Establishing Yourself as a Group Leader
Instead of searching far and wide for a group leader, look in the mirror and meet the best in the business – you! Whether or not your new to group travel, establishing yourself as a group leader is a powerful way in which to build integrity, skill sets, experience, followers, and profits.
Don’t you love to travel? Don’t you love helping people? Is that what you signed up for? Since you tell us the answers are yes…we must assume these are the top reasons why you picked this responsibility in the first place. People trust you to lead. You keep coaching them where to go next and start inviting them to come with you! It’s just that simple. And TravelKatz is here to help your group grow.
Whether you are a church group, hobby group, sport group, card group, or work group…Here are some strategies for growing your homegrown groups:
Sell What You Know: Having had previous experience at a destination or with a supplier brand instills confidence and further builds your reputation. Talking about your times at a destination, on a cruise or at a resort will help you seal the deal and deliver a wondrous experience to your family and friends. Do you have the gift of talking up a destination? Remember when you went there (?), how excited you were when you got back home? When you convey those thoughts to others – they are bound to want to experience it, too.
Chart New Territory: What’s on your bucket list of places to go or supplier brands to experience? Don’t be shy
about telling your group that you’ve never been to the destination you have selected. Leverage it! Express how excited you are to experience it and why. People will love your honesty and they will feel confident to follow your agenda/itinerary. TravelKatz uses only those suppliers with which we have solid relationships. No worries.
Make Past Travelers Your VIPs: Those who have traveled with you before are your best opportunities. They know you and trust you. One day before you open up for bookings, invite your VIPs to an early booking party. Giving them exclusivity, a specially designated day and best availability; the rewards of a pay-it-forward will surprise you and the group. They will appreciate you thinking of them first.
Create an Annual Group: Bringing a new set of people together who have similar interests in traveling will surely create new friendships. When TravelKatz puts together a new trip/destination we bring together a variety of friends, family, colleagues, and travelers who have never met before. Now, they are friends! We are confident that your group will grow just like that every year. Who knows…maybe a new romance will blossom…
Make it a Fund-Raising Event: If your organization is subject to fund raising, this is a great way to generate money. You can invite prospective members to join your organization by planning a trip for them at which time they would join, or you can create a trip exclusively for your members and add a monetary amount to their cost – thus adding funds to the organization. Either way is a win-win for your organization.
Working with Your Work Group: A seminar at sea is a great way to combine work with pleasure. Of course, the work comes first then the family can have the pleasure in the afternoons. A cruise is one of the best ways to accomplish this type of group travel. There is plenty of meeting space and plenty of activities for the family while you are in those meetings. Then devote the afternoons to family fun. Evenings can be just as special.
TravelKatz can help you accomplish any one of these scenarios. Group Travel Made Easy is the title of our book and is our specialty. We love helping groups get off the ground. Call us at 352-277-7300 or email us at [email protected] for more information or to help you with suggestions and plans.
