The document is an issue of Selling Travel magazine focused on providing travel trade professionals with sales and marketing tips, tools, and techniques. It includes articles on topics like marketing to Generation Z travelers, using video to sell travel, leveraging existing agency tools and resources to drive business, boosting customer service, and positioning an agency. The issue also features advertisements from travel suppliers and host agencies.

1. 3/2016

2. 4 EDITORIAL
The DESIRE to travel starts early
and continues throughout one’s
life – are you marketing to
Generation Z?
Share your money making ideas
in SELLING TRAVEL.
CONTACT
Steve Crowhurst
steve@sellingtravel.net
250-738-0064
www.sellingtravel.net
Publisher:
SMP Training Co.
www.sellingtravel.net
Contributors
Steve Crowhurst, Anthony Dalton,
Steve Gillick.
SELLING TRAVEL is owned and published
by Steve Crowhurst, SMP Training Co. All
Rights Reserved. Protected by
International Copyright Law. SELLING
TRAVEL can be shared, forwarded, cut and
pasted but not sold, resold or in any way
monetized. Using any images or content
from SELLING TRAVEL must be sourced as
follows: “Copyright SMP Training Co.
www.sellingtravel.net” SMP Training Co.
568 Country Club Drive, Qualicum Beach,
BC, Canada, V9K-1G1 Note: Steve
Crowhurst is not responsible for outcomes
based on how you interpret or use the
ideas in SELLING TRAVEL.
T: 250-738-0064.
5 VIDEOBLOCKS Special Offer – Save 90%
6 THINKING INSIDE THE BOX
9 20 E-GUIDES OFFERING HUNDREDS OF IDEAS
10 SELLING CUSTOMER SERVICE
12 FULFILLING YOUR PROMISES
14 THE YEAR OF THE PROFESSIONAL – THE TRAVEL INSTITUTE
16 TAKING THE CURVE
18 DE-CLUTTERING YOUR MARKETING PLAN
22 POSITIONING YOUR AGENCY
25 GILLICK’S WORLD
26 THE JOHARI WINDOW
30 READ MORE ME HERE!
33 MORE IDEAS HERE!
34 CLASSIFIEDS
THE HOW-TO MAGAZINE FOR TRAVEL TRADE PROFESSIONALS
Please note that Selling Travel, owned and published by SMP Training Co, is not
connected in any way to Selling Travel magazine published by BMI Publishing Ltd., and
based in the UK. The latter publication focuses entirely on destination and travel/tourism
product training and is circulated solely to the UK and Ireland travel industries. To benefit
from this resource visit www.sellingtravel.co.uk and be sure to subscribe.
Attention Suppliers: Advertising in SELLING TRAVEL reaches the serious business-minded
travel agent. Promote your products and services using Selling Travel’s unique promotional
formula – you write the articles on how to sell your own products offering step-by-step selling
tips, tools and techniques that you know have worked for your agency accounts. Full page
rates range from $300 to $425 based on number of insertions. Remember, if you can’t sell it
to them, they can’t sell it for you!

3. TRUE SUPPORT FOR TRUE PROFESSIONALS
At Nexion Canada, we know that you are passionate about your travel business. So we provide you
with the professional support and industry relationships you need to be more profitable and efficient,
giving you the freedom to run your travel business the best way: your way.
A full-service host agency combining decades of experience, Nexion Canada provides independent,
Canadian-based travel professionals of all experience levels with:
• Your choice of up to 80% of commissions
• Top commissions with leading air, cruise and land suppliers
• Technology tools to better manage your business
• Access to our exclusive point-and-click booking engine or through the Amadeus, Sabre or Galileo
GDS systems
• Training, coaching and networking opportunities
• Innovative marketing programs to grow your business
• Exclusive cruise block space and supplier offers
• Lead generation for qualified agents
• Vacation.com membership included at no additional charge!
It’s time to join a family of professionals that truly supports your independent business dreams.
It’s time to join Nexion Canada.
• Your choice of up to 80% of commissions
• Top commissions with leading air, cruise and land suppliers
• Technology tools to better manage your business
• Access to our exclusive point-and-click booking engine or through the Amadeus, Sabre or Galileo
• Training, coaching and networking opportunities
• Innovative marketing programs to grow your business
• Exclusive cruise block space and supplier offers
• Lead generation for qualified agents
• Vacation.com membership included at no additional charge!
Contact us today to learn more about our growing family of travel professionals.
Visit www.Join.NexionCanada.com
Email sales@nexioncanada.com
Call 866-399-9989
MENTION THAT YOU SAW US IN IC AGENT MAGAZINE
AND RECEIVE YOUR FIRST MONTH FREE!
10131503-Nexion_Ad.indd 1 10/29/13 2:18 PM

