IC TRAVEL AGENT April 2014 | Page 31

Selling Ancillaries… You are independent right? Yes. You are the entrepreneur, correct? If you love an opportunity and want to make more money selling travel then you might as well start profiting from selling the add-ons, the peripherals, the ancillary sales. Your suppliers are already down this road and more so your airline partners who according to the IdeaWorks survey took home a cool $42.6 billion+/- in 2013. Let’s explore the ancillaries you can sell, too. Travel aside, you’ll be thinking about what a traveller needs to complete their travels. If you service a niche market then the same thought occurs – what is it that your niche clients need and purchase in order to better enjoy their trip? The concept of selling ancillary products is based on convenience for your clients. Save them an extra step or click and place before them those things they need on or during their trip. You’ll not be trying to compete with the local department stores or online stores. In most cases you’ll be offering your clients the same products as an affiliate outlet for the branded product your clients would normally purchase away from your business. Affiliates Programs Today almost every vendor operates an affiliate program of some kind. Most of them a free to join and your role is to promote the product via your website and in your social media marketing too. Select the product and brand you would like to sell, go to their website and scroll to the Footer area and there you will find the link to their affiliate program. Here’s a quick look at the REI program. Drive traffic from your site to REI.com or REIOutlet.com and make money! You'll earn a commission on every purchase made by customers you refer. Our top affiliates average $40,000 a year in commissions. Know a non-profit or local outdoor group looking for extra income? Refer them to the REI Affiliate Program—a great way to earn money in support of stewardship and educational pursuits in our communities. IdeaWorksCompany, the foremost consultancy on airline ancillary revenues, and CarTrawler, the leading provider of online car rental distribution systems, project airline ancillary revenue will reach $42.6 billion worldwide in 2013. The CarTrawler Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue represents a massive increase of 89% from the 2010 estimate of $22.6 billion. Ancillaries You Can Sell Here’s a list you can add to. Starting with additional travel add-ons over and above the generic flight. Travel insurance being the #1 addon to sell. After travel add-ons comes books and luggage etc. Select what works for you and locate the best affiliate program for your agency. Advice Car Rentals Hotels Tours Travel insurance Books Camera Clothing Flash drives Laptops Luggage Notebooks Pens Phones Safety gadgets Shoes ???? Check with your host agency to find out which affiliate programs they have arranged for you. 