Whether you’re considering a career in travel, or you’re a current agent looking for a bit of guidance, you’ve probably wondered, “what does it take to be a successful travel agent?”

The Agent Spotlight series is designed to answer this question through surveys of the experiences of KHM Travel’s top-performing agents. They’ve been in your shoes. They’ve grown their businesses from scratch. Now, they’d like to share their expertise with you!

Karen Beasley discovered her passion for travel planning trips for her friends and family. She has been a KHM Travel Agent for just 18 months, and her dedication to helping others build dream vacations has already earned her a spot in KHM’s Pinnacle Elite group.

During Karen’s first few months as an agent, her biggest challenge was absorbing all the information available to her. In order to get up to speed quickly, she immersed herself in all of the educational materials and opportunities offered through KHM Travel Group: webinars, Agent Access Weekly, agent support, KHM Boot Camp and Destination Success. She also took the time to learn as much about the suppliers as possible.

She participated in Boot Camp just two weeks after signing up as an agent, and found the instruction from KHM staff “very, very valuable.”

Training is vital to the success of any agency, but top agents bring something special to their business. Karen believes that developing a personal connection with clients right away sets her agency apart. Once she receives a referral, she sends a quick email letting the client know she appreciates the opportunity to work with them and gives them a time frame for responding to their request.

“When I contact anyone through email, I have a picture of myself at the signature,” says Karen.

“Sometimes people can’t always remember your name, but 9 times of out 10, they’ll remember your face.”

She loves that being a travel agent means actually getting to travel. In fact, Beasley lists visiting the resorts, learning about the destinations she’s selling, and attending vendor-specific trade shows as her favorite aspects of the job.

When it comes to her most memorable vacations, she cherishes trips with her family.

“Spending time with at Disney World with my grandchildren. It just doesn’t get any better!” Karen says.

Her advice to new agents is to just breathe, and take it one day at a time. She recommends new agents join the KHM agent-only Facebook community and get to know their supplier BDMs and representatives, both of which offer valuable insights and advice.

“Learn as much as you can and get to know our support staff at KHM — they’re wonderful and always willing to do what they can to help,” says Karen.

If you’d like to start a fun, rewarding career as a travel agent, fill out the form on the right of the screen or call 1-888-611-1220 to receive our free start-up packet.