Karryon Luxury Takeover March 2024 side lock up
Karryon Luxury Takeover March 2024 side lock up
Home Travel Industry Hub

3 signs you're a total peacock (travel agent) & what you can do about it

Human psychology and analysis is a fascinating topic. Investigating what makes us tick – what makes us unique –  through different modalities helps us embolden our strengths and correct our weaknesses as people.

Human psychology and analysis is a fascinating topic. Investigating what makes us tick – what makes us unique –  through different modalities helps us embolden our strengths and correct our weaknesses as people.

But as Travel Agents, there’s really only one analytical modality (well, two, if you believe in the stars) that can help you get to the depths of who you are. It’s the same modality that’s used in various travel recruitment agencies and seems to be based on actual data…

Of course, we’re talking about the bird types – again! – but this time we want to hone in on one particular type, the peacock, for two different reasons: (1) to help unaware peacocks self-actualise; and (2) to help aware peacocks better understand themselves and ultimately help them perform better as Travel Agents.

So, what are the signs that you’re a peacock and you simply don’t know it?

 

1. You have the gift of the gab

giphy

Well, first off: You talk – a lot, and can convince almost anyone into doing anything. Hence, you’re a gun at sales. But forming relationships with your clients is your main priority, and the bookings that ultimately swing your way are a natural by-product of your epic rapport building skillz. Indeed, if you find that you spend the better chunk of your time in the office chatting to a client about what they did over the weekend, or what they have planned for the night, then you’re definitely showing signs of a peacock.

There’s nothing really to improve here with these exceptional communication skills, but just be mindful that you don’t alienate the more quiet types from sitting down at your desk with your over-the-top personality! It also helps to pause every now and then and ask for their opinion. You may think you have all the answers but none of us ever do.

 

2. You miss important details

giphy-1

Every bird type has a negative side, and the peacock certainly has a dark shade or two. But this never comes out in foul play at the office, but rather manifests itself in errors, oversights and missed opportunities. For example, they may miss important deadlines like deposit dates and TTLs which land them in trouble. Indeed, unlike the owl, who has a keen eye for detail, peacocks tend to glance over details that end up biting them between the feathers, as a result, their end of month sales targets are usually much lower than what they ought to be once their negs have been factored in.

So obviously if you’re a peacock you need to make an extra effort to double-check your invoices and to scrutinise the fare conditions/booking details. Getting into the fine print won’t come natural to you, so you’ll need to force yourself to do it. But once you take care of this aspect of your game, you’ll be even more of a sales superstar!

 

3. You never seem to have enough time

giphy-2

It’s not uncommon to see peacocks staying behind after work, much to their annoyance. That’s because they lack time management skills, and end up spending too much time on the social aspects of their job at the expense of the nuts and bolts of being a Travel Agent. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing: after all, it’s their sociability that lands them the bookings in the first place.

But an important skill for peacock agents to learn is to set a time-limit to their interactions at work – both with their clients and colleagues – and then stick to it religiously. Contrary to what they may fear, cutting an interaction short (at least, shorter than its momentum will take it) won’t negatively impact the relationship they’ve already built up with the client. If anything, it will leave the client wanting more (booking more?) and give the hard-working peacock agent more time to double-check those invoices (!), adhere to those booking deadlines (!) and ultimately be happy and successful.

Do you have any tips of your own for a peacock agent? Let us know in the comments below.