OSSN E-Agent Newsletter

That's the nature of the travel business, I'm afraid. We won't always have an easy time of selling trips to our clients and building our travel businesses. But, those home-based agents who dig in and hang on for the rough ride will come out much stronger on the other side of these troubled economic challenges.

Think about these five tips for OSSN members to thrive in tough times:

Know your net. Too many home-based agents use their checkbook registers as their accounting system. If there's money left in the checking account, then they're profitable! Of course, the truth is that you can have cash in the bank and still be broke, if you don't have a handle on your business expenses and debts. Resolve to take the time in 2009 to begin using a simple accounting program to begin tracking your income from commissions, service fees, and other sources alongside your operating and overhead expenses. Figure out your "net" - how much you're actually taking home, month by month. That's the true measure of how well your home-based business is doing.

Watch (and squeeze) every dime going out. More agents have become expert at collecting commissions by working with reputable host agencies, by setting up direct accounts with suppliers for bookings, or by using industry-leading booking systems like CCRA and VAXVacation Access. The challenge for many of us is the other side of the ledger - the money going out. Cash is always king - especially in a recession! Start a spending log or keep a weekly pile of receipts for your outbound expenses, and make it a new habit to take a very honest look at how much money you're really going through!

Keep your clients very close. You never want to be a pest with clients. Of course, you don't want to contact them and market to them so relentlessly in tough times that you turn them off. But, you must stay in close touch with your clients this year even if they don't plan to travel, so that they think of you first when they decide it's time for a getaway. From email newsletters and expanded Web sites to phone calls and travel nights, find ways to keep your name in front of your best clients. (You can bet the big online agencies and the direct-selling suppliers are going after them right now!)

Shake out your client base. You've heard the adage that it's cheaper to get new sales from past clients than it is finding brand-new customers. That means it's time to run through your client records and pull out people who booked with you last year, and the year before, and so on - and, you can renew those ties. You'd be surprised how many home-based agents never follow up with past clients!

Expand your marketing efforts as much as you can afford. Grabbing market share in your area, and establishing yourself as THE local travel expert, may never be cheaper for you than it is right now. Many of your competitors have pulled ads and stopped prospecting, and you can take advantage of email marketing and Web sites and PR techniques to grow your business without spending lots of cash.

Good luck this year! And, if you have success stories you'd like to share with us, send us an email!

Gary M. Fee is president and founder of the Outside Sales Support Network (OSSN), North America's largest trade association for home-based travel agents. He may be reached at info@ossn.com.

(Credit: OSSN)