The Art Of Selling Travel Podcast | Sales Coaching for Travel Agents & Advisors

Glenda Beagle
  • 5.0 (31)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Weekly

Nobody puts this part of being a travel agent in the brochure. I’m Glenda, and I’ve struggled through uncomfortable sales conversations, been frustrated by marketing and felt overwhelmed by the business operations no one but the business owner ever sees. Now I’m helping travel agents grow their sales with practical action steps and tips from the trenches, including the good, the bad and the ugly of the travel industry. You’ll learn how to overcome objections, turn client curiosity into amazing vacations and run a profitable travel business. It’s not always easy, but it’s what it takes to build it right.

  1. 2h ago

    Stop Deciding What Your Travel Clients Can Afford & Other Sales Tips for Travel Advisors|EP 185

    I saw a job ad for an “experienced closer” and for one brief second thought, “That would be so simple.” Then I remembered I don’t want to work for other people.  But it got me thinking about what actually makes someone a great closer. And here’s the truth: sales is easy. What makes it complicated is the meaning we attach to it. In this episode of The Art of Selling Travel Podcast, I break down why travel advisors overcomplicate sales, why you need to stop letting your clients drive the bus, and why it is none of your business whether your client can afford the trip. Plus: my grade seven sales hustle, my own Pretty Woman moment in a Vancouver shoe store, and the client who paid a $2,000 planning fee without blinking and went on a $30,000+ trip to Africa. Additional Links:  Download the Essential Lessons PDF: Essential Lessons PDF Join the priority list for our upcoming groups workshop: Groups Workshop Join the priority list for upcoming sales workshops: Workshop Priority List Join the Facebook Group: Facebook Group Connect with Glenda on Facebook or Instagram

  2. 6d ago

    Why Your Clients Won't Book, Dealing with Uncertainty |Ep 184

    Your client has everything they asked for. The quote is perfect. And they’re still saying “hmm, I’m not sure.” That’s not a price problem. It’s an uncertainty problem. I recorded this the day after the Alberta referendum, after waiting more than three hours for results (and eating way too much chocolate). It reminded me what uncertainty does to the human body, and how often it shows up in travel sales without us noticing. In this episode of The Art of Selling Travel Podcast, I talk about why uncertainty stops travel clients from making a decision, and how you as a travel advisor can replace it with confidence. Not by having every answer, but by asking better questions, knowing your client, and only putting forward trips you’d stake your reputation on. Plus: the client I turned away who ended up on the 6 o’clock news. Best commission I ever gave up. Additional Links:  Download the Essential Lessons PDF: Essential Lessons PDF Join the priority list for our upcoming groups workshop: Groups Workshop Join the priority list for upcoming sales workshops: Workshop Priority List Join the Facebook Group: Facebook Group Connect with Glenda on Facebook or Instagram

  3. Oct 21

    The Most Expensive Signature in Your Travel Business |Ep183

    The most expensive signature in your travel business isn’t your lease, your software or your mastermind. It’s the one you never got. In this episode of The Art of Selling Travel Podcast, I’m talking about why every travel advisor needs signed client authorizations, and why “I’ve always done it on a handshake” is a risky way to run a business. It all started on a coaching call. One advisor’s host agency had just updated its terms and conditions and was now requiring signatures on every booking. Plenty of advisors were struggling with the change. She had been doing it all along. I’m also sharing a story from my early days in the industry, back when credit card numbers went on Post-it Notes in the file. One client filed a chargeback with Air Canada for a first-class flight to Australia and claimed she never took it. That could have cost the agency thousands. It didn’t, because one card imprint with her signature on it ended the chargeback on the spot. We’ll cover the three signatures every travel advisor needs on file: a credit card authorization to protect you from chargebacks, a travel insurance waiver to prove coverage was offered (including the parts they declined), and signed terms and conditions so you’re not on the hook for everything a client “didn’t read.” I’ll also explain why friends and family bookings need signatures too, and how to simplify the process with a Google Doc of supplier terms and the templates already built into your CRM or invoicing tool, like TravelJoy, Travefy or Tern. If clients pushing back on paperwork makes you squirm, this one’s for you. Don’t stutter, don’t apologize, just make it part of your process. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and in a world where scammers are going hard after travel, your paper trail is your protection. Additional Links:  Download the Essential Lessons PDF: Essential Lessons PDF Join the priority list for our upcoming groups workshop: Groups Workshop Join the priority list for upcoming sales workshops: Workshop Priority List Join the Facebook Group: Facebook Group Connect with Glenda on Facebook or Instagram

