THETRADESHOW e tšepisa matsatsi a 3 a tletseng thuto bakeng sa litsebi tsa maeto

The fourth annual THETRADESHOW (TTS) will be held in Las Vegas September 13-15 this year with three education-packed days of seminars on a wide range of topics. With something for everyone, this travel trade show will provide a broad selection of educational sessions to help agents enhance their areas of expertise and capture more sales opportunities. Staying current and up to speed on their industry is something every professional should focus on; travel professionals are no different. With these seminars, you will be able to focus on continuing your education in order to maintain the title of travel authority and stay on top of industry developments in a way that will benefit your business.

One topic that is on everyone’s agenda to learn more about is technology. With new trends such as Facebook and Twitter, it is easy to get overwhelmed. With seminars such as “Mastering Social Networks and Twitter” and “Your Travel Business,” you will be able to learn what Twitter is and how it can help find new customers and sell more travel. Agents will learn about hashtags, search options, desktop clients, mobile clients, and how to tie their account to other social media networks like Facebook, Plaxo, and LinkedIn. The “Blogging for Business” seminar will teach you what a blog is, how to create one, the kind of articles to write, how to build and maintain an audience, and even how to earn some extra income using a blog. Most importantly, you will learn to cover the basics from email to customer relationship management. You will enhance your business with effective emails that get clients and colleagues to read your messages, reply to requests and hear the best practices of customer relationship management using Web-based software to manage contact information and activities.

Are you a home-based agent or thinking about becoming one? No problem! TTS has the perfect seminars to help you grow your business right from your living room. If you attend “Thrive as a Home-based Agent,” you will learn fun and innovative marketing skills, pros and cons of taking a business home for brick-and-mortar agencies, 30-second marketing, how to build a sales force of 30 for under US$500 per year, what’s new regarding supplier acceptance of ID codes, effective CRM tools for home-based agents, business management skills, and much more. Everyone needs to know how to present their business, so check out “Marvelous Marketing” presented by NACTA president Scott Koepf, CTC, MCC, and through an interactive process, you will discover the vision for your business, your brand and position in themarketplace, your goals, and the strategies and tactics to reach them. There is also the “Ultimate Sales Seminar” where you can learn specific tools to help you sell more and a process and sales style that can be personalized to each individual. Finally, you cannot miss “The Top Ten Decisions and Actions that Home Based and Independent Agents Need for Success,” also presented by NACTA president Scott Koepf, CTC, where you will learn how to stay successful in this market.

This year, the National Business Travel Association will be hosting the “Fundamentals of Business Travel Management” seminar where you will learn how components of managed travel intersect with required competencies and skill sets needed in business travel management. Participants will learn to maximize cost containment, improve efficiency, and create a managed travel culture in a company. “Learning How to Grow Your Business by Effectively Selling Yourself” will be an essential seminar where you will learn a proven method to grow your business by implementing five easy-to-follow steps. Other marketing seminars will be featured teaching young professionals and travel professionals of all ages how to sell their business and even become comfortable charging fees for the first time.

You can’t miss this chance to earn up to 40 CLIA credits with the cruise seminars at THETRADESHOW this year. As you know, selling cruises is a large part of the travel industry, so everyone wants to make sure they know how to “Create a Cruise Marketing Plan.” This seminar will identify the essential components in a successful, yet simple, marketing plan and how to apply them, and you can earn 15 credits toward ACC, MCC, ECC, and ECCS certification requirements. CLIA will be hosting “Local Public Relations Techniques: How to Maximize Your Agency’s Visibility” seminar (15 credits) where agents will learn how to become a “star” in the cruise-selling business by increasing their visibility. Other topics such as the “Psychology of Selling” (15 credits) and “Who Are You? An Exploration of Your Abilities, Skills and Strengths” (15 credits) will enhance your ability to uncover hidden client needs, apply quality service, reinforce client loyalty, and customize your sales techniques to different types of cruisers. You will also be able to learn more about yourself with a series of exercises that will assess your professional skills and provide insights on how to excel. Something every businessman or woman will benefit from is the “Better Listening Skills for Better Business” seminar (10 credits toward ACC and MCC certification requirements) where you will find out what behaviors to avoid in order to protect your ability to concentrate. You will learn dozens of proven, practical strategies to reinforce your ability to recall, pay attention, and really listen.

This year, THETRADESHOW will be hosting a few destination seminars. Learn about a new destination to add value to your services as an agent. “India – Its More than Incredible, It’s Rewarding As Well,” hosted by India Tourism, will not only show you some of what India has to offer but also show you how India can be a truly profitable and rewarding destination to sell. Next on the list is “Travel to Cuba – What is Legal and What is Not Legal?” hosted by Ya’lla Tours USA, where you will learn what United States law currently allows with regard to travel to Cuba, what it means to be licensed to travel to Cuba, the different types of licenses, and much more. Ya’llas new Humanitarian DVD will be shown at the seminar and will be distributed free to all participants.

For more information on THETRADESHOW, please call 1.866.870.9333 or visit THETRADESHOW.org to stay up to date on the new educational opportunities as they are added in the coming weeks before the show.