PTWC#9-Review, Polish, Publish
Why charging a travel agent fee will make your clients love you and MORE — really!
Hello travel agent. Are you feeling disrepair and even unloved?
You work hard on quotes for your prospects! Yet, sometimes all you hear is silence.
Is your self-esteem taking a nose-dive?
Didn’t hear back? Have you nothing to show for your hard work except rejection and disgust?
Yup, another lost prospect with no money to show for your hard work. Maybe next time! How long can this frustration go on?
Don’t worry, I’ve been there myself and found a way out of this despair!
You can feel respected and even loved by your prospects, clients, and even suppliers.
The solution is charging a fee. Charge a fee and you WILL receive several benefits!
1. Your prospects are less likely to ghost you
You don’t want to get stood up or ghosted by a new prospect. Getting love from your prospects beats getting ghosted. Charging fees can get rid of the ghosts.
With fees, you’re getting into a more professional relationship with prospects. They’re less likely to ghost you as they’ve got their money in the game.
Are you going to ghost a lawyer once you turn over your cold hard cash for their retainer fee? Now, the same applies to you — my hard-working travel agent!
2. You’ll respect yourself even more
Yes, I’ve been there — you do the itinerary planning work for your shiny new prospect. Present your brilliant proposal, and poof your shiny new prospect is dust in the wind.
Your self-respect takes a hit! You did this work and no response! Imagine you charged a fee before starting work. Would your self-respect be more intact?
Now that you’ve got your cash coming, does it feel as bad getting stood up? I bet your self-respect is heading up the charts right about now.
3. You’ll earn more money and sooner in the travel process
We’ve all been through the long quote-to-cash cycle in our industry. With a fee, imagine how great you’ll feel with some money on the way.
Money’s coming in BEFORE you start working. The cash comes into the station before you jump on the research train.
In 2019, I earned 13% of my total revenue from fees. In each case, the planning fee arrived long before a commission check.
4. You’ll look more professional and less like the rest of the pack
Do you to stand out among travel agents? If you charge fees, you’ll stand out as “different.” New prospects may perceive you as better!
Most travel agents don’t charge fees. By charging fees, you differentiate yourself from the get-go! Prospects will want to know why you charge a fee.
Be like the lawyer in the first point in this post! Who would you go to for legal advice, the lawyer who charges a fee or the “free lawyer?”
5. Your suppliers will take your custom quote requests more seriously
Do you contact suppliers to get quotes for custom European itineraries? African Safaris? They’ll respond better when you tell them you charged your lead client a fee.
Charging your prospect a fee signals your respect for the suppliers’ time and inventory. Demonstrating respect for your supplier may bump your request to the top.
From personal experience, suppliers take me more seriously when I tell them I’ve charged a planning fee upfront. Now, your fee can prove the same for your custom quote!
6. You’ll qualify prospects better and faster
You get a call or email from a new prospect — hooray! Do you jump right into preparing a quote? How do you qualify them? (It’s partly in your fee.)
Qualifying your prospects with a fee means using your time more productively. Charging fees helps you drop those time sucking tire-kickers. No fee, no quote!
When a prospect is onboard with your fee, they’re more likely to book with you! Your fee gets prospects aboard as customers quicker when they board the fee train.
7. Your customers will love and respect you even more
Do you want respect from new prospects? Do you generally have respectful relationships with your doctor? dentist? lawyer? Think about it!
Charging a fee will make your clients feel like they’re in a more professional relationship with you. Deliver more than they expect and they’ll love you.
I introduce my fee in the very first call with a prospect. The stage is set for collecting the fee before starting the project. Get paid your fees and let your new clients love you!
Convinced that fees will make you feel the love?
It’s time for you to feel the love.
YOU can do this!
Imagine yourself charging fees! YES, it might be challenging to start charging.
BUT, what will it feel like to say goodbye to despair and say hello to love from your clients?
Imagine your self-esteem starting to sky rocket.
No response from your prospect? The silence won’t feel nearly as bad as you’ve got money headed straight into your bank account.
You can DO this! Go charge your fee and get the love and respect YOU really deserve!