  4. Oct 14

    How to Get Last Minute Travel Bookings |Ep 182

    Want last minute bookings to close out 2026? There's still time.... But first, ask yourself the real question: do you actually WANT last minute clients? In this episode of The Art of Selling Travel Podcast, I'm breaking down how to fill your calendar with holiday and late fall bookings without training your audience to always book last minute. Because whatever you market is what you get. Market the deal, you get deal hunters. Market to the procrastinators, and well... you get last minute procrastinator Pollies that move as fast as a hurricane. Plus, why the best way to grow your sales is to stop booking one trip at a time, how I mapped out 10 years of travel for one client, and the four magic words that got me a booking the morning of the first snowstorm. Additional Links:  Download the Essential Lessons PDF: Essential Lessons PDF Join the priority list for our upcoming groups workshop: Groups Workshop Join the priority list for upcoming sales workshops: Workshop Priority List Join the Facebook Group: Facebook Group Connect with Glenda on Facebook or Instagram

  5. Oct 7

    The 15-Minute Fix for Travel Advisors Stuck in Overwhelm |EP 181

    "I'll get to it next year" and other famous last words. Spoiler... next year never comes. There are still three months left in 2026, and that's plenty of time for your plot twist. In this episode of The Art of Selling Travel Podcast, I'm talking to every travel advisor with a "when I get around to it" list that keeps growing. Updating the website, starting the weekly email, or building the group landing page. We're breaking those big, scary projects into 15-minute bites so you can actually get them done before the holiday chaos hits. Plus, a public service announcement about Black Friday deals (they suck, and waiting for them has cost real clients real money), why your outdated website is NOT the reason you aren't getting sales, and what a bear on a mountain taught me about finishing what you start. Additional Links:  Download the Essential Lessons PDF: Essential Lessons PDF Join the priority list for our upcoming groups workshop: Groups Workshop Join the priority list for upcoming sales workshops: Workshop Priority List Join the Facebook Group: Facebook Group Connect with Glenda on Facebook or Instagram

  6. Sep 30

    Pricing Conversations for Travel Advisors | EP 180

    Travel isn't what it used to be. Resort fees, baggage fees, tourism taxes, parking, and cruise lines where the cheaper the fare, the more it costs to get off the ship. Your clients are being nickeled and dimed for everything, and most of them have no idea until they're already there. In this episode, I'm talking about the "bed and buffet" cruise and why letting price lead the conversation sets your clients up for a miserable trip. We dig into how to talk about pricing with confidence, why budget should be the last question you ask, and how to explain the real difference between a bare-minimum booking and a truly inclusive experience. I also share a story from 2014 that still haunts me, a family who booked a "cheaper" cruise online and couldn't afford to get off the ship. It changed how I sold travel forever, and I want it to change how you sell too. Additional Links:  Download the Essential Lessons PDF: Essential Lessons PDF Join the priority list for our upcoming groups workshop: Groups Workshop Join the priority list for upcoming sales workshops: Workshop Priority List Join the Facebook Group: Facebook Group Connect with Glenda on Facebook or Instagram

  7. Sep 23

    How to Ask Clients About Accessible Travel With Karen Morales, Head of Accessibility at Fora |Ep 179

