The beginning of a new year is a great time to reflect on the progress you’ve made in your business over the past 12 months. Perhaps you’ve been in the travel industry for many years or it’s a new found profession for you and you’re just learning the ropes. Either way, reflecting on where you are with your business and where you want to go will help you plan for success. We’ve all made New Year’s resolutions that were left unfulfilled. How can you make and fulfill a resolution to grow your business and enjoy more success? Learn from these 5 tips that have helped many travel professionals to take their business to the next level.

Promote Your Business Often

Are you the face of your travel business? How do others in the community recognize you? Give some thought to how you can become more of a known travel expert in your local community. Successful travel professionals are “always on” when it comes to promoting their business. Some travel agents have even found success with asking their local newspaper or magazine if they could write a travel tips column. By looking for ways to establish yourself in your local community as an expert and advisor for all things travel you will surely increase your client base as well as your bookings!

Infiltrate Your Existing Market

Do you have a campaign in place to incentivize your current clients to tell their family and friends about you? One of the easiest ways to grow your client base is to ask your current clients for referrals. Providing great service and just assuming that your clients are spreading the word isn’t going to do much to grow your business. You have to actively ask for referrals. After every satisfied customers trip, simply ask if he or she knows anyone else that would benefit from your services. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the response that ensues by simply asking for a referral.

Broaden Your Market Reach

There are several ways of growing your business to make your services available to more customers without leaving your office. Extending your reach through the online marketplace is one such way. Take advantage of having a professional looking website that is search engine-optimized so more people can find out about you. Agent Studio does the work for you, all for around the price of a cup of coffee a day. Utilize the tools on the Agent Studio platform to broaden your reach on the web. In the first quarter of this year, Agent Studio will be launching its comprehensive marketing platform to help you engage more with current customers as well as prospects.

Having a booking engine on your website is also a no-brainer. By incorporating the HotelRewards booking engine into their websites, many travel agents make extra money without having to do a thing.

Always Be Open-Minded

After Michelangelo completed the Sistine Chapel ceiling he said, “If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t have seemed so wonderful at all… I am still learning.” We can follow that same attitude and always be open for opportunities to learn and grow, realizing that it takes hard work! No matter how long you’ve been in the business, looking for ways to learn and improve will only help your business grow. Learn how to blog, better utilize social media, or explore a destination of interest to many of your clients. Taking a class or certification course is another way to deepen your knowledge and add credibility to your resume. Travel Agent Academy offers an array of certification courses designed to help you become a certified travel expert in various areas. Agent Studio, offers training courses to help you utilize the Internet to grow your business. Why not use some downtime to do something that will benefit yourself, your clients, and your business?

Plan for Success Every Week

Planning only once a year is not a winning strategy for success. Giving only a one-shot effort is the number-one reason why most New Year’s resolutions don’t happen. There has to be a follow-through to your planning. Many travel agents find that when they set aside time each week to plan, they are more focused, less stressed and, in turn, see better results. Making small reachable goals each week is far less overwhelming than planning for a giant milestone once a year. Analyze what you can do for your business to help make a difference each and every week. One such way is by making a schedule and game plan to stay in touch with your clients and let them know you’re thinking of them. This series of small daily efforts adds up to a big difference at the end of the year!