Advertising - what is the best investment

What it best advertising for a homebased agent? 

First nothing in the world will be better than word of mouth and a happy customer.  It doesn't matter what you spend in advertising, word of mouth is key in this business.  You must take care of your customers and be good at customer service.  If you ignore complaints, don't return phone calls or emails, don't care about someone after they give you their money - then you are going to not make it in this field period.

Can you advertise on a small budget?  Absolutely.

Here are some ideas:

Get a really nice business card - no they don't have to cost a fortune.. some places to try are:
www.printsmadeeasy.com  www.vistaprint.com

Get that card out everywhere.  Get brochures and get your card on them.  Leave them anywhere you go for example waiting rooms.. people love to look at brochures while waiting someplace like dr, dentist, auto shop, etc..

Talk to people.  Again word of mouth is so important.  Tell people what you.  Get a fun shirt.  I have one that says "work sucks, I am going on a cruise" that I wear.  It is a conversation starter.  Always have a card in a pocket or easily accessible in your wallet or purse. 

Hang flyers on bulletin boards along with a couple cards.

People need to see your name about 10 times before they will recongize it.

Call local media like the newspaper and find out about getting featured in an article. 

You can do it.  I started my business with a very, very small budget so it is very doable!

Check your email!

If you are going to offer email for your clients to reach you, be absolutely sure you check your email regularly.  This is a huge mistake so many businesses are making.  If you aren't someone who checks email, then don't put it on your website, business cards or anywhere someone can find it and email you.  It makes you look unprofessional as well as makes the client feel you could care less about their business.

If you are going to be away from email for awhile, set up an auto-responder letting people know this.  It is always easy to do so if you don't know how- contact your internet provider or email provider to find out how.

Smart phones now allow you to check your email quickly and get back to your clients right away.  

I don't know how many businesses I have emailed who never replied.  One business got back to me about a month after I sent her an email and she lost my business because I went with a company who replied to me right away.

Do you have competitors in your area?  Well I bet 1/2 of them will not reply to an email so if you reply quickly you are already ahead of them!

Jennifer Dugan

Dugans Travels is expanding

Who would have thought 15 years ago when I started Dugan's Travels to be where we are today.

We just announced our new management team.  I remember being so alone when I first started and now I have some great people I can depend on.  When I first started this business I had no clue what I was doing.  I still learn alot each day but to imagine where it started to where it is today is pretty amazing.

I was speaking with another small business owner the other day and we were discussing how hard it is to get information to help start a business.  This is why I do enjoy doing what I do because we do help people get started in the business.  We have done the struggling so that we can help others.

When I started there weren't too many homebased travel agents yet.  Now it is so common that it is almost uncommon to hear about a store front agency.  That is not to say that storefront agencies are not needed because this business is big enough for all types of travel agencies.  Anyone saying that travel is dead must not know about our agents who are booking more than ever it seems.

Here is a great announcement in case you haven't already seen it.

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/dugans-travels-expands-travel-host-agency-with-new-management-team-298877.php

Jennifer