Tired of hearing about travel agents leaving the profession in
droves for friendlier careers? Meet Walter Littlejohn, president of
Great Vacations Inc. in Teaneck, N.J., who went the other way,
founding his agency four years ago after a successful career in the
cruise industry.
"I was a regional sales manager for Carnival for about five
years, and although I had a passion for the cruise industry, I
became interested in the process by which customers choose what
cruise to take," Littlejohn said.
Obeying the call of his entrepreneurial spirit, he set up shop
with "zero customers," he said, and a fresh approach.
"I bought books on how to start a travel agency, and they all
had a cookie-cutter model," Littlejohn said.
"In a market like New Jersey, which has so many travel agents,
you don't want to do the same thing as everyone else because you
will end up at the bottom of the food chain," he said.
Some of Littlejohn's unorthodox approaches include:
One hundred percent leisure. "We will only sell cruises, resort
packages and escorted tours," Littlejohn said.Limited destinations. "With the exception of cruises, we won't
sell anything but the Caribbean, Mexico, Florida and Las Vegas," he
said, adding that he also is slowly adding select European cities,
such as London, Paris and Rome."We only sell what we know very well ... so well that we can
name flight times off the top of our heads, and we know which
hotels are under renovation and which are consistently good on the
food service side."
Just say no. When tempted to venture into unknown areas,
Littlejohn said he councils his agents to resist, no matter how
valuable the client."I did a trip for one special repeat customer to Prague, [Czech
Republic], and Dubrovnik, [Croatia], and it took me so much time to
do the research that I didn't make my return on the investment,"
Littlejohn said.
Think small. I'd rather sell 200 Apple Vacations and make $150
or $200 on each one than one big, expensive Bali package," he said.
"Give me the bread-and-butter business."No ARC. "We made the decision not to have an ARC number because
there is no profit there and, in my opinion, there never was," he
said."A lot of agents were fooling themselves because they saw the
cash coming in" without factoring in the time it takes to handle
each transaction, Littlejohn said.
-- Felicity Long
Mastering marketing
Although Walter Littlejohn, president of Great Vacations Inc. in
Teaneck, N.J., has become much more sympathetic to agents' woes now
that the shoe is on the other foot, he points to a pervasive
passivity in the industry.
"When I worked for Carnival [Cruise Lines], fewer than 10% of
the accounts I gave marketing ideas to did anything with them," he
said.
"There are a lot of aggressive marketing products out there, but
most agents are just sitting there taking whatever business comes
in, rather than crafting a plan of what business they want and
could effectively serve," Littlejohn said.
What were some of those ideas agents failed to act on?
"Many cruise vendors and tour operators provide preprinted
postcards listing special promotions, and all the agency has to do
is print its name on it and send it out," he said.
Why don't many agencies take advantage of this simple marketing
tool?
"Most [agencies] don't have an active mailing list because their
technology is not in place to collect that information," he
said.
Littlejohn, whose agency has a staff of three full-time
employees and five outside salespeople, stressed the importance of
"thinking like a business person first" when selling travel.
"You have to collect a name and address for everyone you deal
with, have a mailing list and use it," he said.
Family focus
Most of us feel we know how to sell to families. We've all been
part of one. Families are one niche we can really understand.
Or can we?
A few decades ago, most families came in one standard flavor:
Dad, Mom, two kids. But, ah, has that changed ... Today, 25% of all
families are nontraditional.
One-parent
families are common. Cohabitation -- rather than marriage -- occurs
more frequently. Blended families are everywhere: Step-parents and
"Brady Bunch" configurations happen all the time.
Multigenerational families -- a common pattern in past centuries
-- are back, with grandparents living (and traveling) with the two
generations that came after them.
And kids don't automatically leave home after school is over.
They often stay well through their 20s.
What can we make of all this? Can we possibly sell family travel
in the same manner to everyone?
Probably not. But here are some useful strategies to pursue:
Find out what a "family" means to your clients, then shape your
recommendation accordingly. The one-size-fits-all approach just
won't work anymore.Assume that each person's needs will have to be addressed by
your recommendation.There should be something for the kids to do, for the parents,
maybe even for the grandparents, too.
Don't conclude that family travel must occur during the summer
and holidays.Many parents these days don't hesitate to take their kids on a
trip during the school year.
Recommend packages that are family-friendly. Do your research.
Surprisingly, big resorts don't necessarily have something for
every age group; some cruise lines that claim to be for everyone --
including families -- aren't. And make sure the product's profile
will offer "instant playmates" for the kids.Underscore value. Packages seem expensive to families that are
used to family-car travel. Once you add it all up, however, and
emphasize the value-added benefits (fewer logistics, less stress),
the trip you recommend will become increasingly attractive.Talk about travel as "quality time." It's a powerful hot button
for contemporary family members who seem never to have moments for
one another.Contact repeat family travelers well in advance. Take the
initiative: Families tend to plan far ahead for their trip. And be
proactive: You can initiate the sale by mentioning a great value
that's available only for now.Marc Mancini is a professor of travel at West Los Angeles
College.