TRAVEL AGENT THE HOW-TO MAGAZINE FOR ICs, OSRs & HOME-BASED TRAVEL AGENTS

THE ART OF SELLING TRAVEL FROM HOME

OCTOBER 2014

That was great!

Where do I sign up?

WOW!

GREAT!

4 EDITORIAL

Selling travel from home does

not have to be a puzzle when you read IC! Find the host agency

that best suits your needs.

Share your money making ideas in IC and help your IC colleagues.

CONTACT

Steve Crowhurst steve@ic-travelagent.com

250-738-0064 www.ic-travelagent.com

Publisher:

SMP Training Co. www.smptraining.com

Contributors

Steve Crowhurst IC TRAVEL AGENT is owned and published by Steve Crowhurst, SMP Training Co. All Rights Reserved. Protected by International Copyright Law. IC TRAVEL AGENT can be shared, forwarded, cut and pasted but not sold, resold or in any way monetized. Using any images or content from IC TRAVEL AGENT must be sourced as follows: “Copyright SMP Training Co. www.smptraining.com” SMP Training Co. 568 Country Club Drive, Qualicum Beach, BC, Canada, V9K-1G1 Note: Steve Crowhurst is not responsible for outcomes based on how you interpret or use the ideas in IC TRAVEL AGENT. T: 250-738-0064.

7 WHOEVER YOU ARE, WHATEVER YOU DO…

9 IT’S SHOWTIME!

12 WALKING THE STAGE

13 YOU GOTTA GET IT!

14 READ THE FINE PRINT - Jill Wykes

14 GOING FOR THE BIG ROOM…

18 THE ART OF LEAVING THE PODIUM

19 RESTAURANT VENUES

20 GETTING IT DONE

21 YES YOU DO… Jill Wykes

22 YOU’RE A TRAVEL AGENT!

23 SHOWTIME HELPERS

24 THE TRAVEL INSTITUTE BOOKSTORE

24 I DO WEDDING PRINT.COM

25 CLASSIFIEDS

TABLE OF CONTENTS – IC OCTOBER 2014

If it’s not yet 5pm where you live, you still have time to make one more

call, close one more sale or e-mail one more promotion!

Advertising in IC Travel Agent reaches the serious business-minded travel agent. Promote your products and services via video, audio or generic text and images. IC Travel Agent is marketed direct to over 4,000 travel agents plus thousands more via social media channels such as Facebook, LinkedIn, SlideShare, trade contacts, partners and educational institutions. Your ad includes a BONUS How-to-Sell article. Full page rates range from $300 to $425 based on number of insertions.

For more selling ideas, be sure to read

SELLING TRAVEL… click‘n’go!

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• Training, coaching and networking opportunities

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MENTION THAT YOU SAW US IN IC AGENT MAGAZINE AND RECEIVE YOUR FIRST MONTH FREE!

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It’s SHOWTIME! Are you ready for the big stage?

If you want to capture more than one or two clients at a time, you’ll have to get on stage to strut

your stuff and once you’ve learned how, you’ll become addicted to this business building format.

You can start small if you wish and work your way up to the bigger room. Start with a meeting

room, a boardroom, a small hotel room and eventually the GRAND BALLROOM will be all yours.

Can you hear the applause?

Sure it takes practice and your delivery must be nothing less than excellent. You’ll need to leave

the podium, walk across the stage, mingle with the audience, be humourous, capture their travel

imaginations and then WHAMO… close them all to book with you before they leave the room.

How does that sound? Good, glad to hear it.

As you may or may not know, most people and that includes your local competition have a fear

of public speaking – but not YOU. Oh no. As a reader of IC Travel Agent, you are automatically

gifted to perform a one person show and if inclined invite your suppliers for support. Either way

– you’ll be a star. Once you are comfortable with your overall program and performance, invite

the local press too. The applause… there it is again! I can hear it from here. Let’s go edu-tain and

make some money.

Here’s to your continued success!

Best regards.

