The old ‘busy in January, dead in December’ sales cycle is no longer

TravelMole regular column by home working travel agent Barbara Charlton (Travel Counsellors).

At this time of year it’s usually quiet in the outside world of travel (or so I notice when I am out shopping for dresses at the weekends).

All the high street agency staff are sitting around twiddling their fingers and counting the hours until they can shut up shop and trudge home through the wind and rain.

Thankfully, it’s just not like that for me anymore. I have been ‘training’ my customers that the masses book after Christmas so it’s better to get their holidays sorted before the January madness – especially if they are going long haul as the scheduled seats fill up fast. 

I think that the old ‘busy in January’ and ‘dead in December’ seems to have gone out of the window, I just seem to be busy most months – except for August when all my clients are already away – which makes it an ideal time for me to have my hols too!

Added to that, more and more of my clients are becoming old romantics – or perhaps they just don’t have the time to go shopping in the conventional way and finding a normal present for their loved ones, and they are buying ‘surprise’ holidays to give to their wives for Christmas.

Now who am I to complain? I just wish my husband would do that for me! Trouble is, who would he book it with?

I found out last week that I have won a place on a fam trip to Kenya with First Choice, and it includes a two-day safari, so I am very busy trying to get jabs organised and making sure that all my clients bookings are 100% and tickets are in for close departures.

Really looking forward to this fam – its my third this year, but they are SO important, as how else can I give first hand personal advice to my clients?

So I suppose when I get back from Kenya, the next thing to get sorted before Christmas is the clients’ Christmas cards. I have HUNDREDS to hand write, personalise and send.

None of that corporate fake signature for me! People have said why don’t I get the signature printed on to the cards? Well it would hardly be personal if I did that would it? But how nice for my clients to get a hand written, personalised card, how many high street agents and internet companies do that?

I have been on a diet for the last two weeks and have lost six pounds!! It’s only a few weeks to our annual conference and I STILL haven’t got anything to wear that doesn’t make me look like I am Ten Tonne Tessie in a tent!!!

Right, back to the stair stepping to get this SuperAgent, superslim for the conference – I live in hope – and if not I can always make a little trip to the M&S underwear department to see if they have any quick fixes!