Tier One Travel — website woes | Travel Research Online

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Tier One Travel — website woes

Tier One Travel is getting a new web site. The good news is that I don’t have to do any of the work to make it happen! It’s one of the benefits of being an independent consultant. All I have to do is write my bio and upload a headshot. Simple right? That’s where the bad news comes in. Well, maybe not bad, but definitely not as simple as I thought.

Writing my bio turned out to be much tougher than I thought. With so many articles online to help, I jumped into the internet and ended up spending way too much time reading instead of writing.

The first issue I faced was grappling with what I am. Should be simple enough, right? I’ve been in the industry since we were called travel agents (and flight attendants were called stewardesses). And I’m perfectly fine with this. But we’re now constantly being told that we need to re-label ourselves as counselors, advisers, consultants or even gurus. My clients seem happy enough to call me their travel agent; and as the saying goes, they can call me whatever they like as long as they call me.

My next issue was trying to figure out what to say, and exactly how much to say. You want people to be confident that you can fulfill their travel dreams; but not so wordy that they tune out and don’t bother reading to the end. Do you list all the places you’ve been and the cruise ships you’ve sailed? All of your certifications? Or just the important ones? Does listing all of this mean you spend more time out of the office than in? Clients work with us because they like us.

And don’t get me started on the headshot. Most of us don’t like pictures of ourselves. It’s tough to find the right one that portrays the right balance of professionalism and personality. We are a fun industry, so a typical corporate “boardroom” headshot is probably not going to work. But then again, I can’t use one of me doing shots at Carlos N Charlie’s either.

But throughout this month I’ve learned that sometimes I overthink things. My profile isn’t cast in stone and changes can be made. Onward!

Melanie Hersom is an independent consultant with Tier One Travel in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She believes in providing Personalized Vacations and Exotic Adventures. Melanie loves spending time with her granddaughter and looks forward the birth of two more grandchildren this year. “I don’t want to go anywhere twice until I’ve been everywhere once.”

 

 

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