4. ON THE MOVE!
At the time of writing this issue of Selling Travel I am moving homes. I know you’ve been there
and packed that and that’s exactly what’s going on here and now. Up to my neck in boxes and
packing tape! When you pack, you tend to enter a Zen like state of mind and in that fog I came
to think about the need to move in a business sense, especially when it comes to selling travel.
It pays to move in terms of what you are selling and focused on. It pays to move whatever you
do, up a notch. Take customer service for instance… how good is yours? Could it use dusting off
and a polish? Could you de-clutter certain aspects of your sales and marketing plan? Do you have
a collection of stuff or ideas that have never seen the light of day? Is it time to purge the old ways
and grab hold of the new? Should you be thinking inside the box as opposed to outside?
Well you’ve got an idea as to what this issue of ST is all about.
Let’s get busy and generate some new business opportunities by moving and shaking your cur-
rent business model here and there to sharpen the ROI.
Don’t forget you have a series of e-Guides you can purchase from The Travel Institute that will
help you move ahead in most things related to selling travel.
Here’s to your continued success in SELLING TRAVEL.
Best regards.
Steve Crowhurst, CTC, CTM Hon.
steve@sellingtravel.net www.sellingtravel.net
SALES & MARKETING TIPS, TOOLS & TECHNIQUES FOR ALL TRAVEL TRADE PROFESSIONALS
Steve Crowhurst, Publisher

5. You should be in movies!
At the very least shooting video…
Or… creating your travel videos with the help of
And here’s the best part. When you click on the PLAY icon
below you’ll be eligible for a 90% saving – as a perk
through my subscription with VideoBlocks.
Forget static images. Sell travel using video.

6. One of my favourite topics to train on and it’s much easier than thinking outside
the box. Thinking INSIDE the Box for a travel agent is where company tools and
creativity come together. You just have to know what those tools are.
Before we get to those tools let’s quickly
explore the Thinking OUTSIDE the Box
model. The phrase itself has become a
metaphor for thinking somewhat differently,
unconventionally, or from a new
perspective. This phrase often refers to
creative thinking, however it is overused by
management consultants and senior
management and an activity that can cost
you an arm and a leg whether the plan goes
well or not. Thinking OUTSIDE is often taken
literally and interpreted to mean buying
talent, new equipment and even expanding
the premises. You get the picture. Very few
companies or individuals think outside the
box without spending money.
Conversely the SMP model, Thinking INSIDE
the Box, makes use of the existing tools and
talents and here’s the key point: hardly any
company makes use of all the tools and
talent at their disposal. It’s true. When you
ponder this for yourself, go back in time to
when you worked for someone else, you will
know that management hardly listened to
the talent they had hired. Employees gave
up ideas that never made it to the discussion
table. It’s just one of those things inherent in
corporate life and now in small business life
too. So you learn from this OUTSIDE the box
thinking and you go INSIDE to find the gems.
Let’s take a look inside that box that you
have access to.

7. Thinking INSIDE the Box means to know and
to use as is, change to suit, blend, update,
turn to a new use the tools you currently
own, the tools of your host agency,
association, your suppliers, and your own
talents. Your box is jam packed with “stuff”
and we haven’t even tapped the combined
knowledge as yet of everyone on your
“team”. Your team includes you of course,
plus each and every colleague in your group,
franchise, consortium, host, friends and
social connections. So far not a new dollar
invested. That is a huge library of knowledge
that’s available whenever you need it. Your
“cost” would be an email or a phone call.
Next we check out the tools that your agency
/ host agency provides and generally we’re
talking about marketing know-how, plans
and activities that are happening whether
you partake or not. Your preferred suppliers
also have dozens of tools in their box, and
you are always invited to play with them.
They are yours to use, IF you intend to sell
the brand that owns the tools.
How are we doing? Do you see in your own
mind how large this box is? Are you aware of
all the tools in this box? Do you know the
skills and talents of your colleagues, of the
HQ team, of your supplier BDMs, of your
host’s BDMs?
The bells are ringing I know. They always do.
You’re thinking to yourself, “Holy bookings,
how can I ever get to know about and use all
of these tools?” What a nice challenge to
have. So many money making tools at your
disposal and no time to use them all. What
you do first is make a list. List each and every
tool in the box and make sure you know
where to find them and how to use them.
Once that list is completed, you can analyze
how you will use them, or not. To help you
analyze the changes you might invoke, let
me introduce this decision making grid.
THE SMP THINKING INSIDE THE BOX MODEL
WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE WHY HOW
SUBSTITUTE
COMBINE
ADAPT
MODIFY
PURPOSE
ELIMINATE
REARRANGE
Type in your challenge here and apply
the W5-SCAMPER model to your
thinking, planning and revamping.

