LITTLETON, Colorado – February 3, 2009 – In the New Year, Globus is inviting agents to renew both their business and passion for selling travel using the diverse training opportunities and business-building tools available at the company’s Travel Agent Portal (www.globusfamilypartner.com).  To reach even more agents in 2009, the Globus family of brands is increasing its already robust training program, offering additional online education programs, Webinars, customizable tools, marketing videos and in-person seminars.

“We offer a broad range of online and personalized resources designed to motivate, inspire and train our travel agent partners on our extensive, worldwide vacation portfolios and award-winning services,” said Steve Born, vice president of marketing for the Globus family of brands.  “And now, we’re working harder than ever to help our agent partners succeed, increasing both the training opportunities we offer and perhaps more importantly, creating additional business-building tools. In the first few months of the year alone, we’re unveiling six free Webinars for agents focused on everything from cross-selling clients to developing and refining marketing plans.”
 
TRAINING: Globus offers agents a plethora of Web-based training opportunities:  Programs they can review on their own time.  Featured on the company’s Travel Agent Portal is Travel University with online courses ranging from River & Small Ship Cruising and Growing First-Timer Travel to Europe to Selling China.  In addition to being designated a Globus Specialist, agents completing the Travel University are eligible for free trips.  To date, the company’s Travel University has witnessed almost 3,000 graduates.

“Our free, online training seminars are also a very popular choice for agents looking to heighten their sales prowess,” said Born.  Each month, Globus offers agents at least two different seminars in 60-minute sessions.  In February, for instance, part one of the series is titled, Developing and Refining your Marketing Plan and part two is a follow-up called, Applying Your Plan:  How to Market Monograms in 2009 and Oberammergau in 2010.  Also available for download are pre-recorded archives of nearly 20 of these unique seminars such as Helping You Get Ready for 2009: Ideas, Promos & Tools and How to Sell and Market Groups.  

Born says, “Nearly 7,000 agents have taken advantage of our free, online training.  When asked if they felt the training sessions were valuable, 99 percent of agents said the sessions were worthwhile.”


In-person training opportunities will also continue to be a focus for Globus in 2009.  The training team just unveiled February dates in Dallas and Orlando for a Home-Based Agent Symposiums.  According to Kathleen Kavanagh, manager of the Home-Based Channel for the Globus family of brands, “Symposium attendees will discover strategic tips for selling cruises in the current economy; the phenomena of river cruises and identifying potential clients for this trend; how to optimize commission by bundling vacations for clients; strategies for overcoming obstacles for home business success; how to profit with groups; how to maximize sales and more.”

In addition to organized get-togethers, Globus’ sales team just completed outreach to nearly 20,000 agents during the company’s 2009 product launch.

BUSINESS-BUILDING: “Through our business-building tools, we help agents identify key selling opportunities as well as offer tips and strategies to market to their clientele,” said Born.  Among the company’s business-building offerings are How to Sell Faith-Based Travel and How to Develop & Refine Your Marketing Plan.  And, in 2009, Globus is developing a Virtual Travel Seminar: A three-segment series focused on marketing tips for today’s travel agents.

MARKETING:  By visiting www.globusfamilypartner.com, agents are also instantly given dozens of resources, including: 

• E-mail Designer Tool – Allows agents to send vacations, deals and promotions via e-mail to their clients.
• Customizable Marketing Materials – Offers agents the opportunity to customize everything from flyers and postcards to direct mailers.  Globus mails the custom pieces to agents to distribute to their client list.
• Photo & Logo Library – Agents can download images of the many destinations travelers can experience through the Globus family of brands.  Brand logos are also available.
  

“In addition to providing agents the tools they need to create stand-out marketing pieces, with a ‘show, don’t tell’ philosophy, we’ve unveiled virtual tours of our ships at www.avalonwaterways/difference.com to help them sell both Avalon Waterways and river cruising as a travel trend,” said Born.  

The company also recently created animated, two-minute movie shorts to help both agents and their clients understand and get excited about the benefits of traveling with Monograms – Globus’ independent arm.  “A Tour is for Me” video snapshot providing viewers insight into the benefits of touring the world is also planned in the coming months.

“The depth of assistance and expertise we offer agent partners through our Travel Agent Portal is unparalleled,” said Born.

About the Globus family of brands
Littleton, Colorado-based Group Voyagers, Inc. is the privately held company that markets and sells the Globus family of brands within the United States.  Globus, Cosmos, Monograms and Avalon Waterways offer travelers unparalleled tour, independent travel package, river and small ship cruise options.  Considered the world’s largest tour operator, with 80 years of international travel experience, the Globus family of brands is dedicated to enriching the lives of travelers by turning foreign destinations into familiar harbors, where the expense of travel is forgotten and replaced by personal value.  

Travel agents can request any Globus family of brands 2009 brochures by calling toll free 1.800.221.0090 or visiting www.globusfamilypartner.com.