Convert your client base into a profitable asset

There is no doubting the tireless efforts of travel agents to give their clients the best possible experiences.

Many agents find themselves working in a high-pressure, commission-driven environment. You put in hours of unpaid overtime and suffer sleepless nights worrying about missing targets.

However, when it comes time to retire or move on, many agents are left struggling to sell their unique client base that they have been working hard to grow for years, and soon realise they lacked a succession plan.

This was the exact situation Joanne Warne found herself in 10 years ago – a home-based agent who was building a client base, but not a business and an asset.

It spurred Warne to take action and come up with a business model that rewarded her financially for all the hard work she had put in over the years; one that offered more variety in her day-to-day duties; one that could operate independently.

That is how Sister Act Travel was born.

The company is not massive one, according to Warne. “Rather, a small team of professionals who work well together,” she tells Travel Weekly.

Joanne Warne

And, after 10 successful years, Warne has franchised the business model to allow other home agents the opportunity and support to transition.

“We pride ourselves on growing sustainable, low-cost franchises by offering clients exceptional service, ” she says.

Working within the Sister Act Travel franchise brand, agents have the support of an experienced business owner in Warne to guide them towards becoming one too.

Those who join the Sister Act Travel family are provided with all the manuals, scripts, systems and procedures needed to focus on their business.

Franchisees also receive three full days of training with Warne, along with monthly follow-ups and quarterly catch-ups.

As a Sister Act Travel franchisee, you have the flexibility of working from home or in a retail office, and without the pressure of being driven by commissions and monthly sales targets, which sees many agents come unstuck.

Instead, the focus is on small business principles so you can grow your franchise, employ staff and take the additional steps to turn it into a valuable asset.

“Having worked for major travel companies, I felt irrelevant. Warne says. “Now, becoming self-employed, I am not only a travel agent, but a business owner.

“This business is now an asset – a business I generate an income from and can build to eventually sell and enjoy a larger pay day.

“Taking my skills as a travel agent and merging them to represent my own business has been the best decision yet. I really enjoy the variety of my role.”

Sister Act Travel values the importance of fostering sustainable, authentic, meaningful relationships with clients. Warne says this type of organic growth is not only cost-effective, but also leads to better-quality referrals.

“I have had clients the entire 10 years of my business, and now service those clients’ family and friends,” she says.

If you’re a travel professional who is after lower overheads, profit retention, passive income growth, lifestyle tax deductions, and – most importantly – asset building, click here.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

client base franchisee Joanne Warne profitable asset Sister Act Travel travel agents