8. Here is the description of your decision-making headings:
SUBSTITUTE: Replace your current sales /
product focus with something else.
COMBINE: Consider how a combination of
products / strategies might boost sales.
ADAPT: Change some part of your marketing
strategy to include / exclude social media, old
media.
MODIFY: Revise the attributes of your sales-
marketing-business plan.
PURPOSE: Think about what your promotion is
supposed to do. Refocus, repurpose.
ELIMINATE: Remove elements of your plan that
reduce sales / marketing functionality.
REARRANGE: Change directions. Recreate. Turn it
upside-down, inside-out. Reverse it, modify the
order of operations or any other hierarchy
involved.
WHO: Helps you identify individuals and groups
who might be prospects for your travel idea or
those who can help you i.e. suppliers, colleagues
etc.
WHAT: Helps identify all the things involved in
this action: the requirements, difficulties,
rewards, red tape, numbers, specifications…
WHEN: Schedules, dates, durations, start times,
milestones, checklists…
WHERE: Places, locations, focal points,
departments, processes…
WHY: Helps identify the understanding and
reasoning behind the action.
HOW: Identifies how the situation developed,
actions taken, to be taken, steps for success,
process, implementation…
Next Step: Decide what your sales or marketing challenge is. Review each W5 heading and make
your notes such as WHO is involved (clients, suppliers, staff) then continue on to WHAT and
through to HOW. The next step in the process is to review your W5 notes as you apply each of
the SCAMPER headings.
Questions that pop up might be: should you substitute one brand for another, should you
examine the purpose of your promotion – is it to drive sales by email or drive prospects to your
website? Could you, should you combine this promotion with another? Using this decision
making model is not a quick win. It will take many hours for you think through each combination.
The outcome will be worth it and you will be more than confident that you have indeed been
thorough in reviewing your idea or plan, noting the upsides and the downsides. You are good to
go. If in doubt, ask a colleague to review your work with you.
The end result will be a page full of ideas that you must then prioritize and re-write into a doable
timeline. Thinking INSIDE the box will become second nature and you will speed it up over time.
Better if you can work with a colleague to bounce the ideas around, to question them, and then
decide on your plan. At the end of the day, you should be implementing your new plans without
much financial investment. Better than those million dollar outside the box ideas!
If you have any questions about using this grid you can contact me here. 

9. Selling Travel is FREE to all Travel Trade Professionals – click the image above, click on the FOLLOW
button to get your copy delivered to your inbox each month.

11. It’s true. Service has become a product and it should be marketed just like any other product
you sell. It is a product you have complete control over. The type and level of service you deliver
is usually customer driven. The more they demand the higher your level of service. Although
every travel agency believes their service to be better than what the competition offers, in
most cases the services are the same. The difference if any, is the level of delivery. In many
cases, customer service will beat out price. How about that? Let’s find out how you do this.
What do you do for your clients? What do
you offer them in the name of service? Can
you list the features and benefits of what
you offer under your customer service plan?
If you do not have a list, stop now and start
one. Once you determine what services you
can actually offer and deliver then you have
the makings of a product called customer
service… the DAZZLING kind. The Dazzle
comes into play when you can actually make
good on everything you promise your
customers and like the image to the left, the
customer can “hear” your smile. That’s a skill
you need to develop. Smiling on the phone.
What Your Service Model Should Include
Your service model must include accessible
customer service, social media customer
service and other levels of customer service
that are aligned with your specific client
base.
Accessible Customer Service can be as easy
as using large print in your e-mails and
specific web pages, too. The text colour can
be a quick win. Red or pink on gray cannot
be read easily by most people let alone
someone who is colour-blind. Building a
wheelchair ramp to enter your agency might
be required. Clearing snow from the agency
front door is a service (and bylaw)
requirement. Sell it: “We make booking
travel Accessible to ALL!” Sell it: “We Clear
The Snow, So You Can GO!”
Your meet & greet skills also sells your
service. That smile in person, on the phone
or the written version in your emails and
texting. Selling the smile can work. Also the
placement of your brochure rack and the
functionality of your website constitutes a
level of service. Make it easy to do business
with you. Make it easy to enjoy your service.
Any action or activity that requires effort
from your customer is not helping you sell
your customer service product. Review with
your agency team to plot the best of all
outcomes then train everyone on the team
to produce that desired outcome each time
every time.
You are working towards DAZZLING your
clients with your customer service and that
means 100% of effort. Not 110%. Not going
the extra mile. When you say that, it means
you were not doing your job in the first
place. Of course you go the extra mile. That’s
just part of the Dazzle.
You might read a little retro service and buy
"Shopping, Seduction & Mr Selfridge" -
lots to learn there I am sure.
Once you have your customer service plan in
place with all staff trained to the Dazzle level,
then you can promote your service as if it
was a revenue product – which it is if you
charge service fees. If you do not charge
fees, then we need a serious chat! 