Steve Crowhurst, CTC

steve@ic-travelagent.com

www.ic-travelagent.com

PS: Don’t forget to check out the new titles at The Travel Agent’s Store.

Steve Crowhurst, CTC, Publisher

Click me if you

would like to

Opt-In to my NEW

store mailing list.

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Whoever you are, whatever you do…

…if you can sell

travel from a

home office YOU

can strut your stuff

on stage!

It’s true! You’ve got what it takes to be

presenting your next tour to an audience of

20, 30, 50 people and to sell them on joining

your departure to wherever it is you want to

go. Believe me. The only caution is that you

practice and practice again and again.

When you leave your full time job at 5pm to

go sell travel you are wearing a number of

hats and as I like to say, you should bring

certain elements, skills and know-how from

your day job into your selling travel career.

On the opposite page there’s a host of

careers and regular jobs represented. Each

has its own skill sets. So think about which

talents you’ll bring to your event.

Will you be “cooking up a great tour”… will

you be planning a “budget conscious” tour?

How about a custom tour for different

faiths, backgrounds and ethnicities?

Our yellow hatted building inspector above

could most certainly pitch his “building a

great tour about Roman architecture…”

The idea then is to use your not so hidden

talents to help you sell more travel and

specifically sell more of your chosen niche

market.

All you need to work on then is your smile

to match any of those white and wide

smiles on the opposite page.

So, how will you tie your current job and

skills into your next event?

Okay take 5, chill out… and reeeeelax! You

are not on stage just yet. We need to chat

this through before you jump into that spot

light. There are a few things to put in place

first. Let’s check them out:

Death through PowerPoint is a well-known

term nowadays and as you may well know

yourself, so many presentations are boring

from the presenter’s delivery style to their

supporting, all text PowerPoint slide deck.

You can be different in your approach to

presenting your services to your audience.

You can still use PowerPoint and make sure

it’s exciting. You could also go without it and

rely on your stagecraft and storytelling skills.

Then again, you could team up with a

member of your host agency, a fellow travel

agent or supplier or all three! What you do

not want to do is dilute your stage time. This

event is really and truly ALL about you and

that’s why you are going to put this show on.

Free Parking

Believe it or not, free parking can make or

break your event. Free parking is always an

attraction. If you are hosting your event at a

hotel venue, perhaps you can negotiate a

special rate that you pay, pass on to your

audience or include in the fee to attend.

F&B

The food & beverage you supply should be

the barest of minimums. This is not a feed

the masses event, it’s a show and tell about

your services followed by a couple of special

departures based on your niche. Some travel

agents put on a wine and cheese event

however you never want to be responsible

for someone’s driving accident due to a glass

or two or more of your wine. So coffee &

cookies would be the best.

Kits and Handouts

Build the excitement by handing out a

program, a kit that contains brochures and

any specialty item your supplier can offer.

Flash drives at 4GB are very cheap and can

be loaded with your information and videos

too. A notepad and a pen with your agency

name and contact information works well.

Never give out the event special until you’ve

announced it. Keep building the momentum

using video and still images supported by

your verbal storytelling.

Practice

Your success on stage is directly related to

how much time you invest in practicing your

delivery and that should be at the very least

5 – 10 full repetitions.

The worst of all situations would be if you

were to ramble on, go off topic and bore

your audience out the door, never to return

even to your future events.

If you need lessons in presentation skills,

check locally for acting classes and

Toastmaster meetings. Also ask someone

you trust to listen to you and help round out

your stage presence & delivery skills.

If you are having someone co-present with

you make sure they are involved with the

practice sessions. Never let someone tell

you, “Oh I’m good, I do this all the time, I’ll

wing it and that’s good…” Yeah sure. Despite

their title and or position, NEVER be

persuaded to wing it with anyone.

Check All Equipment

Befriend your technology and take care of it

and be sure to check that your laptop and

LCD projector are working. Check again 2

hours before you go on stage and make sure

you also have the entire program saved to a

flash drive, and carry a printed copy of your

presentation - it’s worthwhile having a hard

copy back-up should all gadgets fail.

