Become a Home-Based Travel Agent
An Interview with
Joanie Ogg CTC MCC
Travel Counsellors

Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC
Senior Vice President Global Sales & Industry Relations
Travel Counsellors USA
Joanie.ogg@travelcounsellors.com
www.travelhomeworking.com

My wife Joanie has just recently left NACTA as the President and was looking for a new opportunity. After 12 years as President of NACTA, she wanted to take here career to the next level. She joined Travel Counsellors the day after her last day with NACTA and hasn't looked back yet. I thought you might be interested in this company, so I cornered Joanie for a couple of questions.

Joanie, I know you have a long list of reasons why agents should look to Travel Counsellors as their host partner. However, if you had to give me just three top reasons why, what would those be?

1.   Travel Counsellors is the largest host agency in the world with sales of over one half of a billion dollars. The family of Travel Counsellors is now over 900 professional franchise owners in over 7 countries. Our technology is simply un-matched! Our intranet and all that lives within simply will astound you. The marketing support is phenomenal. Travel Counsellors also has the ability to communicate globally 24-hours a day by television, communicator and by phone free of charge and that is just the tip of the iceberg!

2.   The service commitment to our Travel Counsellors and their customers is the core of our ethos. Empowering the individual Travel Counsellor and serving the needs of the customers is one of the many reasons why Travel Counsellors has been successful globally and will continue to lead the way in service and support here in the US. I can honestly say I have never seen any program that even comes close to offering the kind of professional support and commitment to the success of the individual Travel Counsellors as this company does. We do not compete with our Travel Counsellors by also being a travel agency, instead we support our counsellors with a team of over 200 full-time employees. The typical support is 1 full time staff member to every five travel counsellors. It is unrivaled support.

3.   Phenix, our dynamic packaging tool which has been successfully used by our counsellors for the last few years, enables agents to focus their sales efforts on higher profits. They have the ability with this powerful tool to determine their own mark-up. The concern about how much commission and agent might receive from a supplier becomes instead an opportunity to control their profit potential. I truly believe this will be the future of travel sales in the coming years and Travel Counsellors is already there. The company is innovative and on the cutting edge in so many ways.

What do you look for in a prospective Travel Counsellor?

Travel Counsellors does have a different focus then most host agency programs. This was no small part of why I wanted to be part of the company. I know without a doubt that their successful model is the perfect choice for so many agents I have met over my years with NACTA. I wanted to be able to take this company and shout its praises here in the US and low and behold, here I am doing just that!

We look for experienced travel professionals at Travel Counsellors. We know the host agency business is a developed business here in the North America market and we also understand that we have a formula for success in the host agency environment. We believe our philosophy translates well in any country because the goal is always the same – empowering the individual Travel Counsellor and serving the needs of our customers. We often ask interested agents these questions:

Do you currently work as a home-based travel agent or are you ready to take your book of business home?

Are you a full time seller of travel, planning to dedicate at least 30 hours a week to selling travel?

Do you sell at least $150,000 a year in travel products?

Do you believe that providing the ultimate in customer service can grow your business and expand your personal income?

Do you want to be a part of the world's leading host agency and share your professional experience with fellow Travel Counsellors around the globe?

We are looking for professionals with the same passion for service to their clients that we offer to our counsellors. It is a winning combination.

You and I have been married for more then 25 years now and I think I know you pretty well. You kept telling me after your visits to the office in the UK and in NJ that you had a real sense of belonging and that you felt a similar family atmosphere at Travel Counsellors similar to the one you loved about the NACTA members. When you came home and told me of your decision to take a position with Travel Counsellors, you said “It just feels right”. Is that something you can elaborate on?

Well of course my favorite adage ‘Go with your gut” has always had a great deal to do with my decisions, as you know only too well. However, it usually is right, thank goodness.

When an agent joins Travel Counsellors they really join a large family or what we refer to as a global community of over 900 experienced home based travel professionals. More than 200 support staff are on hand to see that the agents have every means by which to succeed in their travel business. They believe (as I do) that the travel business is a service-driven industry, where customers become your friends and you link by referral to more customers. Everyday the Travel Counsellors support staff have one focus: your success. The culture of team spirit and genuine caring is a strong pillar in our organization and is evident in everything that we do.

With an incredible support system in place, you are free to spend more time doing what you do best – exceeding customers’ expectations. Along the way you will learn from Travel Counsellors all over the world, share experiences on the live chat board and stay ahead of the competition with industry-leading technology.