13. The jury is still out as to whether or not the retail travel industry is a sales or service business.
I lean towards sales industry. I believe that DAZZLING customer service is a component of the
sales process. After I’ve delivered a DAZZLING sales experience my DAZZLING customer service
continues. Without a sale, you have nothing to service. If you service that sale, you will win
back that original client for their next trip and grow referrals, too. How about you? Is this a
sales or service industry?
There are some people who just do not
understand their service role. It could be
that they have not been trained properly or
harbour a certain point of view about
servicing a fellow human being.
Action Item: Ask your team to create service
benchmarks for themselves. Complete a
walk through based on the customer’s
service path and decide the service criteria
for each stop along that path. Your criteria
should match what your advertising, website
and social media promise. From the
moment a customer makes contact with
you, your agency, the customer service plan
should click into gear and do so at a
DAZZLING level.
Not everyone has the talent to fulfill their
service role. There are travel agents who are
excellent at selling and poor at servicing and
vice versa. The challenge is this: no one has
the luxury of one without the other – which
means everyone on your team must be well
rounded as the sales person and the
provider of customer service.
What’s Your Promise?
Have you promised your clients anything? Is
there any statement or offer that
purposefully or inadvertently offers a
promise to your clients? Your clients will
know whether or not you do - so you’d
better check if you are not sure.
The ‘promise’ is usually found in your
company name, your slogan, your social
media content and very often hinted at
during conversation.
If your tag line includes the word experts, or
#1 in… or one of your team said, “… it will all
go well, I promise…” then you have made a
commitment to which you and everyone on
the agency team must now live up to.
If you have a documented Mission
Statement, Vision Statement, a Customer
Service Statement, a corporate slogan or
Pledge on your agency wall, then these are
all promises you must deliver on. As you can
tell, the service benchmarks are now
forming and each one must be fulfilled.
During staff meetings, ask the team, one by
one, did you achieve what we promise? Did
you achieve the benchmarks we all agreed
on? If things are not working out you cannot
downgrade the promise! You must upgrade
the skills of your agency team so they are
comfortable in fulfilling their service role.
Start by deciphering how many promises you
make. Are they all necessary? Can they be
rolled into one promise? Both team and
customer input can help here. Important:
When you make changes to what you
promise, be sure to update all documents,
web pages, social pages etc. Check for old
content which damages your reputation. 

14. The Travel Institute celebrates YOU, and has declared 2016 to be
“The Year of the Travel Professional”
We celebrate our certified graduates, as well as those who dedicate themselves to continued
education and ongoing professional development. And this year, we support you with a full year
of webinars, promotional events, and other training opportunities to keep you positioned as a
trusted source for professional travel advice.
Professional pro·fes·sion·al — prəˈfeSH(ə)n(ə)l/ (of a person) engaged in a specified activity as
one’s main paid occupation rather than as a pastime.
Kicking off the celebration is our “Advice from the Experts” webinar series that started on
February 17th. Free for members ($19.99/session for non-members) this 10 week series will
delve into some of those foundational issues that those who are new to the industry will be facing
– as well as a great refresher for those who are industry veterans. The presenters chosen for this
series are true leaders in their respective areas of expertise and include: Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC,
Carol Parsons, Anne MacIntyre and Nolan Burris.
For over 50 years, The Travel Institute has been the industry’s source
for the industry’s most recognized professional certifications.
The Certified Travel Associate (CTA) focuses advanced training in the area of sales and customer
service and can be earned by individuals with a minimum of 18-months work experience.
The Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) has been the gold standard for top counselors and has
evolved to be the designation favored by those in management positions – in their own
companies or part of larger organizations.
The Certified Travel Industry Executive (CTIE) is leadership training for today’s travel professional
and is the newest addition to the certifications offered.