The Microphone – Sound Check

During your pre-performance check you

must include your microphone. Clip on your

lapel mic, walk around the room to find any

dead spots or static and note where they are

so you can stay away from those areas. Go

back to the stage area and deliver a few

words – have someone at the rear of the

room advise you when the sound is audible

and clear. Now you are set to walk on stage,

switch on your mic and start the program.

Never, walk on stage, tap the microphone

and say “Can you hear me alright…?” that is

pure amateur night.

When you leave the stage to mingle, always

switch off your mic – and before you visit the

washroom for obvious reasons!

Laptop Sign Up & Opt In

You’ll need a sign-up booth with laptop

where attendees can register their names,

opt into your mailing list and even book on a

tour. Make sure your laptop is chained to the

table.

Security

No matter how friendly everyone appears to

be, if your show is being held in a hotel room

just be aware that there are thieves who

stalk the floors and quickly dodge into

unattended rooms to scoop up electronics of

any kind. Have a member of your team

positioned in the room at all times and check

ID before allowing anyone to take anything

from the room.

Call Backs

Always worthwhile calling your clients to

remind them about the show AND have a

member of staff send one more email to all

local clients 2 hours before the event.

Walking The Stage It’s important that you feel comfortable walking about the stage and stopping in front of your

audience to acknowledge them, stopping to chat, stopping to ask a question, pointing across

the room and so on. The ‘stage’ you are on may be a raised platform or it may be at ground

level… either way, you must own this area and walk about your stage with confidence.

Dress for Success

How old is that title? Dress for success…

nothing has changed. If you look good, you

feel good. That means that you’ve selected

the right attire for your presentation, and

also your hair, makeup etc., is ship shape and

coordinated.

Have someone advise you about what you

are wearing. Visit a stylist who can help with

the fashion side of your stage presence. For

the guys it’s pretty easy – a well pressed suit,

polished shoes, button down oxford cloth

shirt and a tie that doesn’t blind the

audience – or is it, open neck casual attire

and jeans? Match what you wear to the

audience and travel niche.

For the gals… there’s a little more to think

about. Tight and or short skirts aren’t

conducive to climbing stairs. Low cut

anything not conducive to leaning over to

chat with the audience. Too much cologne,

perfume can have the front row sneezing

throughout your presentation. The keypoint

is to have everyone’s eyes are on you for the

right reasons.

The Practiced Walk

Most presenters tend to favour their right

side and are often trapped there, looking to

the audience on their right and walking in

circles in that location. Practice walking the

stage or room in all directions - this way and

that way and up the center aisle to the back

of the room. Walk it and own it. Now that

you’ve broken through the barrier of all that

space, you will be confident in walking on

stage and off.

Leaving The Stage

To lose focus when exiting the stage is

dangerous. Talking about tripping over

cables, wires, and stair treads. Never, ever

jump down from the stage. One wrong turn

and your knee or your back is shot.

You’ll be pumped after your performance

and this is when the danger sets in and

leaving the stage in one piece becomes the

focus. Once you are back at ground level and

assuming you have noted where the cables

are, or where the carpet rises slightly, walk

yourself into the audience and start chatting

away.

The Last Impression is Important

Your audience will always remember your

last ‘anything’. Finish up with a great story, a

welcome to book now comment, a warm

thanks, giveaways, take questions, deliver

something humourous.

One more thing you can do/say as you close

out this event, is to announce your next

event. Why not? Make sure your audience

hears about your next tour and when it is

departing and how they can join, register

and pay their deposits. Always build

momentum for what’s ahead.

It’s a remote for your iPhone, iPad, Android and Samsung Galaxy / Notes. I’ve got mine! Out of

the box, switch on your phone, switch on Bluetooth, switch on Shuttr, green light appears,

connection made and bingo! Press the center button and shoot a Selfie or any other picture on

screen. Also works for video. You can buy Shuttr online from Amazon.com and Amazon.your

country and directly from here: http://www.mukulabs.com/collections/frontpage. Here’s the

information from the official website:

The slimmest camera shutter remote control for iPhone, iPad, Android and Samsung Galaxy / Notes.

