10 Home Based Travel Agency Key Areas to Focus On To Achieve Maximum Success
So you own or manage a home based travel agency business.
Well done for committing yourself to a fantastic, exciting industry.
Have you ever wondered why some travel agencies make some money and are very profitable over the long term, whilst others struggle to survive? Have you ever wondered why your home based travel agency business (which may bring you a comfortable living) is not wildly successful? Improving YOUR business dramatically comes from analyzing, measuring, identifying and then replacing certain under performing aspects of your marketing, selling, advertising, team or operations with alternatives that perform better.
As a business coach mainly working in the travel industry I have seen many small business successes and failures.
The secrets to making your small business work relies on many things and not just your technical skill as a home based travel agency.
Unfortunately for most owners or leaders in travel businesses, there is a tendency to get stuck doing the technical travel consulting work and not spending enough time each week on the critical success areas that maximizes sales and therefore income.
So what are the critical success areas for a home based travel agency? 1.
Leadership of Yourself and Team / Vision 2.
Clear Goals and a Plan to Transform the Business every 90 days.
Do you have clear, specific written goals for the next 5 years and 1 year in your business but also in your personal life? Do you have a plan of action behind each of your goals? The biggest truism I have noticed in small business is failing to plan means planning to fail.
I bet you have heard this a million times before but could I just ask this question: "Do you have a written down plan for your home based travel agency?" 3.
Managing your team and/or yourself.
This comes down to the critical area of time management.
Are you good at managing your time? 4.
Team: Train all of your team and yourself to improve sales skills and product knowledge.
If you are a one person home based travel agency then you still need essential people around you for example, lawyer, accountant, book-keeper, business coach etc.
You cannot be totally successful in small business going it alone without anyone else's help or input.
5.
Sales: skills in consulting, closing the sale, product knowledge and customer service.
6.
Marketing - Generating New Enquiries.
Do you have a plan of attack for this? 7.
Marketing - Increasing Average Spend of each Customer 8.
Marketing - Repeat Business from Existing Clients.
9.
Operations and Systems / Policies and Procedures 10.
Finance, Cash flow and Accounts Systems.
These ten areas can enormously impact on your bottom line sales and profitability.
These areas can lead to phenomenal growth if used effectively.
CRITICAL POINT: To get massive improvement in your travel business all you need to do is work on and within these 10 areas constantly for 2 hours a week minimum (hopefully more), every week.
Imagine the difference it will make to your home based travel agency if you could focus on all of the critical areas over any three month period? One of the keys is to get someone to help you do this, namely a business coach or mentor.
A business coach enables follow through on agreed actions to occur which gives you as the business owner a better chance to succeed over the short and long term.
Another brilliant way to ensure you focus on the ten critical success areas is to buddy up with another one or more home based travel agency, you will move a lot quicker and be far more effective.
Alternatively the owner and manager can proactively work on these areas but including your team always gets better results.
A strong leader needs to ensure this happens effectively.
But there are key skills needed to lead your business.
The Really Exciting part! The tiniest improvements over all of these areas can lead to big differences in sales and eventually your bank balance.
Can you imagine the impact these strategies potentially could have on your home based travel agency if you put some of the key areas together? Pure genius! Now it is over to you to take action for the long term maximum success of your home based travel agency.
Well done for committing yourself to a fantastic, exciting industry.
Have you ever wondered why some travel agencies make some money and are very profitable over the long term, whilst others struggle to survive? Have you ever wondered why your home based travel agency business (which may bring you a comfortable living) is not wildly successful? Improving YOUR business dramatically comes from analyzing, measuring, identifying and then replacing certain under performing aspects of your marketing, selling, advertising, team or operations with alternatives that perform better.
As a business coach mainly working in the travel industry I have seen many small business successes and failures.
The secrets to making your small business work relies on many things and not just your technical skill as a home based travel agency.
Unfortunately for most owners or leaders in travel businesses, there is a tendency to get stuck doing the technical travel consulting work and not spending enough time each week on the critical success areas that maximizes sales and therefore income.
So what are the critical success areas for a home based travel agency? 1.
Leadership of Yourself and Team / Vision 2.
Clear Goals and a Plan to Transform the Business every 90 days.
Do you have clear, specific written goals for the next 5 years and 1 year in your business but also in your personal life? Do you have a plan of action behind each of your goals? The biggest truism I have noticed in small business is failing to plan means planning to fail.
I bet you have heard this a million times before but could I just ask this question: "Do you have a written down plan for your home based travel agency?" 3.
Managing your team and/or yourself.
This comes down to the critical area of time management.
Are you good at managing your time? 4.
Team: Train all of your team and yourself to improve sales skills and product knowledge.
If you are a one person home based travel agency then you still need essential people around you for example, lawyer, accountant, book-keeper, business coach etc.
You cannot be totally successful in small business going it alone without anyone else's help or input.
5.
Sales: skills in consulting, closing the sale, product knowledge and customer service.
6.
Marketing - Generating New Enquiries.
Do you have a plan of attack for this? 7.
Marketing - Increasing Average Spend of each Customer 8.
Marketing - Repeat Business from Existing Clients.
9.
Operations and Systems / Policies and Procedures 10.
Finance, Cash flow and Accounts Systems.
These ten areas can enormously impact on your bottom line sales and profitability.
These areas can lead to phenomenal growth if used effectively.
CRITICAL POINT: To get massive improvement in your travel business all you need to do is work on and within these 10 areas constantly for 2 hours a week minimum (hopefully more), every week.
Imagine the difference it will make to your home based travel agency if you could focus on all of the critical areas over any three month period? One of the keys is to get someone to help you do this, namely a business coach or mentor.
A business coach enables follow through on agreed actions to occur which gives you as the business owner a better chance to succeed over the short and long term.
Another brilliant way to ensure you focus on the ten critical success areas is to buddy up with another one or more home based travel agency, you will move a lot quicker and be far more effective.
Alternatively the owner and manager can proactively work on these areas but including your team always gets better results.
A strong leader needs to ensure this happens effectively.
But there are key skills needed to lead your business.
The Really Exciting part! The tiniest improvements over all of these areas can lead to big differences in sales and eventually your bank balance.
Can you imagine the impact these strategies potentially could have on your home based travel agency if you put some of the key areas together? Pure genius! Now it is over to you to take action for the long term maximum success of your home based travel agency.
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