OSSN E-Agent Newsletter

We take email and Web sites and around-the-world cell calls for granted – but, these tech advances have largely occurred within the past 10 to 20 years. They’re still new enough to make us a little unsure about how we can use them to manage our clients and grow our sales.

At OSSN Headquarters, we definitely believe in leveraging the power of technology. We manage the association with a very small staff by making the most of our computer network, wireless Internet connections, OSSN’s huge Web site, and other tech tricks to keep things humming along.

This year, I’d like to encourage OSSN members everywhere to think about incorporating these tech trends into your businesses:

Online client databases: If pressed, many of us might claim that we have a client database – when, honestly, what we have is a glorified mailing list. Could you go to your database, right now, and pull out a list of everyone who’s bought a cruise from you since August, or the email addresses for clients who’ve taken their kids with them on a trip within the past two years? If not, you have an email list, and not a true database. (Darla at ClientEase will be glad to help you fix things!)

A separate business cell phone: What do clients hear when they dial your cell number – a professional greeting with your business hours and the promise of a quick return call, or your children’s singsong voices telling clients “You know what to do!”? Many cell companies now offer rock-bottom prices for second phones and lines – and we need that to handle our business calls.

An email address with our own brand: I still make lots of home-based agents mad when I tell them they don’t look professional with a Yahoo!, Google, AOL, or other type of “free” email address. I’m sorry, but I’ll say it again: You can set up your own Web address for email – even if it’s just for email, without a Web site yet! – for less than $10 a year and $4 a month. There’s no reason your email shouldn’t be branded “info@ABCTravel.com” to promote your business name, not AOL’s brand.

Expanded Web sites: By now, many of us have set up our own Web sites – congratulations! No matter how you’ve built your site – using Passport Online, PrimaryHub, or a local Web site company – it’s time to take a good look at your site. Are you “resting on your laurels” by just using the content already provided by your Web site developer? Add more photos from your recent fam trips – or invite clients to send in photos from their recent getaways. Consider starting a blog to add more content to your site. Think about adding content and photos from your preferred suppliers. Remember: You may not be working on your site this week, but your competitors – the big online travel agencies and the big suppliers – are definitely working on theirs!

This year, make it a habit to harness the power of technology for your home-based travel business.

Gary M. Fee is president and founder of the Outside Sales Support Network, the world's largest trade organization devoted to home-based sellers of travel. OSSN serves more than 7,500 home-based travel agents around North America.

(Credit: OSSN)