15. What your colleagues are saying:
We have enjoyed a long and productive partnership with The Travel
Institute. Their certification and specialist programs have enhanced
our overall training offering for both Nexion and Travel Leaders of
Tomorrow. We look forward to growing this partnership in the years
ahead. Jackie Friedman, CTIE, President Nexion, LLC
My testing and preparation to receive the
Certified Travel Industry Executive (CTIE) serves
as a heads up to my colleagues that they are
dealing with a person who is experienced, ethical and knows what they do,
with accomplishments to prove it. I urge my colleagues to certify to the level
that best suits their current skills within the industry. I am quite proud of
those four letters, worked hard for them, and they are noticed! David Vass,
CTIE, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Cruise Business & Operations
Abercrombie & Kent Destination Management
I encourage each of our agents to plan on taking advantage of the
Travel Institute’s certification programs early in their career. The
programs are thought provoking, extensive and offer a wealth of
information to help them become more effective as a Travel
Professional. As the Director of Operations, it has been very
rewarding not only taking the courses and certifications myself, but
watching the growth of our agents as they complete the certifications
and utilize what they have learned to further grow their business.
Laura Schiely, CTA, Kingdom Magic Vacations
I encourage continued education for all of my travel agents whether
it is attending the yearly Virtuoso Week or getting their CTA
certification from the Travel Institute. I require all full time
employees to have their CTA or CTC certification and to take travel
related webinars to keep current. I am working with the Travel
Institute to educate my employees and independent contractors to
better serve our clients. John Upchurch, CTA Candidate
Owner/Advisor - Odyssey Travel

17. As a travel agent one of your roles is to watch the curve and know when to take it without
crashing into the barrier. That curve is the Bell Curve and every agency or department will reach
it at some point in time. The ‘curve’ is that bend in your business road and it comes at a time
when your business has peaked and you are driving towards the crossroads wondering what
to do next. Here’s the graph:
You will be very familiar with the start up and
growth phase if you were the original
manager who launched the agency for
yourself, or the company that you work for.
Somewhere along the way your agency will
max out, the sales flatten. At this point in the
life of your agency you have one or two
options. At #1 you could re-think your
business and decide to change, add, subtract
or merge what could keep you profitable, or
what could make you more profitable.
Once you initiate a ‘more profitable’ plan
you will endure the start up and growth
phrase once again PLUS somewhere along
that new line, you will flatten out and at #2,
you will need to once again, rethink your
business model and what you are selling and
to whom. Both 1 and 2 moments in time,
require new ideas. A new plan must be
written.
That new plan may not be too ambitious
other than “to train all staff in how to sell
more cruises…” and that could be the
turning point. You might decide to sell luxury
travel, however if you do not have a luxury
client base established, then your business
will curve towards #3.
To stay ahead of the curve you should meet
often with your team to discuss the ‘where
are we going next’ topic and how you could
all get there. Keeping the curve going in the
right direction does not have to be expensive
either. A little training, a decision to charge
fees, a move to a social media platform,
writing a blog or hosting consumer events –
all of these are ideas that can keep you
profitable and on the right side of that
upward trend. Study now when that curve
will swerve for your agency and plan ahead.


19. Do you want to move your sales totals UP and to a level that pays more commission? Yes of
course you do. Silly question. Decluttering your marketing plan will pay dividends and to do
this you’ll want to take an inward and a backward look to determine what didn’t work and
what activities you paid for that went nowhere.
When sales are walking in the door and
closing themselves which means the
customer contacts you without any form of
promotion from you, tells you they want to
travel and asks you to book their trip for
them. Oh heavenly joy! That’s how it was so
many years ago. Things changed.
Today you have to be well honed in so many
promotional outlets that it can become
overwhelming, confusing and frustrating
especially after planning, arranging and
investing your hard earned commission to
realize no sales.
What generally happens then is an all-out
assault on all things related to travel
advertising. We go here, we go there, we do
newspapers, radio, flyers, social media,
email and on it goes to realize only one or
two bookings at most. And now we are flat
broke and with little to show for it. So time
to sit back, take five and review.
The Big Reveal
First things first: do not fall in love with your
own hype. We’re in sales and it is well known
we sales people tend to hype things up. Just
a tad. But we do. When you hear yourself
saying inwardly after selling three cruises, “I
sold dozens of cruises last week…” better
kick your own butt and realize, ya didn’t!
Got to keep it real if you truly want to move
ahead. You must look at what you’ve actually
achieved through your marketing activities
and make the changes where needed.
Forget giving away “stuff” as in anything
that is a cost to you in order to win business.
Give things away AFTER the client has
booked and paid.
Email is still your number one form of
promotion. In fact it’s all you really need, IF
you have a secure list of clients who have
given you permission to send them emails.
The customer list then is the most important
aspect of your business. Perhaps you should
concentrate on building your email list
before trying to sell travel? Take a breather
for two months and get busy attracting
people to sign up, register, make contact,
join the club, join your event… attract and
close the person to be on your list. NOW you
have someone to sell to.
Segmenting and Surveying The List
Once you have a few hundred people on
your list who are actual travellers – remove
the armchair travellers – again keep it real,
then you can focus your marketing plan.
You’ll want to know your customers travel
habits plus where and when the want to go.

