It was a couple of months into her business and new franchise owner Sue was getting frustrated…
Despite her hard work, she simply wasn’t seeing the success that others from her training group were. They’d all started making bookings right away while she was yet to make a single sale.
Now, a year into her franchise, Sue’s business has had a dramatic evolution.
She’s made over £300,000 in sales already in 2022, with absolutely no signs of slowing down.
The turnaround is dramatic – she caught up with our very own Dave Pope to tell us exactly how she did it.
Everyone’s business journey is unique to them
Joining a successful franchise means 3 key things.
- You know the business model already works;
- There’s demand for what you’ll be offering people and…
- It takes nowhere near the time and effort needed to set up your own brand from scratch.
It’s why so many people prefer to franchise rather than strike out alone.
But that doesn’t mean every franchisee’s experience or journey will be the same.
Many of our new consultants make their first booking the day they finish training and then never look back. (Catch up with Ami’s interview to learn how she did over £75k of bookings in her first 12 days.)
Sue’s story was very different.
She didn’t make bookings immediately. In fact, it took a couple of months for her to even make her first sale – a winter break to the Canary islands.
Crucially, Sue demonstrated some core attributes you need for a business owner – resilience and determination.
Instead of being defeatist, Sue looked at herself and wondered how she could do things differently – with support from our team.
Her advice is to try and be a bit better every day:
“Just think. Can I do things a bit better this time? Is there anything I can do that’s maybe a bit more creative? If you can improve a little bit each day, it will be a massive transformation over time for your business.”
Sue took advantage of the support and education provided
Although Sue’s business was building slowly and steadily after that first booking, she wanted things to move much faster.
The turning point came when she attended one of our free ongoing education sessions.
We hosted a free digital marketing masterclass on how to use Facebook the way the world’s top ad agencies do, but at minimal cost.
And it totally unlocked Sue’s business.
Although most franchisees don’t need to rely on marketing, suddenly Sue had Facebook creating 70% of her bookings – mostly from people she’d never met.
One lead has even turned into over £108k of business so far.
“It (the free masterclass) was brilliant. And then I experimented with different styles of ads. It’s brought in some brilliant bookings. One customer didn’t know me – we developed a relationship and they initially booked a £38k holiday in the Maldives for March. Then they made a repeat booking in December for £70K.”
Sue’s advice is to find out what works for you – and then do more of it.
Adding value creates repeat bookings
A key tip from Sue’s interview is that – as a personal travel consultant – you are there to add value, not necessarily discount prices.
Sue explains that she doesn’t offer discounts. Instead she goes out of her way to make sure customers have the best experience and holiday for them.
Customers agree:
“Sue is very knowledgeable (and) a great listener. No wonder she delivered even more than we expected; she considered our budget, our preference for travel options, final destinations, type of accommodation and more. The booking process was very straightforward as well. We’ll definitely raise a drink to her while we’re in the Maldives!”
Sue’s customer Katie offered her review
Other recent examples include taking care of issues directly with the resort for a passenger who was being delayed, as well as organising extras such as insurance and airport passes.
Sue also creates great additions to trips that bring the value of her service to life.
One recent customer is heading away on a 14 day family holiday to Disneyland. Sue’s arranged for her to get a complimentary pampering session in Miami after being in parent-mode for 2 weeks solid.
You won’t get that kind of thoughtfulness by booking online.
Help is always available
In Sue’s chat with Dave, you’ll hear how she’s leveraged all the support that’s available to help her grow her business so successfully.
There are ongoing events you can attend both online and offline that all contribute to scaling up your business – such as the digital marketing masterclass she attended.
And there’s also one-to-one help available to you every day.
Sue has a weekly Zoom meeting (at her request) with her Partnership Manager, where they bounce ideas off each other about what will help her business continue to grow.
Her advice to anyone worried about not making a quick start is not to panic.
“There are plenty of people in the business who are full of ideas and there to help. Everybody’s journey will be completely different; but there’ll be something that will just click for you.”