•Premium, sturdy build quality in a sleek, durable and portable design. •Take great selfies, group photos

and videos from as far as 30 feet. Use the included audio jack phone stand to position your phone in a

freestanding position. Never be left out of a photo again!

Read The Fine Print

Before Signing On With A Host Agency! Before you sign on the dotted line to become a home based agent, make sure you have really read that agreement thoroughly. Yes, you are keen to get started, but as with all things, it pays to take a little time to really understand what you are getting into….and more importantly, how you can get out of it if all does not go as you’d hoped.

Not all host agency agreements are the same! Some will tie you up for much longer than others, so here are some things you want to look out for: 1. How long do you have to sign up for? Some

host agencies want you to sign up for much

longer than others. Ideally, the shorter time

the better from your point of view, so that

you are free to make a move.

2. What are the terms for leaving your host

agency? This is an important one with

several aspects to it. How much notice must

you give? Are there any penalties? Do you

get commission for the sales you have made

after you leave?

3. What are the terms for renewal of your

existing contract? Again, very important to

know this. Does your host agency

automatically renew you for another full

term contract?

4. Does your host agency charge you start-up

costs? This is another thing you‘ll want to

check out. Does your host agency help you

get started and fully support you with

everything you will need? And if so, what do

they charge you to do this?

5. Who owns your clients? This is a big one. Be

sure to read the fine print and make sure

that your customers ARE your customers.

Can you take them with you when you

move?

6. And finally, can you start with another

agency immediately if you leave the host

agency you are with? Make sure you have

not been tied up with a non-compete clause

that says you can’t work for any other

agency for a period of time. While this may

be challenged in court, you don’t want to

have to go to that expense.

It’s all in the fine print, folks, so read carefully and perhaps have a lawyer take a look for you.

By Jill Wykes

Brought to you by The Travel Agent Next Door

Going for the BIG ROOM…

just you and your stories.

The Big Room Alright! Are you ready? It’s the BIG ROOM. You are going to be speaking in front of 300 people

at least. Now that is exciting. The adrenaline will be about the same as if you were standing on

that bungee platform planning to jump, any minute now. As you can see from the image

spanning the two previous pages, I am not using PowerPoint. Yeah… it can be done! Just me,

some notes and a couple of flip charts in case I needed to get graphic or record a comment or

idea from someone in the audience. You too can work the BIG room where your audience

wants to hear all about your travels and much more.

After you step down from that stage, let me tell

you, if this is to be your first time in front of such

a large audience, you’ll be on a high like you’ve

never been before (as far as I know that is!). That

adrenaline will be having you a foot or two off

the ground. When that effect wears off, you’ll be

wanting more.

Could you put yourself on stage say once each

month? Is that doable? Perhaps once each

quarter if you are working a full time job and

selling travel part time. None the less, if you can

factor at least three or four stage performances

in the big room during the year, you will be

ahead of the competition.

As you would have read, it’s imperative that you

practice your speech, your presentation and how

you walk about the stage and also how you leave

the stage and move around the audience. One of

the key elements to being successful in the BIG

room is to start on the stage and then within a

few minutes head to the main floor and “work”

the audience.

To work the audience means to engage them in

conversation, to set them 2 minute activities,

keeping it fast and light to prevent boredom and

to keep the program moving along at a decent

pace.

Work your way all the way to the very back of the

room and for a few moments present from that

location – not for too long mind you.

Keep it in mind that for the front rows to see you

at the back of the room they would have to crank

their necks and or turn in their chairs… this is why

you remain at the back for a matter of seconds.

The main reason you go there, to the back, is to

meet the audience in the back rows. They will be

happy to have seen you up close.

Now work your way down the center aisle or one

of the outer aisles towards the front. Head back

to the front of the room and use that space to

move from left to right, stopping and engaging

with your audience from the front row to about

20 rows back.