20. The Social Media Choice
The world has gone social that we know. It’s
a good idea to participate. The only social
media outlet you need is Facebook. Keep
your social media plan to one platform. That
way you can manage it.
Advise your list that Facebook is your
preferred social media outlet and you use
Facebook to market your travel products.
This is not a chit-chat connection. You intend
to monetize when you socialize. Tell your list
and add this comment to your promotions:
Like our Facebook page to receive advance
notice of special travel promotions!
The Video
This media has to be factored into your
decluttered marketing plan. Video is now
and has been for a while the only way to
showcase travel products. Pay attention to
your supplier’s use of video and follow their
example.
Start your YouTube Channel and save your
suppliers video to your own channel plus
upload your own video content. Once you
have a few videos saved to your YouTube
channel you can start to market the links.
Watch this video and DREAM!
Click the image to review
my Go Video eBook.
The Travel Event
This one activity, can help declutter your
overall marketing plan. It means you arrange
a time and place to talk about yourself, your
services and present your travel products.
The marketing then is to promote your event
and attract an audience.
From a room full of fifty people or you may
be surprised and have 200 people turn up,
you can quickly determine who is a genuine
prospect for your travel services and the
niche markets you sell to.
There is a small cost to hosting a 90 minute
travel workshop, seminar, or whatever you
would like to call it. Use your agency window
and website to promote your event, send
out emails, and post on your Facebook page
too. Place and ad in your local community
newspaper and also post a notice around the
community at the library for instance.
Toughen Up!
Travel is a glorious product to sell, but it is a
tough sale when the world is doing what it is
doing. This too you must get a grip on. Some
places although wondrous, are now
dangerous, at least for the moment. There
are home grown destinations that can be
explored and there are adventures to be
found in distant places untouched by terror
and unrest. Do your due diligence and then
focus on what you find.
Beware the Latest Fad
I’ve written about this in previous issues of
ST and also in CT magazine. Do not get
persuaded to jump on any “fastest growing”
comments and pour your marketing money
into a bottomless pit. Stay with the tried and
true.
Your Revised Marketing Plan
Follow the advice and declutter, then focus
on building your client list, host events and
sell YOU first. Add in your own creative ideas
and go for it! 

21. Visit: TheTravelAgentNextDoor.com • Call: 416-367-8263 • Tollfree: 1-844-245-8263
Here’sa solution!
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23. To position your agency in the best possible light (image) you must be 100% aware of the latest
promotional materials, latest venture, latest products, promotions, destinations, giveaways,
specials and deals that your agency, the competition and your preferred suppliers are offering.
If you work for a chain organization you
cannot position your agency against the
company theme, you must support it. If you
are independent but part of a consortium
the same comment applies. If you are truly
independent then you can push the message
that conveys the positioning you desire.
Based on what you know, How Well Is Your
Agency Positioned in the Local
Marketplace? Rate your image on a scale of
1 to 5 with five being excellent. Write a brief
note to support your rating. The single word
“good” won’t do justice here. Try to explain
the level and acceptance of your positioning.
POSITIONING YOUR LEISURE GROUP NICHE CORPORATE
Price Image
Knowledge Image
Customer Service Image
Follow Through Image
Reservations Image
Quality Assurance Image
Website -Online Image
Social Media Image
Management Image
Your Overall Image
“Give them quality – that’s the best kind of advertising in the world!”

24. How did you do? Are you well positioned or
not? Big question to ponder and the reason
you must and should ponder this is simple:
you’ll sell more travel if you are positioned
so that the consumer gets what it is you are
really all about.
As mentioned above, the independent travel
agent has a full say in how to position
themselves and the travel agent working for
a company owned by someone else, does
not.
You could position yourself as the cheapest,
the most expensive, the friendliest, the most
knowledgeable and on it goes.
There is a tendency to seek the lower pricing
rungs in a mistaken view that you will attract
more eyes, hearts, minds and wallets. Once
attracted, you can up the price. Not such a
good strategy as you become known by how
you are positioned.
Promote cheap tickets and that’s you. You
are the cheap-o agency and no high flying
first class traveller will come near you.
Promote expensive tours and the middle of
the road traveller will not bring their $1000
to your desk.
Tough decision isn’t it. Here’s how you do it.
First you must decide on what it is you are
selling. It is price, product, service, your
knowledge… what is it? What sets you apart
from the rest?
Once you get a grip on the answer to that
question then you can decide which
segment of the travelling consumer you wish
to serve. To recap then: we now have our
product or service and we also know who we
want as clients and at what price level we
want to sell.
Walking the Positioning Talk
So well done. Can you actually deliver on
your positioning promise?
For sure, to retain your credibility you must
be able to walk the talk. If you are the BEST
agency to book a cruise with, then you
should be able to prove it.
If you are the BEST agency for booking to
Hawaii, or planning a wedding, then you
should be able to prove it.
Position Based Marketing
This refers to how you push yourself out to
your clients and would-be customers. Your
marketing must be seen as a reflection of
you and how you want to be perceived.
If for instance you trot about town and the
local community in a tatty old pair of non-
descript jeans then this will not match your
luxury travel persona you have spent time
and money to build.
Your website should be a zinger! This is
where so many travel agents lose it all. When
the customer clicks to your website to check
you out they want you at your BEST. Sadly,
and all too often, they do not get what you
promote. A lousy website will crunch all your
hard work.
How You Write, Speak, Look and…
Meeting you in the flesh should be an
experience for you client. Will they find a
fascinating person who has travelled the
world, who can recount and regale with
anecdotes about their travels? If not, then
you come across as fake. A phony.
Are You Ready? Get Set…
Here you go. You are on your mark and time
is zipping past. Time to think about taking
yourself to market and whether or not you
are indeed positioned to make a difference.
Take a hard look at larger firms. Check out
their slogans. What are they saying? What’s
their story? How are they positioned and is
it true? Do you believe it? Use the
information you find to better position
yourself. 

