The travel professionals I most admire are brave individuals. Each time they prepare an itinerary, they do so knowing their clients are searching and researching alongside, seeking to uncover a program a few dollars cheaper. With each recommendation, the travel professional puts themselves on the line. Every marketing effort is launched in an environment where the death of the travel professional has taken on an almost mythological scale.
Be brave in your travel practice. Fear, and its little buddy Worry, stand in the way of your success. Humans worry about things that have not, and may not ever, come to pass. You will find fear and worry to be of little use to you in your travel planning practice.
Will I look bad making my presentation? What if the new client says “no” to my proposal? Will the economy fail? What if there is another terrorist attack? As others have pointed out, it is unfortunate that elements of the press and government feed a constant stream of gloomy news to us daily. But the possibility of bad news often paralyzes us, making our marketing efforts seem small and ineffective.
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Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” How many times do we fail to achieve a small advance because fear of failure stops us? We don’t ask for the referral or at an opportune moment we don’t mention that we are a travel consultant. How many times have you not moved ahead on a “good idea” only to see someone else take advantage of it at a later time?
Fear masquerades in different disguises to appear more acceptable. Fear can convince you that the occasion is not right, or that the timing is bad, or that a better opportunity will come along. Fear will tell you that you might look bad or that you are being too aggressive or that you don’t have enough experience to ask for the business. Any one of these things may at any given time be true. Obtaining business is a matter of luck and timing, skill and practice. The key is to determine these matters rationally. When you let fear play traffic cop for your instinct, the wrong guy is in charge.
Remember this: fear is purely psychological. Worry does not exist except in your head. Action is the prescription for fear. Might bad things happen? Certainly. Can you do anything about it? Possibly. The one thing you can absolutely do is keep moving forward. Giving in to fear is the worst possible thing you can do. Get up, move, put yourself into play. Take the chance. Bravery isn’t the absence of fear, but the willingness to move ahead despite your fears.