Working the BIG room means to make everyone,

all 300 people, feel you are talking to them

personally. Moving around the room helps.

Those two-minute activities you design can be a

team event, such as “Work with the person

beside you…” or, “Every row is a team…” then

count them off, “Here’s team one, team two and

so on…”

To cover more ground you can set an activity for

Teams 1 through 10, then another activity for

Teams 11 through 20 and so on. In this way,

when it comes time for the answers, you would

have covered four topics and your audience will

benefit from hearing the responses of the other

teams. Then it’s up to you to round out the

information received. After that, announce that

you’ll be remaining in the room to chat one-on-

one and to answer questions.

The Art of

Leaving The Podium

Not a lot of presenters do this well. You may have noticed from some travel events you have

attended, that the presenter is holding onto that podium very, very tightly. The reason for this

is that they have anchored themselves. It feels safe. The podium has become a friend and now

they cannot let go of their friend. But not you! No… you will say farewell to the podium.

It takes practice as everything does that’s worth

doing well and hanging onto that podium is not

one of those ‘must practice’ exercises.

When you are planning to

deliver your presentation, or

if you are invited to speak

about travel to a specific

group make sure you ask the

the people who set up the

room how they have set it up.

More often than not it will be

in the “usual” fashion which

would be with a podium to

the left or right of the screen

with all the cables taped

down.

This set up would generally

mean that you are supposed

to place your laptop on the

podium and stay there as you

present. In other words you

are stuck at the podium. For

some presenters, as mentioned above, that

podium anchors them to that spot and they just

cannot move. Now, as long as you know your

speech word for word and you also know your

slide presentation, slide for slide – then you can

wander off and leave that podium behind.

A gadget that will help you leave that podium is

a remote clicker. This gadget will give you room

to roam around the room or across the stage and

you will shine above all other speakers as you

click, talk and walk while they are still ‘there’

hanging on to that piece of

wood.

Depending upon how

much you have to say and

the duration of your

speech you may wish to

leave the stage and walk

about with clicker in hand

on the main floor. Once in

a while you’ll use the laser

pointer of your remote to

point at something on your

slide, click and keep

moving.

When you need to stand

still always go to the left of

the screen – the audiences’

left. In that way their eyes

fall on you as you are

talking and then migrate to the slide and across

it. If you stand on the right you will end up

blocking that generic form of delivering

information. One more thing, in order to walk

about the stage you will need a lapel mic’. Make

sure you request it before you agree to speak, or,

buy your own and have the tech’s set it up for

you. Do everything you can to look polished and

more professional than the other speakers.

Restaurant Venues Food and travel always go together. You cannot have one without the other. So, when you are

planning your speaking event ALWAYS factor in the food associated with the destination you

are promoting. The main reason you do this is to nudge your clients into tasting a new food or

giving them the chance to remember the taste of the food they experienced once before during

their past travels. Here’s how you can work with a local restaurant.

Decide which destination and or tour you’ll

be promoting. Is there a restaurant in town

that represents the food of your

destination? If so then that’s

where you go to chat with

the owner.

You could be walking into

an Italian restaurant,

French, Chinese, Japanese,

Vietnamese, German,

Indian… or if you wish, go

with a Pizzeria! So many

choices.

Who Will Be Attending?

You have two choices here

– one group would be

people from your existing

client list who travel with

you often and already 50%

sold. The other group would be people not

yet on your client list – these people are

living in your local community, too.

Naturally this is not a free food night. This is

a come and listen, taste, discuss, book and

leave a deposit night. Make that clear.

How Much To Spend?

Make arrangements with the restaurant

owner to supply whatever food they can for

$200 and book a time when your event will

not interfere with the restaurant’s evening

trade. You might keep the type of food to

appetizers, bite sized fare so that people

snack versus eating a full scale meal.

Make your presentation,

show your images on

PowerPoint slides if space

permits a screen and LCD set

up and then introduce the

food.

