which is
highly regarded, from outside experts,
from other agents, from the cruise
lines and destinations.”
Currently, CLIA certifications
include Cruise Counsellor (ACC),
Master Cruise Counsellor (MCC)
and Elite Cruise Counsellor (ECC)
designations. Although it isn’t known yet
whether the names ofthe designations
will change, Murphy says the redesign
will not only be based on specific
recommendations by members but also
from CLIA best and emerging practices
and those outside of the industry.
“People relate to the Bachelors,
Masters, Ph.D. and specialties model,”
she says. “Although we don’t label our
certification levels that way today — that
is the underlying design premise. So
CLIA members can earn their cruise
Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. and
they can earn a specialty designation
like Luxury Specialist or earn a Cruise
Manager designation, for example.”
In other developments, CLIA
launched 10 new one-hour travel
agent training seminars at its annual
cruise3sixty conference in April.
‘The courses include:
* Be Your Own Paparazzi — PR has
Changed, Find Out the Top Ways to
Stand Out
* Facebook 2014 What You Need
to Know Now
* Get Your Geek On! — Emerging and
Evolving Social Media You Need to
Know About
* Where to Find It — Must have
Resources and Apps
* What’s My Line? — Connecting
Clients to Cruising in One Sentence
* Put the Person Back in Personal
Seffing — They’re People, Not Apps
* Sell Your Passion — Niche Markets
You Neverihought ofbut Should Have
* The New Face of Luxury Cruising
“Our mEmbErs
tEll us thE CUA
cErtification is
thE gold standard
of Education, and
thEy do not want
us to compromisE
thE rigor or thE
intEgrity rEquirEd
for a CUA cErtification
— but thEy would likE
to SEE thE PROCESS
bE more flExiblE and
more automatEd:’
MargarEt Murphy, CUA
- New Luxury Clients, New Luxury
Ships
* Eat, Drink & Cruise — A Focus on
Culinary Cruising
* Turn Their Heads — Grow Your
Business through First-Time Cruisers
CLIA also redesigned its regional
cruisExcellence seminars to one-day
formats. “The response to this new
format has been excellent,”says Murphy,
adding that many have been sold out.
“These have been so well received
that our cruise line members, agents
and travel destination partners have
requested that we add additional cities
to the schedule,” she says.
CruisExcellence seminars for the
remainder of 2014 will be available in
Denver Oct. 4; Rutherford, N.J. Oct.
25; and San Diego Nov. 15.
In the final analysis, the changes
in CLIA’s training and certification
programs are designed to help agents
exceed clients’ expectations. “Change
is happening more rapidly than
ever, driven by changes in consumer
expectations and by technology,” says
Murphy. “This pace will not slow down,
so not only do we have to stay current,
but we also have to anticipate changes.”
In Murphy’s view, agents should
embrace change. “To a great extent, I
think we have to be open to change
almost everything about our educational
programs except what we stand for
which is a 40-year commitment to offer
the best travel agent education in the
industry that helps our members grow
their cruise sales,” she says.
çj~ todays world, consumers expect travel agents and connecting with clients.
Ii to be at the top of their game. CLIA’s training “Can any of us really be an expert in social and
~ and certification programs help agents do just that, digital media for very long?” she asks. “It is chang
~ says Margaret Murphy, senior vice president .f strate- ing too rapidly — and right now there is an app or
~ gic marketing at CLIA. a new social media platform in someone’s garage.
= Following are four reasons why agents should Within months it will have millions of consumers
consider participating in CLIA training and certifica- using it. Agents don’t need to find out about it tw.
ii’~ L) tion programs. years too late.”
Zc~:
Training. The cruise industry continues to expand Resources. “No one can know everything, so agents
~.._. dramatically year after year by adding new ships, need to know how to quickly find what they need,” says
destinations and itineraries, and onboard entertain- Murphy. “Agents are resourceful, and CLIA training is
ment, technology, shopping and technology. “Agents not only a resource itself but also can guide agents [in
_j need training to be sure they are on top of these learning] how to identify and use the best resources.”
~ changes — and that they are current with the indus
try and the trends,” says Murphy. The cache of credentials. “Clients and those new to
cruise expect agents to have expertise,” says Murphy.
Cutting-edge marketing and sales. “Agents need “It is the price of sustained success. Even if consumers
to be able to share the cruise story effectively with come to y.u as a referral, they are going to Google
clients and, of course, with those who are new to you first.” When a prospective client realizes that an
cruise,” says Murphy. CLIA education helps retailers agent is CLIA certified it will set [that agent] apart im
with marketing and selling approaches, and with mediately. “Training is the path to certification and to
understanding the various ways of communicati.n distinguishing yourself,” she says. @
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