By Les-Lee Roland

This isn’t a FLIP or a FLOP, it’s just something to think about. Have you noticed the voiceovers for a movie preview? Always a man and usually the same guy who is currently on the spoof Geico TV commercial. Maybe psychologically, it is thought that a low, masculine voice will get people to buy movie tickets.
Now think about most of the air, car, cruise or tour operator recorded voices. They are mostly female. Ever wonder why? I think that a cruise line that would use a Jack Nicholson sound-alike telling you which prompt to press would certainly bring a smile to us agents who spend eternities on hold. Or Brando saying, “What a minute, and I’ll make you a deal you cannot refuse.”
What about Jacques Pepin describing a meal on Oceania? Or maybe Bob Dickinson giving some details on wine while you’re on hold with Carnival. (Okay, maybe not!)
Donald Trump saying “These trips are so amazing, If you don’t sell a package...you’re fired.”
Howie Mandel: “Someone will be with you in 30 seconds and then it’s deal or no deal.”
Norwegian Cruise Line has just changed its phone message. A gal, with a smile in her voice — yes, smiles can be heard as well as be seen — practically flirts with the caller.
Hanging endlessly on the phone is the biggest waste of my time — that, and the prompts. You have to wait for the list of endless categories and make sure you’re reaching the right department.
Sometimes the calls get routed to the wrong department, just because of the overflow of calls — it’s more wasted time.
Airlines and car companies have lost that personal touch with their recordings. I speak very clearly, yet I find when the automated voiced repeats the request, my car for Omaha is now Oahu, I find myself arguing with a voice, repeating over and over — “Omaha.”
This is a good time for you to check out your voice message. How easy is it for people to connect with you? Try calling yourself. The same with call waiting. Do you interrupt the call you’re on so you can find out who else is calling? I try not to take these calls and let them go to voice mail.
Home Based agents may not keep regular hours and may be out delivering documents, at the post office or wherever. This may sound simple, but I have had agents who told me that they learned from this.
I always forward my calls to my cell phone when I leave my home office. I have made sales or qualified clients many times from my cell phone. The ability for them to connect with you and your promise to contact them within the hour can save a sale.
Okay, some agents bypass the phone and go directly to the Web site. But guess what, the Web site is not updated every minute, and we have an obligation to find the best deal for our clients and the best commission for ourselves.
Web sites that are not easy to navigate through are a turn off, as well. I deal with one company where I have to have three different passwords just to get into its different departments. Worse yet, every few weeks, the passwords are changed.
How do you feel when a business development manager, a.k.a. sales rep, says he’s too busy to call on smaller accounts. He can only call on the high producers in his area. And then he says, “If you need something, just check out the Web site.”
When I get that answer, I ask the rep who are the big producers are in my area. You may be surprised who they are. It doesn’t hurt to check out your competition and figure out why they are doing big volume.
If it’s a supplier that I really want to promote, I lay it on the line with the rep. I ask what I have to produce to be graced with a sales call. I tell them their company is in my marketing plan and I have a goal I want to achieve. If the rep meets with me I make darn sure to try and make good on that promise.
Some companies have inside reps whose purpose is to contact the Home Based or smaller agencies and work with them. I have no problem with that, as long as the communication is informative, and provided on a regular basis. But if they never call and wait for me to contact them, they are not going to be my top product to sell.
My figures with a certain cruise line have dropped dramatically because I have no rep. I have called the company to complain and the answer given was, “It’s your job to call us if you need anything.” With one cruise line, my numbers were at the highest when I had a great inside rep. Finally they moved me to their outside rep, and after one sales call, she told me she was too busy to see more than her top six producers. My figures dropped, and I called the inside rep and asked for her to service my account. She worked something out, and I don’t miss their outside rep.
I want to do business with this company, and I want more than the weekly E-mails of promos that everyone gets. Wouldn’t it be great if a rep calls and says, “There’s a mailing going out with sale rates, and it will target your past passengers. Maybe you should think about blocking group space.”
Wouldn’t that be a win-win? I just received one from Princess, and I will go through my client list and target my Princess clients with a reminder for them to look for its past passenger special.
It’s become so costly to have a sales force, and obviously their income is based on what we produce. But sales reps should allocate a certain amount of time to cultivate new business.
This business is more than a two way street. We get information from the supplier, we have to find clients or have them find us and we have to service them. With success we get referrals.
Many seminar instructors say you have to have your niche market. If you have a market in that direction, great. But you cannot limit yourself to one or two suppliers. I got a new client who asked for an all-inclusive package. I asked her if she was referred to me, and she said no. But she did go on to say that the agent she previously dealt with always “pushed” the same company to her, and she wanted something different this time.
Knowledge of a product makes selling it so much easier. That and of course fam trips. But hardworking agents can’t get away on every fam trip offered. To increase your knowledge, sign up for specialist programs, take the quizzes offered in the trade magazine, call a supplier and ask for in-house training if it is offered. If you are a serious seller of travel, you have an obligation to continue your education. No one can wave a magic wand and say you are now a travel expert; we have to earn it.

With the world in a turmoil, we have to find humor where we can. So far the wave season, the first quarter of the year where, supposedly, more bookings are made, is off to a far better start than last year.

Les-Lee Roland is a writer and motivational speaker and has been Home Based for more than 10 years. She was named a Finalist in Travel Trade’s Travel Agent of the Year election. Her company, The Package Deal, is in Sarasota, FL. Contact Les-Lee at packagedeals@comcast.net