The PlanNet Marketing Rep who sells the InteleTravel home-based Independent Travel Agency (or “ITA”) business earns a direct sales commission.
It’s rewarding. It’s fun. It’s social. It’s TRAVEL!
So, we all know the idea is to SELL the ITA, right? You can do a presentation, advertise on your social media page, or have one-on-one conversations with prospects. No matter how you sell it, WHAT should you say? What shouldn’t you say? Let’s have some real talk!
When a PlanNet Marketing Rep wants to sell an ITA, they should:
1. Talk about the income opportunity. Tell people how a Travel Agent earns money – by selling travel! “When you become an InteleTravel Agent, you can sell travel to anyone. Book cruises, vacations, hotels, all-inclusive resorts, tours, airline tickets, car rentals and more. You’ll earn a commission based on the travel you sell.”
2. Talk about the travel industry. Let’s be honest – this year has been TOUGH on the travel industry! But travel will return, and it’s already happening! “The right travel advisor does more than help plan trips. They help find the right places at the right time. This year has fundamentally changed the way we travel. Do you need insurance? Where can you go? How do you find destinations that are open? InteleTravel advisors are experts in their field and can help you navigate all those questions and more. With InteleTravel, stress less and explore more.”
3. Talk about earning a commission on what people are doing anyway. “No matter where a trip is booked, there is a commission built into the price. Send customers to your travel booking website. Customer books travel. InteleTravel pays YOU the commission. You, your family, and friends will never pay more for a trip. Plus, you earn the commission when you become a travel agent!”
4. Talk about a free education! “New skills are a click away. No boring book stuff here. InteleTravel offers Agents exciting opportunities to increase their knowledge about the travel industry. These educational tools include weekly webinars, conference calls and destination events, such as Seminars-at-Sea. They’re all optional, but extremely helpful. They also offer FREE certification as a DreamMaker, VacationBuilder, and TravelGenius!”
Those are all amazing ways to talk about the ITA and InteleTravel. But sometimes PlanNet Reps say the WRONG things when selling this fantastic business product. So, here is a list of things you should avoid when selling the ITA travel business:
– Don’t talk about perks, agent rates, discounts or savings. There are some distinct advantages afforded to Travel Agents, but you should NEVER sell ITAs based on benefits or special pricing. That’s like bribing the prospect – it’s non-compliant and will most certainly cause problems for PlanNet Marketing and for InteleTravel.
– Don’t talk about FAM trips or use vendor names. Travel vendors want agents to visit them and learn more about their property, but they do NOT like it when other companies use the vendor's name or offerings to try to sell another company's product. In other words, you cannot name drop a big-name vendor to get someone to buy an ITA from you – that’s a no-no!
– Don’t talk about yourself as an Agent. You might be an ITA. Many PlanNet Marketing Reps do see the value in the ITA product they sell and choose to buy it themselves! But when you are selling the ITA – you’re acting as a PlanNet Marketing Rep. Period. Only a Rep can sell the ITA! You should ALWAYS identify yourself as a PlanNet Rep when presenting and selling ITAs. And you should only identify yourself as a Travel Agent if you are selling someone a travel booking through your InteleTravel ITA website (we are two separate businesses!)
Selling ITAs is a rewarding, fun and social business that our Reps can do part-time, full-time, or anytime! Reps have the opportunity to pursue freedom, flexibility, and financial independence all on their own schedule and at their own pace. Let’s all follow these helpful guidelines to ensure a fair and compliant image of PlanNet Marketing and InteleTravel!
~Amanda Restivo, Vice President, Compliance -- arestivo@plannetmarketing.com