Cruise Trade Magazine - 2001 Canadian Agent: "Nothing Beats First-Hand Experience" Marilyn Green From a time beginning, Mary Jean Tully, CTC, Chairman and CEO of the Cruise Professionals in Mississauga, Ontario (a suburb of Toronto) has built a tremendously successful business - and a placing among Conde Nast Traveler readers' top agent choices. Tully's business started small 14 years ago, when she was a District Sales Manager for Norwegian Cruise Line out of Chicago and decided to make the move to Toronto. She immediately opened her travel agency with one other person, who still works with her now - along with 35 other agents. "I lost money the first year, and never looked back," she said. "I put my whole heart into it, but I never thought in my wildest dreams it would be so successful." Tully said she saw a special opportunity in Canada. "I bought my experience from the cruise industry and dealt direct with the cruise lines. I was able to pass along the savings, but more importantly, I worked from a detailed, intimate knowledge of cruising, the cruise ports and how to create a custom experience." In order to do this successfully, Tully said that agency owners must spend a "serious" amount of money giving employees direct experience of the product. "How can they possibly sell first class rather than business class if it's mot from conviction?" She asked. "If they don't know the difference between a standard suite and a veranda suite, they can't convey it to the client." "In too many cases, owners and managers take all the trips. I send my agents out and have them experience cruise line bus tours, private car tours, taxi tours. Then they really know what they are talking about, and it's unmistakable." Tully said it takes no particular talent to sell an A to B cruise in a particular category. "But if you have complete knowledge of the ships you're selling; if you can advise them where to come in early and where to stay; if you have current knowledge of the ports - that's what sets you apart. Nobody can touch you if you really know how to customize the trip." She added that one of the best things she has done was to become a member of Virtuoso. "It broadened my upscale base and took me away from the cruise-only mentality," she stated. "With the Virtuoso relationships, we can tell our clients to have George drive them in Rhodes, Philippe in Nice, and so on. It makes them feel safe and sure about their experiences." Tully worked hard on increasing her base in Canada and the U.S. and found her greatest success in repeats and referrals. "Whether the client is spending $1,500 or $15,000, they recognize who's looking after their interests," she observed, "and the ones who spend $1,500 now may be spending much more down the road." Her clients often meet other people on board and tell them about the special arrangements she had made for them to dine in extraordinary restaurants in port, including advising them on where they would have the best experience with a car and driver, often for the same price as the bus tours offered by the cruise lines. As a result, she acquires new clients. Now her base of customers is only 30% Canadian; the reset come from the U.S. and as far afield as Australia, Japan, Germany and the U.K. A major tool for Tully's reach is the internet. About five years ago her husband Brad, president of the company, brought his internet marketing skills to the agency. "It's a match made in heaven," Tully said. She noted that his knowledge of the travel industry, combined with his creative and technical abilities, allows him to see the Web as a precise tool, not an end in itself. "I couldn't afford my husband if I weren't married to him," she quipped. She reminded agents that having a good Web site is not enough; people have to be able to find you and you must respond immediately and consistently. "This is boomer mentality; it has to be easy, convenient and work very well, with all the information at their fingertips." In the wake of the terrorist attacks, Tully predicted that travel will come back. "Now it's a tough thing - it's an open wound, so raw." She observed. "But I don't think anyone is going to take away Americans' God-given right to travel. I just feel sorry for people caught in the weeks around the attacks who didn't have an agent to fight for them. It's all about the personal relations, the clout you have built up with the suppliers. "That is what allows you to do what consumers cannot do for themselves, and that is why they will keep coming back."   Back         Top of Page

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