In our February issue, we covered “How to Pick the Right Consortia for You?” in our Agent Speak column. For this story, we reached out to agents from various consortia, who sell anything from luxury to family to group and range from being owners of their agency, to being at-home agents. We wanted to give you the intel on how these agents chose what consortia was the best fit for them. If part of your 2019 business plan is to expand your business, network more, or better market your agency, joining a consortia might be a good start.
Here’s how two more agents choose one that best fit their needs:
Scot Faust, Destinations 24/7 Travel Services
Faust specializes in booking honeymoons and destination weddings, and has been a member of MAST for the past year. He says when he was searching for the right consortia, he was mostly focused on “looking for good marketing.” He says that by joining a consortia he feels he gets “better commissions, marketing and training.” He notes that the training and webinars offered have helped him better run his business, as has attending the annual conference. “I get to meet with suppliers, as well as learn new things that are being offered,” he says. He advises other agents looking for the right fit to, “Make sure you get good marketing and your preferred suppliers are their preferred suppliers. And, network with other agency owners and find out how they like their consortia.”
Tammy Parran, Central Travel
Parran has degree in Travel and Tourism from Baker College, and has been a travel advisor for 25 years. She specializes in leisure travel, and is the Hawaii specialist for Central Travel, but also focuses on booking the Caribbean, Mexico and cruising. Parran, a member of Signature Travel Network, says, “Their website, SIGNET, is very hands-on and easy to use. We had extensive training, and their training modules were very detailed and complex. [They’re] well organized and the amount of support from the Signature staff is amazing.”Being part of a consortia has helped her better communicate with clients. “Selling has never been easier! Reaching out, staying in contact, monitoring our clients’ birthdays, their travels, is so easy and beneficial with Signature. The tools and marketing, and e-mail system is amazing. We can easily send a cruise quote with comparisons with ease. The Travel 42 guides are my favorite feature. If you have a client interested in a destination you can send them details of that destination,” she says.
Parran says the conferences, webinars and FAMs help the agency run their business because, “Making contacts and building a rapport is key to success.” She suggests agents seeking the right consortia, “Research and connect, see what fits you and your clients best. Signature Travel Network helps us to connect with our clients and offer them personal amenities and promotions that no one else can offer. This makes us stand apart from other agencies. Since being a part of Signature I receive constant Thank you’ s, and clients telling me it is so nice to hear from me, and that I thought a certain cruise or resort would be a perfect fit for them.”
