July 2010
What's on the Horizon With OSSN?
by Melody Fee
As you have already heard, the first "Home Based Travel Agent Forum" was also super to attend. WOW! We loved seeing so many of you in San Diego, and your enthusiasm was so catching that travel industry suppliers are STILL talking about how good the show was. They are following up with you, and they WANT your business!
The upcoming Home Based Travel Agent Forum in Miami (Sept. 27-29) promises to deliver some action-packed education, including ship inspections, CLIA and Niche Marketing accreditation workshops, opportunities to meet, and so much more, including pre-conference CRUISES that are being offered as well. You can find out about the conference at www.homebasedtravelagentforum.com, and you can get full details on the pre-conference cruise aboard the "Carnival Valor" at www.ossn.com/fams.asp. Time is LIMITED on the pre-conference cruise offer, so do not delay. You must book by July 9!
And, on the other coast of the U.S.A.? Listen to this ... for those of you who love the Mexican Riviera, OSSN is hosting a seminar at sea on Royal Caribbean's "Mariner of the Seas" (sailing from Los Angeles), and we have the Social Media Consultant to the Stars - Michael Murray of New Media Nation leading the workshops! Paula Mitchell Manning (the director of the OSSN Los Angeles and Orange County chapters) has joined forces with Michael to present two dynamic workshops aboard the "Mariner" during this Sept. 19-26 voyage. Michael has developed more than 200 digital campaigns for everything from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies (and even Hollywood celebrities, including "Lady Gaga" and teen music star Justin Bieber!).
Now, Michael will be applying his "To Be a Star, Market YOUR Star Power" attitude to YOUR seminar at sea. His marketing campaigns have successfully built attention for his clients on Facebook, MySpace, Bing, Twitter, and more. He'll incorporate building your brand and selling Royal Caribbean through social media strategies that work. (Yes, we know this cruise falls RIGHT before the OSSN trade show in Miami, but this cruise off the West Coast is also going to sell out VERY fast, so you'll have to move RIGHT now to get onboard anyway. Do not delay on this if you are interested!) Go to www.ossn.com/fams.asp.
On a further horizon, OSSN has just announced a seminar at sea on Azamara Club Cruises: the "Best of Italy" 14 night seminar at sea aboard the "Azamara Quest!" Sailing roundtrip from Rome, this jewel of a ship offers many special amenities, including wine with lunch and dinner, complimentary bottled water, and complimentary transfers in some port cities when clients are doing their own excursions in port (in addition to excellent service).
Some East Coast OSSN chapters are getting a special visit by Celebrity Cruises teamed up with Click of the Mouse in early September to present a cruise sales and social media workshop designed to teach you the fundamentals of constructing your social media site. This workshop was designed to get your marketing strategy for Celebrity Cruises in full swing! These local chapter meetings should be completed just in time for you to join OSSN in Miami for the Home Based Travel Agent Forum to continue learning more about advanced social media marketing strategies by attending CLIA’s social media workshop and the OSSN Social Media panel of experts! See www.homebasedtravelagentforum.com.
Distant horizons are also shining for OSSN and our members as we are wrapping up a special educational program to China in late October, including Beijing, Lijiang, Kunming, and a Yangtze River cruise before ending in Shanghai. Full details will be released in mid July! For those of you who missed OSSN's international conference in China just a few years ago, your time has come to discover this ancient and modern mosaic! Stay tuned for this late autumn program!
Just a little further out on the horizon, OSSN is working on final arrangements to be able to invite some very lucky OSSN members onboard two special "inaugural sailings" of the "Celebrity Eclipse" and Royal Caribbean's "Allure of the Seas!" The "Celebrity Eclipse" is finally coming to the North American shores after celebrating her inaugural season in Europe. Our space will be limited, and we will announce the qualifications soon. One of the qualifications will be to have completed the Celebrity 5-Star Academy training online. We will also be announcing a special opportunity for select OSSN members to go on the inaugural sailing of Royal Caribbean's "Allure of the Seas." There will be both educational and sales production requirements that would have to be met to qualify, and space is limited. But, I can tell you that the first requirement is for all agents to have completed the University of WOW Expert Plus program, so if you are interested, make sure you have met this requirement or are working towards doing so quickly! Cruise sales production requirements for eligibility will be announced soon. Space is limited! Look for our special announcement soon!
So, I just want to say thanks to all of you for making the first half of the OSSN 20th anniversary year so exciting, particularly by your support of your chapters and the OSSN Home Based Travel Agent Forums, both in San Diego and now coming up in Miami. We love hearing from you on a regular basis and hope we are always delivering exactly what you need from YOUR association with OSSN.
Melody Fee serves as vice president of the Outside Sales Support Network. You may reach her at melodyfee@ossn.com.
(Credits: Melody Fee; Facebook; Dan Kamminga; Celebrity Cruises)
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