Jamie Biesiada
Want to practice your sales skills? AI can help with that.
Travel agent school Wanderlust Campus has developed generative AI models that can help advisors practice consulting clients, going back and forth with the technology in role-play sessions to build skills. It's a place where advisors can practice what they've been taught and hone their style.
"We teach them consultative sales — very comprehensive in terms of how do you do a proposal? How do you prescreen? Then, what do you actually say to the client? What are the talk tracks? What are all the things that we do?" said Wanderlust Campus CEO Cyndi Williams.
AI models have been trained in how that process should work from start to finish, enabling students to practice in a real-time environment.
Selling with AI
It's one of several ways Wanderlust Campus is addressing AI with its students, including offering several training modules on how AI can be used for a successful travel-selling business.
"I think it's absolutely critical, because if you're not already on the path to adapting it, you're already behind," Williams said. "That's the tough thing -- as soon as you use it, you realize how valuable it is, and you're like, 'Oh, no, why haven't I been doing this, and how far behind am I?'"
Williams got her start in travel in 1993 via traditional travel school. She went to work for timeshare company RCI Travel and sold $1 million in travel in her first year. Her second year with RCI she uitilized a tuition reimbursement program, and she became their first agent to sell $1 million while working part time. She was quickly moved to the training department, where she stayed for several years, before eventually moved into roles in operations.
Around 20 years ago, she launched her own successful agency. But in 2016, Williams realized how much she missed training.
"I'd always had that dream to have a travel school, like a proper travel school, so we did it," she said.
The travel school of today
It's a different marketplace today than when Williams went to travel school in the 1990s, she said, but Wanderlust Campus employs a lot of the same kind of training: skill development and a consultative approach, all with an eye on how business is done today.
Plus, she's added a lot of technology.
"As much as we're an education company, we're a tech company, as well," Williams said.
Wanderlust Campus built a proprietary system housing its curriculum, tools and resources. It offers educational programs for both new and experienced advisors, including agency owners.
One of the hallmarks of any educational experience with Wanderlust Campus is a high level of personalization, Williams said. There are dozens of live classes held every month, and educators will work with advisors on understanding their business vision and helping them reach it.
That includes plenty of modules surrounding AI, including its use in marketing, video scripting and building client questionnaires.
"You should absolutely be using it for anything that is a repetitive task in your business where you can leverage it," Williams said.
She encouraged advisors to think of AI like an assistant. While it can do quite a bit for them, its work needs to be checked.
Just shy of 3,000 advisors and agency owners have trained with Wanderlust Campus. Based on a case study with one of the host agencies the school works with, Williams said her graduates sell, on average, 30% more than advisors who haven't trained with her. They're also selling more faster than their peers.