Name Your Event

It’s old and done to death,

but it works. Why not go

with “A TASTE OF… TOUR”

which of course brings

together the food and the

touring components. The

word “taste” can mean

literally tasting the foods of

the country you are planning to

tour, or a quick visit, getting a taste of the

area.

A friend of mine used a Japanese restaurant

for his event. As each person split their

chopsticks and, for some, took a first bite of

sushi, I witnessed deposit cheques being

passed down the table to the agency owner.

That “taste” was the key. The venue and

setting works no matter which destination’s

food is being served. Tell your audience,

dessert will be served on the tour. Kaching!

Getting It Done A recent TV series featured the life and times of American president Theodore Roosevelt and I

have to say the man got it done. He seemed to be the man of the hour and despite his wealth

worked for the common people and strived to better their lives. Most famously one of his

accomplishments as related to the world of travel was the completion of the Panama Canal.

After watching this TV series I tracked down a wonderful website http://www.theodore-

roosevelt.com/ and have since explored almost every page. In doing so I came across this

speech: The Man in the Arena, the famous quote from the speech "Citizenship in a Republic"

that he gave April 23, 1910 - Sorbonne, Paris.

I offer it here as a morale booster should you ever feel as if sales aren’t going your way, or times are tough,

too many obstacles, not enough leads and getting it done seems to be very hard to do and others are

putting you down and criticizing your efforts. Here’s how TR saw it:

I urge you to visit the website above and delve into what this man accomplished and I have to say, he

makes even the busiest person in this century look as if they are standing still. You wonder what he would

have achieved in the present day.

During the TV series a host of

cartoons were shown and that

also led me to explore the

artistic side of how he was

portrayed in the press and in

the magazines and journals of

the day such as Judge, Puck,

Harper’s Weekly and others. So

from a morale boosting speech

to cartoons and the study of

imagery in how to attract a

reader… that mind you is what

you’ll need to assess and

discover.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man

stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit

belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust

and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and

again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does

actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great

devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the

end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least

fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and

timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Yes You Do

need your own website…and here’s why!

As an independent travel agent, you have many things to sift through in terms of what is

important to market yourself, to run your business, and to close sales. You are likely

bombarded with information and technology that may or may not be useful.

Previously in this column, we have discussed

using social media, email and direct mail to reach

your clients as effective channels for reaching

your customers.

But what about your potential customers who

might want to check you out? And what about

customers who are sitting on the fence?

Believe it or not, that is one of the main reasons

you need a website….and not just any website, a

website that is yours.

The number one reason you need a website is to

give you credibility. When potential customers,

or your own customers, go on line to check you

out, you need a professional site that promotes

you and your services.

Now, don’t get me wrong, you do need a

bookable site. Why? So that your clients can

search for packages, cruises, hotels and cars and

whatever they want on your site, and not have

to go elsewhere! Offer them as much as possible

on your site. If they wander away, they might

book elsewhere. Be sure to look for the most

complete product offering you can find.

So…when you are evaluating a host agency, do

pay attention to the website offering. You will

want to know how easily it can be customized for

you. Will you have your own site with your own

branding, or just a page on the host agency’s

site? How easily can you change the site and add

or delete tabs…and how often?

Can you cater to wedding groups and offer a site

that only the bride and groom can see. And can

you easily edit the pages, insert pictures and

videos?

Is this your own URL or a shared site? These are

all questions you need to ask and understand.

Look for a host agency that gives you this

valuable tool and check out any costs, and

support systems. Your website is your face on

the internet, the place where increasingly,

more and more people are shopping for

travel.

By Jill Wykes

Brought to you by The Travel Agent Next Door

Come on! You’re not serious… are you? After 150+ years of the two words travel agent representing

your very important role in the world today, you want to drop it? Why on this earth would anyone in

their right mind want to lose all of that history and depth, romance and consumer based recognition?

