Join Our Team: Step Four

It’s important you carefully read the financial investment you will make in your business. The last information you need to plan your new career as a travel specialist is planning your budget as an independent contractor. It's best to take time and make a plan before you start training, as it will help you tremendously in the long run with the success of your business!

First, let's discuss what you will need to choose on your own. These are costs that aren't pre-determined but actually decided by the level of investment you choose to make in the long-term health of your business.

Every new business has the same basic start-up costs:

• Training/Continuing Education
• Overhead/Operating Costs
• Promotions/Marketing

Training & Continuing Education for a Travel Professional comes about in two ways:

1. Training at home to learn all about the details of the resort, ship, and destination you're selling.
2. Training AT the actual resort, ship, or destination by participating in a FAM (Familiarization) trip.

Part of your initial training process is intensive online training in the specialty area you've chosen. Once you complete this, you are eligible to participate in one of our exclusive FAMs. You can imagine how important it is to immerse as much as possible. Advisors who sell the most and have the highest level of client satisfaction are also the ones who take those FAM opportunities regularly.

FAM participation costs vary according to location, how much food & entertainment is included, where you're flying from, etc. If you're frugal (like the owners of 3D are!), your typical land-based FAM trip will cost between $750 and $1250 for a short domestic trip but can increase exponentially for more extensive, longer, and international trips. 3D Travel hosts opportunities frequently in Central Florida, Southern California, at Caribbean island destinations & aboard cruise ships. Some FAMs aboard cruise ships are unique, with agents able to earn a free ride aboard some lines or a discount by training on others.

Another part of your continuing education is learning to both Market and Sell. Your initial training includes a course on sales and marketing, where you will learn how to get your name out there and how to close a sale. We don't sell something that doesn't indeed provide value to our potential clients. Integrity is a HUGE part of our company's foundation. You'll learn how to make a real difference in people's lives - including yours! Our national meeting, held every two years, is the advanced level of the same course and has proven to drive our team to new levels of excellence consistently. Our meeting includes all training, many meals, and invitations to evening events with our team and vendors. If you join our team, you'll be invited!

Overhead/Operating Costs can be extensive if you're going it alone but are very minimal for a 3D Travel Advisor. We managed to keep the entire team from incurring any overhead beyond the care and keeping of their computer, software, and phone for the first 12 years of our company, and even now, the most a low-selling agent is required to pay is $30 a month. Any 3D Travel team member selling regularly can lower their fees to as little as $1 a month. Fees lower to $20, then $10, then $1 a month as soon as commission is increased. These monthly fees cover:

1. An individual login to an outside customer relationship manager (CRM) our company uses to track bookings, reminders, and processes for each advisor. This system also provides our required PCI-compliant secure credit card authorization process.
2. We host pages and forms on our website with Client Retention Codes (Cookies) that will claim any potential client sent to any page on the website, helping advisors build their business one client, then one booking at a time.
3. A dedicated company email address of firstname.lastname@3DTravelCompany.com.
4. Membership in Travel Leaders Network, our consortia, provides specialty training, exclusive opportunities, and unique client amenities, such as onboard credits and hosted voyages.
5. Multiple "sellers of travel" and inroads to complete individual advisor memberships.
6. Our protected online community is where every member is encouraged, inspired, mentored, and provided opportunities.
7. A travel advisor hub where rank, growth, opportunities, and tools are provided and updated regularly.
8. The only other consistent overhead is (perhaps) purchasing business cards regularly. You'll be happy to know that coming into an established agency results in free flyers, brochures, and other promotional assets from vendors, which can help your bottom line!

What equipment will you need to run your day-to-day business from home?

• A dedicated computer - preferably a laptop if you will be traveling. Your computer should be at most 5 years old and be able to run the latest operating system.
• A dedicated phone line for your clientele and vendors with texting capabilities just means you need to have an outgoing voicemail on your existing phone to reflect your profession.
• Google, Facebook, and other online accounts
• A good and secure wifi connection

Promotions/Marketing needs to be in your budget! Our initial sales & marketing training will help you make a plan guaranteed for success! You'll have many choices for promoting yourself for free, but of course, you can sell more if you spend a little bit to get your name out there. Many agents will spend $10 to $50 here and there to boost an ad on Facebook or Instagram, man a booth to get their name out in their local community (costs vary), or pay a service $20 to $30 a month to send email blasts to their growing lists. Take time as you're waiting to get an offer and train to plan ahead how much you will spend on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis to promote. We provide many tools for your use for free, which helps keep costs down & build yourself up for minimal expenditure. Many team members start out spending nothing but their time. We recommend you bring as much of both to the table as you can to make yourself grow in sales faster, but never at the cost of your family or well-being. Balance is key!