25. Click to visit Gillick’s World

27. The Johari Window is a technique created by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in 1955 in the
United States, and it is used to help people better understand their relationship with self and
others. Using the Johari Window as a discussion point in your agency will disclose how well the
team is aware of each other, you as the manager, the company, the corporate plan and it’s
direction. Then, as a group you will also discover what you NEED to know in order to keep the
business edge you have developed and keep it sharp. It is also worth doing this by yourself.
1 KNOWN TO ME UNKNOWN TO ME
KNOWN
TO OTHERS
1.
In this box we all know
what is going on.
2.
In this box everyone else
knows what is going on,
but I / we don’t.
UNKNOWN
TO OTHERS
3.
In this box I/we hold the
trump card. I know
something that no
one else does.
4.
In this box there are things
we should all know,
but we don’t.
2 KNOWN TO ME UNKNOWN TO ME
KNOWN
TO OTHERS
1.
In this box we all
know what’s going on.
2.
In this box everyone else
knows what is going on,
but I / we don’t.
UNKNOWN
TO OTHERS
3.
In this box I/we hold
the trump card. I
know something that
no one else does.
4.
In this box there are things
we should all know,
but we don’t.
In the Graph 1 all
elements are
even. There are
things we all
know and things
we don’t know
and things we
should know and
have yet to find
out what they
are.
In the Graph 2
you can see that
Box 1 has shrunk
in terms of what
we all know and
Box 4 is now
suggesting as a
team we have a
lot to learn IF we
knew what it
might be. Box 3 is
the danger zone
as it is here that
information is
withheld and not
always for the
good of the
agency.
The best of all worlds would be to have Box 1 large, indicating we, as a team are operating openly
and with all or most of the information we need, known to all. Box 2 should be reduced, Box 3
should be reduced and Box 4 should also be reduced. Check the next page for how this desired
graphic would look.

28. Graph 3: Here’s the Johari Window layout you are trying to reach. Most of the time we know as
a team what’s going on. As an individual on the team, there are still a few things I don’t know
about and that could be solved by someone showing me how, where to access information or
perhaps I just need a kick in the rear end to focus my attention and commitment to maintaining
my knowledge. The danger area Box 3 has been reduced, and in Box 4 we will always need to find
out what we need to know and appoint someone to gather that research and advise everyone
on the key findings.
3 KNOWN
TO ME
UNKNOWN
TO ME
KNOWN
TO OTHERS
1. OPEN
In this box we all
know what’s going on.
2. BLIND
In this box
everyone
else knows
what going
on, but I /
we don’t.
UNKNOWN
TO OTHERS
3. HIDDEN
In this box I/we hold
the trump card. I know
something that no one
else does.
4. UNKOWN
In this box there are things we
should all know, but we don’t.
As you will appreciate I have delivered just the surface of how you can use the Johari Window. It
can also be used to determine how I “see” you and how you “see” you. This is done by listing the
following 56 adjectives as described on the next page.
1. able
2. accepting
3. adaptable
4. bold
5. brave
6. calm
7. caring
8. cheerful
9. clever
10. complex
11. confident
12. dependable
13. dignified
14. energetic
15. extroverted
16. friendly
17. giving
18. happy
19. helpful
20. idealistic
21. independent
22. ingenious
23. intelligent
24. introverted
25. kind
26. knowledgeable
27. logical
28. loving
29. mature
30. modest
31. nervous
32. observant
33. organized
34. patient
35. powerful
36. proud
37. quiet
38. reflective
39. relaxed
40. religious
41. responsive
42. searching
43. self-assertive
44. self-conscious
45. sensible
46. sentimental
47. shy
48. silly
49. smart
50. spontaneous
51. sympathetic
52. tense
53. trustworthy
54. warm
55. wise
56. witty