And don’t get caught up in the net that some people have cast saying that the younger generation have

no idea what a travel agent does; or that the term travel agent was best used when travel agents where

acting as agents for suppliers. But now they serve the consumer. What a load of tosh!

First and foremost, travel agents are still agents

for suppliers and they still represent and serve

the consumer. Nothing has changed in those 150

years + and it’s still the same today. You just have

to be smart at managing your loyalties.

Latest trade news headlines then state that

overwhelmingly home-based travel agents do

not want to be referred to as home-based. That’s

easy, just go with being a travel agent.

Sure you could be a ‘travel advisor’ but that’s

weak sounding. Has no oomph! You need

confidence to be successful in this industry and

you need to stand tall for the role you serve and

the world you sell.

Once you accept the fact that you are a travel

agent and your roots run deep you’ll bypass

those who want their 15 minutes of fame by

trying to change the model that works. You can

still be a Cruise Specialist or Adventure Guide

and that’s all down to marketing your expertise

as a travel agent.

I’ve said it and shown in the past - the majority

of supplier advertising suggests the reader also

contact their travel agent and that’s who the

reader will be looking for – not a travel advisor

or arranger, or a happy booker (which was cute

when it came out, but bitten the dust now.)

So move beyond cute and trending words that

are a blip on the scene and start honing your

skills in all areas of sales, service and marketing

at the highest level of the travel agent role.

You’ve got a history that’s worth it’s weight in

gold if you can market it.

Here’s a great eGuide to help you deliver your BEST from any stage you stand on.

Click the image to view this guide and its companion guides, PowerPoint and Webinars.

Remember too, that each topic you purchase includes a one-hour coaching session.

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15 ebooks created by Steve Crowhurst, CTC on topicssuch as marketing, sales, charging services fees,presentation skills and much more.

How to Start a Home Based Travel Agency and SellingCruises - Don't miss the boat!by Tom and Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC

5 downloads from Penney Rudicil,The Gadget Girl, starting at only $4.

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Thank you for choosing to travel with MyEscapades.com. We take pride in providing one-of-a-kind travel experiences in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. The majority of our clients require a trip customized to their likes, interests and budget. Whether you wish to travel in the lap of luxury or choose to indulge in an authentic adventure (we call it ‘roughing-it’) we will create a trip to suit your preferred tastes. In other words, we will give you a travel experience that goes beyond your expectations. Rest assured, MyEscapades.com is your perfect traveling companion.

Before You Travel:• Ensurethatyouarecarryingyourup-to-date passports and have obtained any required/necessary tourist visas for entering the country(s) you are visiting. • Youtripinvolvescancellationpenalties in the unforeseen event that you cancel/postpone your travel arrangements. Ensure that you are aware of these penalties.• CarryyourOut-of-CountryHospital/Medical/Travel Insurance Policy with you.• Beawareofluggagerestrictionssuchas weight, size and type of suitcases allowed on the international and domestic flights on your itinerary. Excess baggage charges are steep and can cause great inconvenience• Ensureyouhaveobtainedrecommended or required inoculations.Certaininoculationsare mandatory for travel to endemic areas.Yourtravelagentwillhaveprovided full details.

• CheckouttheavailabilityoflocalATMs in your destination and/or purchase some local currency or travellers cheques.• Givefamily/friendsthecontactinformation at hotels/lodges you will be staying during your travel. Information on your accommodations is provided within your documents.• Werecommendthatyouputyournewspaper subscription on hold for the duration of your trip and have your mail collected by a neighbour or held at your local post office.• Itisalwaysrecommendedthatyousecure your home with a security alarm before you leave.

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1. Easy to use, do-it-yourself, 24/7 online print-ordering store.

2. No design/setup fees – choose from our selection of pre-designed templates or Design Your Own.

3. Full use of our image gallery at no extra charge.

4. Travel related marketing products such as calendars and magnets plus all your standard business products – business cards, envelopes, letterhead, flyers, and more.

5. Wide selection of ticket packaging options for groups, weddings, and niches.

6. All products available in small quantities (some as low as 25).

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