talking shop WISE COUNSEL November's always action-packed November is going to be an action-
packed month! On the home front, I’m in the process
of selling my house, while on the work side of things I'll be celebrating my ninth year as a Travel Counsellor – which is hard for even me to believe! To mark the milestone, I’ll be spending
the day at head office in Bolton, along with other anniversary TCs. Each anniversary we are invited to
spend the day with the directors and head office staff and take part in the weekly TCTV broadcast. These shows are a great way for TCs
to keep up to date with all the latest news from the company as well as the travel industry at large. I have appeared on TCTV in the past
and although I get very nervous and for some strange reason seem to blink a lot on camera, it's OK really. My only previous on-camera experience was as an extra, which is very repetitive, but as a background 'artiste' at least the constant blinking doesn’t matter! November is also the month of the
great Travel Counsellors Annual Conference, where we meet TCs from all over the UK and many that visit from our overseas offices – some from Australia make the trip. It’s a great time to catch up on the company’s future plans, while the technology sessions get better every year. Of course, the social side of it is also
great and the entertainment is superb – I'm curious how we will be able to improve on Michael MacIntyre, who was brilliant last year. I also plan to spend a day at World
Travel Market again, accompanied by my trusty mini-case on wheels, very comfy shoes and a stack of business cards. A day at WTM is exhausting but I
always come away having met great new people and catching up with others I have met through my travels and training evenings throughout the year. There are always plenty of new things
to learn and I am looking forward to it. Looking back on the last month, I
picked up a lovely new client: the new boss of an old school friend who has booked a £9,000 holiday to the Far East, mixing a bit of business with pleasure. I also got a very late half-term booking to Italy from a client who hasn’t travelled
70 November 2011 •
www.sellinglonghaul.com
“I shall be spending a day at WTM, armed with my trusty mini- case on wheels, comfy shoes and a stack of business cards, catching up and meeting new people”
overseas since I booked the family on a big trip to Australia in early 2009. They are a perfect example of how it
pays to keep in touch with clients, even those who don’t travel that often, as after nearly three years she still came back to me to sort this trip out. Christmas is looming, which means
loads of cards will soon be hand-written and posted. I always send mine off in early December so that they are among the first received. For me Christmas begins the first time
I hear my favourite Christmas record on the radio – Last Christmas by Wham! It’s not long now before I get to jet off
for a holiday in the sun on my first visit to the Red Sea’s Hurghada. I’ll be staying at a new hotel, Makadi
Spa, built with adults in mind. I am looking forward to some Egyptian sun. I recently enjoyed a lovely weekend at
Holme Lacy, a Warner Country Hotel in Hereford. I spent a lot of time exploring old villages, Medieval and Tudor homes and winding rivers. It’s easy to see why overseas visitors visit our countryside. I've left my travelling schedule for 2012
Left: Holidays past, in San Francisco Right: Holidays future, in Hurghada, Egypt
clear, mainly because of my house move but also because my eldest son will be
getting married in May, so I need to save the pennies! I have booked their honeymoon now,
which is a road trip through California and Nevada, going to some of the places that I visited on my California SuperFam in 2009. I know that they will have a great time,
just as I did. I especially loved San Francisco, where we spent one night, but I've booked them three nights to enjoy it. My saying for the month is: “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” We all have the ability to change the
way we think, which can only help you when dealing with problems as they arise, and finding solutions quickly.
Happy Selling! Contact Details
BARBARA CHARLTON Travel Counsellors UK 0845 0587 290
Barbara.charlton@
travelcounsellors.com www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/barbara. charlton
BARBARA CHARLTON
Regular columnist Barbara was voted Most Helpful Travel Counsellor of the Year for two consecutive years.
©MATT BONNER, BMI PUBLISHING LTD
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