and make the difference between mastery and
merely being an agent.
5. Record the details. Once I saw an agent
record every aspect of a fam trip on video. She
videoed hotel room numbers and the rooms’
interior details, narrating the video with her
impressions, including details such as room
location and view, plus interviews with the hotel
sales manager to get his take on the uniqueness of
the room. This gave her a record of the features
that differentiated each hotel room. These nuances
may constitute the critical details that make or
break a client’s trip.
6. Bring business cards. In most of the world,
the business card is a critical relationship builder
and contact management tool, so make sure your
agents bring plenty of cards with them on fams. On
the receiving end, those cards communicate a
strong message: “I am with XYZ Travel, and we
plan to sell this destination, so we want to know it
inside and out. We want your support and referrals,
and we want to work with you for years to come.”
7. Use your people skills. For many travelers,
the most memorable times in a destination are
exchanges with locals and shared laughs. Agents
on fams should go out of their way to engage with
the locals, as this is key to understanding the
ambience, feel and culture of a place. Then agents
can share their impressions –– and their stories ––
with clients. Sometimes these alone will sell a trip.
8. Familiarize, then incentivize. While many
agencies use the promise of a fam trip to reward
agents who reach a certain sales threshold, not
many incentivize agents after they return from a
fam. Why not reward fam trip returnees for
increased sales of the destination or product they
experienced firsthand? This sends staff the
message that fam trips are an important business
tool
––
not
just
a
travel
perk.
Fam trips ha