Consistency is key according to successful franchisee Lisa Russell.
Travel Consultant Lisa Russell joined The Travel Franchise after deciding she wanted to run her own business. She was impressed with the Discovery site as it provided her with all the information that she needed. She says:
“You didn’t need it do anything or commit until you wanted to unlike other franchise opportunities also, it was open to those coming from a non- travel background.”
From the initial training at the head office in Bournemouth, (which she considered to be ‘interesting with lots to take in’) to the ongoing support from the franchise which has helped her ‘focus’, Lisa has worked hard to grow her business and built a solid foundation to achieve this.
She says:
“I know that you build a business from the ground up. If you don’t lay good foundations the house above will be shaky…the same applies for a business. I made sure early on that I established my own way of working to fit me, I networked my socks off and built a presence on social media.”
Consistency in her approach has been key. She continues:
“I’ve been consistent in service I offer for every booking whether it was £25 or £25,000. I would always ensure that I followed up with the customers with calls, cards and all the little extra touches that I do. This has all contributed to so many of my clients re-booking with me and or recommending me to their friends and colleagues.
All of these I believe have stood me in good stead for running a successful business. Several clients have commented that I remember every detail which is aided by using a diary, notes and of course – my memory.
I’ve also over the last 12 months built a reputation locally for my Florida knowledge, hosting events and this paid off with great bookings in the Disney dine period which landed me a great prize of a trip to Florida!”
Lisa has recently achieved £1 million in sales – a phenomenal achievement. How did she achieve this? Hard work was key, and this achievement is even more impressive as Lisa was battling ill health.
She says:
“Due to health reasons I had around four months where I was unable to dedicate as much time to the business as I would have liked. I think the only way to be successful is to put the work in and I’m not afraid of that, what I love is that my business can be slotted in around medical appointments.”
Despite achieving phenomenal sales, Lisa’s ambitious holds no bounds. She says:
“My current objectives are to sell £1 million worth of holidays within 1 year and to grow my Florida bookings. I decided to specialise in Florida 12 months ago, a year after joining. I decided that it was important to spend the first year building the foundations of the business before I specialised in a particular area, and that has worked well for me. “
As well as the financial rewards, Lisa has enjoyed the freedom and flexibility that running her own business has provided her with. She says that the best things about running her own business include:
“The flexibility, learning about so many places – my places to go list is huge! I would also say that getting to meet so many people is a huge advantage too. The best thing of all is receiving lovely messages from clients while they are travelling saying what a fabulous time, they are having…. It makes it all worthwhile!”
Would Lisa recommend The Travel Franchise?
“Yes, as the training and support you get to start your business from nothing is second to none and really thorough.
I think that the support of the franchise has contributed to my success and been especially good this year while I was forced to step out of the business for a period of time.
Don’t think- just do it as you are wasting valuable earning time!”
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