Jamie Biesiada
Do you have a specialty?
If the answer is no, finding one should be a strong consideration. Specializing in a particular area of travel not only helps an advisor develop expertise and, in turn, sell better, but it's often a lucrative path.
Virtuoso recently released some statistics on its Communities that illustrate the earnings potential that specialization carries.
Communities are groups of advisors and supplier partners that focus on specific niches. In recent years, Virtuoso has worked to expand the number of Communities it offers in order to serve more members. The groups have become an increasingly common offering among the consortia.
During Virtuoso's U.S. Forum event last month, Cory Hagopian, senior vice president of global member and partner sales, illustrated how Communities (and specialization) help sales.
The advisors that are members of Virtuoso's Ultraluxe Community sell a whopping 227% more than other Virtuoso advisors.
Advisors in other Communities are also outpacing their peers. Members of the Cruise Community sell 178% more; the Family and Celebration Community, 167% more; and the Adventure Community, 148% more.
I recently interviewed an advisor who based his entire business around one product: Sandals and Beaches Resorts.
Addison Jaynes is the owner of Reliant Destinations in Dallas. With a small team operating out of Jamaica, he sells millions annually of just Sandals and Beaches. He drives leads through his YouTube channel "Mr TraveLux." His content engages potential customers, who often convert into clients.
What do advisors specialize in?
So, what are advisors specializing in? It's a question Travel Weekly's Travel Industry Survey tracks each year.
The most popular specialization is family travel. The survey each year asks travel agency owners and managers to rank the top five specialties they focus on; 90% of respondents to last year's survey put family travel in their top five.
Exclusive or high-end luxury travel was second, with 74% of respondents listing it in their top five, followed by adventure travel (61%).
Populating the middle of the list were affinity groups (47%), theme parks (39%), wellness travel/spa (35%), culinary travel (32%) and wedding packages/arrangements (31%).
At the bottom of the list were corporate travel (15%), eco, sports and sporting events, meetings and incentives (all sitting at 12%) and special-needs travel (8%).
For advisors without a specialty, those bottom categories are a great place to look for inspiration -- there's clearly room to excel in those fields.