    Karen Morales rolled up to a five-star hotel in Hawaii, ready to be pampered, and they handed her a room with stairs. She's a wheelchair user, an accessibility advocate, the Head of Accessibility at Fora, and the founder of Joyward Travel. She had sent the emails. She had confirmed the room. It still happened. And that moment is exactly why this conversation matters for every travel advisor, not just the ones who think they specialize in accessible travel. In this episode of The Art of Selling Travel Podcast, Karen and I dig into why accessible travel is one of the most underserved and most lucrative parts of the market. One in four people globally lives with some kind of condition. Multi-generational trips are the biggest bookings out there right now, and almost every one of them has at least one accommodation baked in. Yet only about 30 percent of accessible rooms are even bookable online, and hoteliers will raise their hands when asked if they've hosted a guest with special needs but go silent when asked if it's in their marketing. The rooms exist. The money exists. The conversation is what's missing. Karen shares what she's learned from travelling to nearly 50 countries, six of those years in a wheelchair. You'll hear about the hotel in Okinawa that sent her a photo of the bathroom and the shower chair before she arrived, the Sicilian beach club owner who bought a beach wheelchair and assigned two lifeguards to get her in the water, and the morning in Japan when her chair died on day one of a two-week trip and a DMC with boots on the ground saved the entire vacation. That last one is the reminder every advisor needs. There are moments in travel that no amount of research and no AI is ever going to fix. A human with a relationship in market will. We also get practical. Karen walks through the questions that actually work, like asking whether a client can comfortably climb into a Sprinter van instead of asking if they need an accessible room, or reframing a flat shower with a railing as risk reduction instead of a disability accommodation. I share the story of a family who kept insisting on room service for years until I finally asked why, learned their son was autistic, and completely changed how I planned for them. The lesson in both cases is the same. Ask better questions, ask them with hospitality, and stop leaving things at the surface. If you're a travel advisor who wants to serve an aging client base, land more multi-generational bookings, and be the person your clients trust when things go sideways, this one is for you. Find Karen at ForaTravel.com on the accessibility page, or through her own brand, Joyward Travel. Additional Links:  Our Building An Audience Workshop: Marketing Workshop Download the Essential Lessons PDF: Essential Lessons PDF Join the priority list for our upcoming groups workshop: Groups Workshop Join the priority list for upcoming sales workshops: Workshop Priority List Join the Facebook Group: Facebook Group Connect with Glenda on Facebook or Instagram

  8. Sep 16

    Words Are Words, The Intent Is Everything | EP 178

    Ever heard "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all"? Turns out that's pretty solid marketing advice too. In this episode of The Art of Selling Travel Podcast, Glenda Beagle gets real about why the exact same words can land as supportive, sarcastic, or straight-up angry depending on the energy behind them, and why that matters more than most travel advisors realize when they sit down to write an email, record a video, or post on social. She also breaks down why knowing your audience changes everything, with a story about writing a roast for her dad and uncle's 75th birthday while her cousin wrote a toast. Both worked, because both of them knew exactly who they were talking to and what they were there to do. Your marketing needs the same clarity. Who is it for? What's the intent? What do you want them to feel? If you can't answer those, no amount of money thrown at ads, agencies, or courses is going to fix it. And if you're paying someone to do your marketing and they've never asked you those questions, they're just taking your money. What to do when your energy's off: gut check, wait a day if you need to, go for a walk, have a dance party, shake it out. Get to a place where you're focused on the who, the what, the intent, and the outcome before you create anything. That's how you make messaging that actually lands. Additional Links:  Our Building An Audience Workshop: Marketing Workshop Download the Essential Lessons PDF: Essential Lessons PDF Join the priority list for our upcoming groups workshop: Groups Workshop Join the priority list for upcoming sales workshops: Workshop Priority List Join the Facebook Group: Facebook Group Connect with Glenda on Facebook or Instagram

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5
out of 5
31 Ratings

About

Nobody puts this part of being a travel agent in the brochure. I’m Glenda, and I’ve struggled through uncomfortable sales conversations, been frustrated by marketing and felt overwhelmed by the business operations no one but the business owner ever sees. Now I’m helping travel agents grow their sales with practical action steps and tips from the trenches, including the good, the bad and the ugly of the travel industry. You’ll learn how to overcome objections, turn client curiosity into amazing vacations and run a profitable travel business. It’s not always easy, but it’s what it takes to build it right.

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