29. When performing this exercise, subjects are given a list of 56 adjectives and pick five or six that
they feel describe their own personality. Peers of the subject are then given the same list, and
each pick five or six adjectives that describe the subject. These adjectives are then mapped onto
the Johari grid.
Open: Adjectives that are selected by both the participant and his or her peers are placed into
this quadrant. This quadrant represents traits of the subjects that both they and their peers are
aware of.
Blind: Adjectives that are not selected by subjects but only by their peers are placed into the
Blind Spot quadrant. These represent information that the subject is not aware of but others are
who decide how to inform the individual about these "blind spots".
Hidden: Adjectives selected only by subjects but not by any of their peers, are placed into the
Hidden quadrant, representing information about themselves that their peers are unaware of. It
is then up to the subject to disclose this information or not.
Unknown: Adjectives that were not selected by either subjects or their peers remain in this
quadrant, representing the participant's behaviors or motives that were not recognized by
anyone participating. This may be because they do not apply or because there is collective
ignorance of the existence of these traits. One facet of interest in this area is our human potential.
Often our potential is unknown to us, and others.
For more information you can search online for Johari Window.
Another way to use the Johari Window is during a meeting to determine how much is known,
what we need to find out to move ahead and so on. You would use the one page layout as an
information gathering tool and actually write down, let’s say in Box 4 Unknown – a list of what
you now know you need to know more about. In other words, you now know what you don’t
know!
Everyone in the meeting should have a copy of the Johari layout and fill it in as you hold the
meeting, then you can compare notes. If you work with whiteboards, smart boards or flip charts
appoint a ‘scribe’ who will record everyone’s response. Print off the finished document and
circulate it so that ‘we all know’ what’s going on. 
1. OPEN
Find out what everyone knows
2. BLIND
Make sure everyone is brought up to speed
3. HIDDEN
Possible dangers:
 Top agent – selfish with skills that could
be taught to everyone
 Holding out as a negotiating edge
4. UNKNOWN
Possible Need To Know:
 Social media
 New suppliers
 Everyday news
 Latest this and that

30. Here’s where you find even more ideas on how to sell travel and boost your revenues. Ct is the
destination information and how-to-sell trade magazine for travel agents and every article I write
is always geared to new business generation for YOU and your suppliers. The content ranges from
a step-by-step how-to article to a comment about a current topic. Many of the articles are worth
reviewing with your suppliers should you be able to work together to generate that new dollar
for all. Click here to read.

31. No other travel speaker / trainer has written and published more articles, e-Books, and
magazines on new business generation for travel agents than Steve. With well over 375
published articles in CT, 20+ E-Books and 50 issues of Selling Travel, he has given you a
source of timely and cutting edge tips, tools and techniques to help you sell more travel.

32. MAKE 2016 YOUR YEAR TO BECOME CERTIFIED!
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT certification@acta.ca
OR VISIT THE ACTA WEBSITE: www.acta.ca/ctc-ctm-certification
NOW AVAILABLE ON WWW.ACTA.CA
CTC EXAM E-LEARNING PREP COURSE TO HELP YOU PREPARE FOR YOUR EXAM

33. Someone asked about my former magazine IC TRAVEL AGENT and what happened to it. Well I
was publishing three magazine with similar content and decided to go with Selling Travel as
that is what everyone does regardless of being in a retail location or working from home. Here’s
the entire suite of issues with plenty of home-based selling tips. Click the image to view them
online.

34. C L A S S I F I E D S
Wanted: readers to click
on this link and make
money selling more travel.
Animoto is the BEST and
easiest DIY video creator.
Try it today.
When you need to write
something and can’t – hire
in a ghost writer like Steve
Gillick. Steve produces
scripts for your keynotes,
webinars and brochures.
Contact Steve here.
Looking for more fantastic
graphics then click here
for Presenter Media.
Get what you need to start
using video in your travel
marketing & promotions
with this guide.
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like to explore how you
can sell travel from home?
If so then click on this link
and explore.
Your education station
is right here.
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for new ideas.
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36. www.sellingtravel.net
If you could refer us to your travel trade colleagues,
we’d really appreciate it. Many thanks.
SELLING TRAVEL
SALES & MARKETING TIPS, TOOLS & TECHNIQUES FOR ALL TRAVEL TRADE PROFESSIONALS