My estimate is that this group of travel agents comprises only a minor portion of the industry as a whole, but they certainly do make an impression.  Their overly relaxed efforts to present themselves in a true business-like manner causes suppliers to question the professionalism of the entire travel agent distribution model.  It forces these same suppliers to focus solely on those elite groups of agents who walk the walk, talk the talk and dress the part.

Fashion to Go
The problem is easy to solve.  Take a look around your agency.  Are sweatshirts and shorts the common theme? If so, implement a dress code immediately, even if clients do not often visit the office.  If they do indeed visit the office, then insist the level of dress to be equal to that of any business you would visit to receive professional services, such as that of your accountant or attorney.  Forget casual Fridays.  No one wants to hand a check over for a $25,000 cruise to someone wearing cut-offs and a tank top.

If you are a front-line agent, take a long look at the way your clients dress.  At this point in your career you may not be able to shop where they shop, but you should do everything you can do to portray yourself as being at their economic level.

"You've got to look the part, it's part of the whole package," says Mary Jean Tully, chairman and CEO of The Cruise Professionals.  Tully actually has a cupboard in her office from which her agents can borrow pashmina shawls and designer handbags when they are going out into the field, so they never have to be worried about being dressed on par with their prospective clientele.

Don't Take Me As I Am
Note: When you are trying to promote yourself in the market place, don't take the "take me as I am approach." Here's an example of what I mean. A friend of mine once worked for a small advertising firm downtown Manhattan.  The owner would work late nights and weekends to develop exquisite presentations for clients he was trying to pitch business to.  But when he headed uptown Madison Avenue with his portfolio under his arm he'd be decked out in Birkenstocks, a black turtleneck and jeans.  In nearly every instance he'd be back in the office just an hour later, dejected that he'd been given only five-minutes to make his pitch.
"Have you ever looked in the mirror?" my friend boldly asked him one day. "This is Madison Avenue you're dealing with, they need to know they can trust you with their business!"
"What do you mean? I'm an artist!" the owner replied.  After a bit more arguing, my friend convinced his boss to invest a few hundred dollars in an Italian suit, a real pair of shoes and a haircut.  The effort provided immediate results, the owner got a seat at the board table and his work was given serious consideration because he dressed as a player, not as a student of life.

It's rather easy if you just remember this: People love to do business with people who remind them of themselves.


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