Unleashing Your Uniqueness: Thinking Outside the Box as a Travel Advisor
Written By: Scott Koepf, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO)– Cruise Planners
Differentiation. Customize. Focus. Specialize. This will not be the first or the last article you read that uses those terms. I think there is universal agreement that success as a travel advisor will require that you create a niche that is awe inspiring. Some simply rely on their stellar personality. Others say that their extensive personal travel experiences create an automatic consumer appeal. Or the most common answer to the question of what makes you, as a travel advisor, the clear choice is great service. You may indeed have all of those advantages and more! Congratulations, you are unique, just like everyone else!
Make no mistake, you are unique and do have something different to bring to the market and to your customers. The problem is not what you offer. The problem is how you package that message and let the world know about the exceptional wonderfulness of you! This requires a creative approach where the clichés of pushing envelopes and getting out of boxes will change your business.
As a source of inspiration, musical theatre seems to always offer solid advice for all business challenges (if that surprises you then you have not been reading my articles!). One musical celebrates one of the most creative and way out of the box thinkers in history and the show starts with this song:
Oh, the thinks you can think!
Oh, the thinks you can think
If you’re willing to try…
Think invisible ink!
Or a gink with a stink!
Or a stair to the sky…
If you open your mind,
Oh, the thinks you will find
Lining up to get loose…
Oh, the thinks you can think
When you think about…
The amazing Dr. Suess saw (and drew) things that most of us would never have thought would resonate with kids the way his books do. The musical Suessical is a magical fantasy journey through the world of the good doctor and the clear message is that creativity is memorable!
So the question to you is how are you positioning yourself as exceptionally memorable? The Cat and the Hat and Horton are not just unique. They are so fantastic that kids (and adults like me) talk about them for years. For you to be as memorable as they are, it does not just happen by chance but takes a conscious effort to determine your unforgettable position in the marketplace. Another way to say that, according to the Doctor, is you have to be a thinker who thinks!
We live in a busy world that values activity as much as accomplishment and being overwhelmed is a badge of honor. However, to be at the top of the who’s who in ‘Whoville’ you need to stop and just think! Take your time, write ideas down, and find inspiration in what you already do or what you want to be. Or if you are like me, singing will get your mind churning, so you can continue the song started above:
Oh, the thinks you can think!
Any thinker who thinks
Can come up with a few!
You think You think
And think and think and think and think
and think
And think and think and think and think
and think
And think and think and think and think
and think
And think and think and think!
and think!
While the lyrics are repetitive, they make the point emphatically that when you think, you can create anything! So do some real thinking which will fuel your creativity to create a brand as well-known as…well…. Sam, I am!
