And Speaking Of... Top Producers at GTN

We announced our Top Producers Club (TPC) in early January at Gifted Travel Network . For 2023, TPC is made up of travel agency owners in GTN who sold over 1 million dollars in sales in 2022. This is the first time in our 10-year history that we had over 40 members in that category!

GTN embraced the great travel rebound in 2022, and collectively GTN sold over?100 million dollars?in travel. On our monthly network meeting via Zoom on January 20, we celebrated our Top Producers Club members and our highly coveted Top 10. I wanted to keep the celebrations going via my weekly LinkedIn article, as there is much to unpack from our record-breaking year in 2022.

To start, here are our TPC members at GTN who sold over $1M in 2022:

Even more impressively, here are our top 10 agencies ranked by sales! Sales in this category range from just over $2M to almost $5M.

1. Elite Travel Designs, Jamie Paul & Eric Paul
2. Live Well, Travel Often , Stephanie Goldberg-Glazer
3. Bliss Travel Experiences, Heather Parker
4. J5Travel , John Rees
5. Souvenir & Far , Elizabeth de Quillacq
6. Majestic Getaway, Lisa Reich
7. Blue Venture Travel, Keely Culpepper
8. VIP Travel Experience LLC , Justin Murphy & Tammy Murphy
9. Amore Travel Designs , Cathy Rowland
10. Ortensia Blu Travel Adventures , Laney Sachs

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To honor the above, I wanted to share three success mindset observations from top-producing advisors at Gifted Travel Network:

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Faith over Fear

The entrepreneurial spirit demands taking leaps of faith repeatedly. Top producers understand that you can’t always have everything figured out before moving forward. They don’t suffer from perfection paralysis, and if they do, they recognize it and find a way to move through it.

Many of our top producers hired employees for the first time in 2022. This can be overwhelming and scary if you’ve never taken that path. But so many of our top 40 took massive leaps of faith and overcame fears and mental blocks around hiring. They forged forward because their business and personal lives demanded that they build a robust infrastructure in their agencies to support their current growth and make room for more.

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They Know Their Worth

Top producers are clear about their business model and the clients they serve. They know that they aren’t a good fit for every type of traveler and know how to put boundaries on their businesses. This includes saying “no” to business that does not serve them.

Top producers charge service fees for their expertise as they fully embrace their role as a service professional similar to a lawyer, as they are trading time for dollars. This is not an easy mindset shift for travel agency owners who have been selling travel for over 10 years or more. There is still a “no-fee” culture that runs strong in our industry, and many travel advisors proudly promote that they are willing to work for free for their services.

Honestly, if my accountant or any other professional I work with never wanted to charge a fee for their time and expertise, I would seriously question their business, and I would not have the same confidence in their expertise as someone who does. Many top producers charge yearly retainer fees for their services. This model is growing, and we even see this trending among new advisors still completing their?Travel MBA program.

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Community Over Competition

We have a strong culture of?community over competition?at GTN. There is plenty of business for everyone, and our top-producing agency owners subscribe to the rising tide lifts all boat theory. We see our top members commenting on Facebook threads to help newer advisors and join various Zoom meetings to contribute and add value to conversations. Our top-producing advisors are open-hearted and are accessible to the rest of the network in many ways.

In June, we will host our Top Producers Mastermind Retreat in Nashville. This event brings together our brightest and highest committed members to share best practices to improve their businesses and maximize their time and profits. The collaboration vibe at this event is very special, and it is one of the year’s most highly-rated events.

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If you are a travel partner reading this article, please drop a comment below of congratulations to our TPC members! For our members reading this article, drop a shout-out or a tip on keeping the momentum strong in your business.

Interested in joining our GTN community as a new or experienced advisor? Email us at [email protected], or apply now for our next Travel MBA cohort, starting in April!