Jamie Biesiada
The key to success for many agents is to take advantage of the training and technology offered by their host or consortium.
Earlier this year, Virtuoso conducted an analysis of its million-dollar producers and found a link between those advisers and their use of the technology tools the consortium makes available.
For instance, 83% of Virtuoso's million-dollar producers participate in the network's marketing initiatives, which includes email marketing sent to their clients.
In total, Virtuoso's highest producers took 75% more training courses online through the Virtuoso Travel Academy than the average adviser.
"From a home-based standpoint, [agents] should be leveraging everything their host agency has. Some of it may be from the host agency, and some of it may be from the consortium," said Libbie Rice, co-president of the Ensemble Travel Group. "It is a partnership, and they just need to leverage it."
Training is the best way for agents to take advantage of the technology and programs their networks offer, Rice said. Most, she said, offer online training.
"Spend the time doing that," she said. "Maybe do it in phases so you're not overwhelmed by it, but get a broad understanding of the programs that are offered."
She also encouraged agents to attend their consortium's or host agency's conference or events, including regional trainings. "If that's in your local city, absolutely spend the time learning some products there," she said.
The technology agent networks offer tends to be a mix of what they develop themselves and what they gain through third-party partnerships. "The philosophy for me has always been, from the beginning, do what's right for the consultant," said Karen Yeates, executive vice president of information technologies for Signature Travel Network.
Signature built its own email marketing system, called Client Reach, in-house, she said, because by doing it themselves she knew the system would provide the flexibility Signature members would need.
"It gives us total flexibility, it's fully integrated with our database, it's fully integrated with our systems, and that way we never are beholden to somebody else," she said. Right now, 74% of Signature consultants use that system.
But when it came to developing an itinerary-management app that members could offer their clients, Signature went the way of a third-party partnership with Axus to develop Pocket Travel Consultant.
"I wanted to find a solution where that was their core competency in what they were doing," Yeates said.
Signature is significantly underwriting the cost for agents to use the application in the hopes of increasing the number of advisers using Pocket Travel Consultant to 1,500 over the next year.
Like most technology, Yeates said advisers will have to dedicate some time to learning the system to realize the efficiencies it offers with client communication and trip planning, but Signature has developed online training and support for agents to take advantage of it.