Christine James, Vice President of TL Network Canada

Some TL Network members have transitioned their business from a bricks-and-mortar operation to home-based. More than a few are tapping into the federal government’s financial assistance programs. And many are beginning to reopen their agencies. The pandemic has thrown the industry a massive curve ball but TL Network is there to support its members no matter what, says Christine James, Vice President of TL Network Canada in this edition of Take 5.

1. How is TL Network doing amid the pandemic as we head into month 4? 

“Like all other travel related businesses, it’s been a challenging time for TL Network. That said, we remain committed to support our membership through ongoing marketing initiatives targeted at a recovering strategy to keep their clients engaged and move them forward through the stages of their next dream vacation. For example, we’re about to launch Season 2 of our Engagement Email series which transitions clients from the dreaming stage (which was the focus of Season 1 of the series) into the planning stage of their next trip.”

2. What are you hearing from TL Network members as they deal with these very challenging times?

“For the most part, our members remain resilient and are focused on using the tools, training and support we’ve been providing to ensure their survival in both the short and long term. A few have made a decision to alter their business model and transition from bricks-and-mortar to a home-based model. On the other hand, many have taken advantage of the government subsidy programmes in order to keep their advisors employed as well as their agency operations running. A number have reported that they are beginning to reopen their offices as well. Regardless of what path they have chosen, the overall consensus is that they are determined to stay to course as they believe the demand for travel will return.”

3. Are clients turning to agents to book domestic trips and does TL Network have any strategies to help members market themselves as ‘Canada travel experts’? 

“Our members are reporting that they’re seeing an increase in demand for domestic travel and TL Network is working with our preferred travel suppliers that offer Canadian products to help optimize on this opportunity through training and promotional offers available.”

4. Does TL Network have any new tools coming out to help keep agents engaged?  

“We recently released an enhanced version of our Social Share Tool Kit which makes it even easier for our members to keep their clients engaged and motivate them to reach out to them to start planning their vacation.”

5. What is TL Network doing to keep agents educated right now? 

“We continue of offer a series of new hosted live and recorded webinars targeted at both the owner/manager and front line advisor audiences. We’ve also seen a significant uptick on enrollments into our Certificated Specials Programmes which is a clear indication that our members are willing to invest their time and resources by upgrading their skills so they are well prepared to service their clients when business begins to return to more normal levels.”