Many times, as business owners, we feel we know it all. We have heard every possible client issue, from the mundane and boring to the most bizarre. We have made our share of mistakes and recovered (and hopefully learned) from them. Sometimes it seems as if my travel practice is running on auto-pilot with the phones ringing, email inbox humming, and the cash registers going cha-ching (OK, I know they don’t exist anymore, but stay with me)! It feels good! But it also scares the heck out of me. I know a train will jump the track when the engineer nods off.
When I sense the auto-pilot kicking in for my agency, I like to remind myself to be prepared and to go back to square one when I was brand new to the industry. These nine steps have guided me pretty well since 1996.
- If you are on auto-pilot, use the time to mine your existing database. We can all use more business, right? Step up your communication and touch base with your clients.
- Train. Train. Train. Use the auto-pilot time to take a webinar, and complete that certification.
- Catch up on the industry. Read some of the TRO columns. Make a friend, become a mentor to a newbie…find a mentor for yourself. We can never stop learning.
- Find the right partners. For most agencies, a host or consortium is a solid investment. But not all hosts are created equal, and your needs may change from time to time. Evaluate the relationship on Host Agency Reviews to see if it is still a good match.
- Review what you have. Look at your marketing plan. We are winding down for 2022, and now is a perfect time to make any adjustments if needed. A look at your business plan won’t hurt to ensure you are still on track. Don’t have one, the other, or both? Shame on you! Like Nike says, just do it!
- Treat today like “day one.” Remember your enthusiasm on your first day in the industry? Remember how you busted your chops to earn every single sale? Use that exuberance go out and get them just like in days of old.
- Group business is still very lucrative. Step out into the community and find people that can help you succeed—the pied pipers. Churches, networking groups, dining clubs, social clubs, PTAs, colleges and universities, and affinity organizations are all prime suspects.
- Put on your thinking cap. Get creative. What can you do now to create a buzz for your agency? Think of promotions, alliances, partnerships, etc., which you could develop with local merchants, colleges and universities, restaurants, recreational entities, associations and clubs, fundraisers, community associations, local special events, etc. If the buzz is not happening—make it happen.
- Chat up the media. Media mentions are free publicity. No one can use you as a source without naming you and your business. Use HARO (now at Cision). Comment on some blogs. Take a local reporter out for coffee.
We all need to work together to get our businesses humming, and it starts with each of us– every day. We need to be proactive, reach out to our clients and prospects, and give them a reason to travel. If we can’t provide the motivation, why should they travel at all? We need to be travel evangelists spreading the word. If we don’t –who will?
