Barry Mayo talks home-based: “It’s the satisfaction of being in control of your time”

Barry Mayo talks home-based: “It’s the satisfaction of being in control of your time”

In case you missed it, TravelManagers has a pretty blockbuster year in 2019.

Not only did the company achieve twelve consecutive months of record sales, reached a milestone of 550 personal travel managers (PTMs) and launched individual PTM websites, it also put a lot of time and effort into the personal growth and development of its members.

PTM's at their annual conference in Hawaii

PTM’s at their annual conference in Hawaii

To find out how they did it and see what they’ve got planned for 2019 we sat down with TravelManager’s chairman, Barry Mayo to bring you this exclusive Q&A.

Travel Weekly: 12 consecutive months of record sales is quite an accomplishment. What do you think drove this astronomical growth?

Barry Mayo: The buoyant economy, growth in a wide range of product areas and competitive pricing encouraging Australians to travel have been a factor, however, it’s our client’s complete confidence in their personal travel manager (PTM) we attribute to our success.

Their experience, expertise and ability to offer competitively priced products and services, customised itineraries tailored specifically for their individual client needs and Peace of Mind guarantee for security of client funds, is what sets a PTM apart from other travel advisors.

TW: TravelManagers also hit the 550 mark in 2018, is this indicative of more agents making the switch from traditional to home-based? What do you think pushes them to that choice?

BM: For many of TravelManagers’ PTMs it’s the realisation that you can have a work-life balance, still earn significant income and provide clients with exceptional personal service.

It’s the satisfaction of being in control of your time, how you use that time, what your priorities are and how much you want to earn.

It’s the growing recognition and satisfaction of working for yourself as opposed to being an employee (whether you are an experienced travel consultant or an agency manager) combined with the flexibility to manage your own time in an environment of your choosing that allows you to see clients when it suits them and give them the level of service they deserve.

TW: There was a big focus on investing in people and skills in 2018, do you think this has paid off?

BM: Absolutely. Our focus on people and skills is all about being a home-based specialist and delivering the best support and value to our TravelManagers’ PTMs.

This can be challenging with 550 remote-based business units across a wide-spread and diverse geographic area but our investment in people continues to pay off having contributed to organic growth of 12.5 per cent last year for those PTMs were trading as part of TravelManagers for the full 12 months in both 2017 and 2018.

TW: What’s on the TravelManagers agenda for 2019? What’s the main focus?

BM: We will continue our focus on the individual needs of our PTMs and as their unique business partner, will continue to find ways to add value to each of their businesses.

This includes further development of internal processes and enhancement of systems that will enable PTMs to work ‘smarter’ not ‘harder’ thereby improving their productivity potential and increase their opportunity for business development.

There will also be a focus on additional state-based workshops to guide PTMs in maximising their use of marketing tools and the effective execution of marketing campaign activity.

Further to this, there will be additional specialist corporate training providing best practice examples to assist SME/Corporate PTMs and new PTMs wanting to maximise their opportunities in this market segment. From experience, we know that if our PTMs are successful, TravelManagers the brand, will also continue being successful.

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