Congratulations to YTB’s new “Travel Agents”
Since day one with YTB, I’ve considered myself a “Travel Agent”. Not because I had any special training, achieved any special credentials, or aligned myself with any specific host. It was an attitude that I had when I joined. I was about as green as they came when I joined YTB, but I did have a passion for travel and a desire to learn that got me to the point that I am today. I’ve heard over and over that unless I align myself with one of those legitimate hosts out there, that I’d never be considered a “Travel Agent”.
Yet, the folks with all the arrogance and attitude – haven’t actually experienced the service and value I bring to my clients.
Fact is, anyone can become a “Travel Agent” with the proper mindset and willingness to learn and it doesn’t matter what company you align yourself with. Other than my family, 99.9% of our clients have no idea who or what YTB is. All they know is Doug and Ronda with BandBVacations.com. If a client has a change in schedule, a problem with a booking, or happen to need assistance with arrangements, the “Agent” they call is us, not the Home Office.
That being said, having the mindset of “Travel Agent” isn’t going to cut the mustard when it comes to servicing our clients. We could have all the love and passion in the world – but without the proper knowledge to actually assist our clients, mindset alone is moot.
It also takes knowledge and training to drive this business and make it a success.
When YTB launched the E-Campus training two years ago with theAcademy.com and Dr. Marc Mancini, I was ecstatic. At the time, it was a major advancement and move towards training our sales force. The move was also “pro-active”, being launched before all the attention and fuss in the news and media publications came out about YTB being some sort of “card mill”. (A term and definition we still don’t answers for two years later.)
Like Carnival Corporation, Apple Vacations, Pleasant Holidays, Collette, World Choice, Globus, and other preferred suppliers who do business with YTB, Dr. Mancini saw something in YTB that lead to this training to help the company achieve its long term goal of being a dominant force in the travel industry.
If you’re going to partner with someone, they might as well be the best. Here’s a little bio that I picked up on Dr. Mancini two years ago.
What’s even more impressive is that the YTB E-Campus program is designed by Dr. Marc Mancini, one of the travel industry’s most highly respected speakers, educators and consultants and authors of such books as Conducting Tours: A Practical Guide, Cruising: A Guide to the Cruise Line Industry
, and Selling Destinations: Geography for the Travel Professional
. Dr Mancini and his firm are the creative force behind some of the best-known and most successful training programs in the business including training programs for CLIA, AAA, and NTA.
What YTB did was land the industries leading authority in travel to design and implement a very intensive and thorough training program that covers the following 10 segments.
- Course 101: Overview of the Travel Industry
- Course 102: Lodging
- Course 103: Tours / Groups
- Course 104: Cruising
- Course 105: Air Travel
- Course 106: Rail, Car Rentals and the Rest
- Course 107: Travel Sales, Service and Marketing
- Course 108: Destinations: North and South America
- Course 109: Destinations: Europe
- Course 110: Destinations: Africa, Asia and the South Pacific
And for doing what we as “Travel Agents” should do for our business and completing this course, what do you think YTB did to reward those who took their travel business seriously?
- The ability to drop the “R” from RTA and the title of “Travel Agent”
- 75% Commission Contract
- Monthly YTB Special Promotions
- Entry For A Free Cruise
- Exclusive YTB FAM Trips
- Training Events & Trade Show (Funshine was comped)
- The Fun & Travel Magazine to help you grow your business
Not too shabby for some rinky-dink MLM that has no interest in Travel huh? Fact is, those who claim YTB doesn’t offer training haven’t been paying attention to the facts. Instead, they choose to ignore any type of training to keep their fantasy over YTB being less than legitimate alive.
We posted a list of those who completed the E-Campus training this past weekend in our newsletter. If you’re a YTB TSO or Rep and you’d like a listing to view, please get signed up on our list. I don’t think it’s appropriate to post this list publicly. With all the attention and animosity from a very small and childish group in the travel industry who have nothing better to do it will simply create more spin and turn this significant accomplishment into something it’s not.
For those who did complete this training, you know who you are. You know the value of knowledge and learning. I commend you for taking responsibility and ownership of your travel business. You can now not only call yourself “Travel Agent”, but earn an above average commission percentage found in the industry. (Industry average being 74%.)
Congratulations!
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Doug & Ronda Bauknight AKA: TravelPro Travel Agent / Networker Phone: 678.458.5812 |
Learn How To Become A Travel Agent |
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Tags: Dr. Marc Mancini, Home Based Business, TheAcademy.com, Travel Agent Training, YTB E-Campus, YTB Travel Network
October 7th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Good article Doug…but our critics have already gotten a hold of the list.
October 7th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Not surprised…John and a couple of others have subscribed to my weekly Newsletter and I fully expected them to post it. The list John posted is one I created and had in this weekends newsletter…you know…the one “reserved for TSO’s and Reps only”.
Do yourself a favor and put these trolls on ignore. After talking with a number of people who have found our critics and their activity not only a bizarre waste of time but they have proven over and over that the normal code of conduct and acceptable adult behavior is thrown completely out the window when it comes to YTB and our people.
They’ve become a complete embarrassment to some of their own pears and most anyone who comes across their filth. (At least anyone who has an ounce of morals, ethics, and values within them.)
After two weeks of abstinence from reading the spin, lies, and illusions out there on John’s blog, Scam.com, and Yahoo finance, life has once again not only become normal, but moving in an upward trend. It’s amazing how much better life is without having to plow through so much negativity, foul language and your mama wears army boots type of childish behavior.
Those blogs, forums, and message boards have become nothing more than an adult day care without any substance or an ounce of credibility associated with it.
You just have to let go and accept the fact that they’re going to troll on my newsletter, hang out on Coach’s Facebook page looking for something to spin, and join YTB as a Rep so they can obtain company correspondence to spin and throw back out there with their own little twist. All areas they clearly don’t belong, but their ego’s and arrogance would never allow them to admit how clearly out of bounds they are.
I say let ‘em. In the meantime, we’ve got some new knowledge and a larger commission split.
October 7th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
AMEN to that idea!!!!
Question…if you know they’re on your e-mail list, why don’t you just boot them?
October 7th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Oy Vey! Do you have any idea how many subscribers I have?! To do what you’re asking would require checking thousands of valid web sites with valid e-mail addresses.
Besides, they’ve all been booted once before under real names and e-mail address and will just show up again under pseudo names. While I do cross check names with web site addresses, they’ve all found legitimate web sites and names to use, but they forward it to another e-mail I can’t check so they can get on the list.
If they want it bad enough (which apparently they do) they’ll find a way to subscribe.
It’s not that we have anything to hide, but it would be nice if they would uphold the same boundaries and rules with us that they do with the rest of the industry.