Jamie Biesiada
At Embark Beyond, new travel advisors aren't only trained on how to sell travel.
"A lot of what we teach is about building relationships, and how to overcome the inhibitions that come with reaching out to customers and building those relationships," said founder and managing partner Jack Ezon. "How to overcome what people feel as imposter syndrome. That's why we started training on luxury, not just travel."
For new advisors, Embark offers its Apprentice Program. Three classes per year are offered with up to 10 people per class. Advisors pay $6,000 to participate: $1,000 goes to their mentor, $1,000 goes to a trip like a trade show, and they get $4,000 back over time, $1,000 every year for four years once they hit $50,000 in sales.
"We don't even make money from it," Ezon said. "We just really hold it to get engagement and buy-in."
The program is intensive. Attendees are paired with mentors they work and meet with regularly. They also take a three-month training program, Ezon said, that's held five days a week for two hours a day. It includes exercises and homework as well as education on everything from booking a hotel, to accounting, to specialty travel and beyond.
One of Ezon's favorite topics is creating "emotional impact" for clients and crafting memories for them.
There's an entire section of the training on luxury, including fashion brands, watch brands, cars and art.
Learning 'the art of clienteling'
New advisors also learn about what Ezon calls "the art of clienteling."
"We're also training them how to get customers and how to build those relationships," he said.
The program has been running for three years now, and Ezon said the proof is in the pudding: "We have people selling a million dollars in sometimes less than a year into the program."
The most common factor Ezon sees among Embark's successful advisors is that they think like businesspeople, he said. Embark offers resources on destinations readily available, as well as technology and supplier partners. But the businesspeople tend to have the most success.
The most successful are good at building relationships and leveraging those relationships. And, Ezon said, they really know their clients.
"People don't need someone that's going to be robotic or transactional," he said. "They need someone that's going to understand me and specialize in me."
Ezon offered this advice for newer advisors: "Work backward and have a plan. Literally build a marketing plan and have KPIs, targets, just like a big business."