WHAT THE AGENTS HAD TO SAY
Tilly Hodson, Tui, Leyland “The product
knowledge and information Gold Medal offers on products is great. It also gives me more options to offer customers alongside our in-house products.”
Chris Quinn, Not Just Travel, Cheshire
“It’s great to find out more about the products. I started my franchise six months ago, so expanding my supplier knowledge and attending days like this is invaluable. The new offices are amazing.”
Lucy Harold, Bay Travel, Morecambe “It gives a real
insight into how it all works. It puts a face to who we are talking to and it gives us the chance to get updates on the business and from the suppliers. The offices are bright and open.”
Darren and Beverley Sandy,
Nepenthe
Travel, Wakefield “If you aren’t buying right then you can’t sell right. They have worldwide knowledge and we can fill in our knowledge gaps. It’s important to know a product in depth before you sell it.”
GOLD MEDAL, ACCESS ALL AREAS AGENT DAY
Gold Medal hosted 80 agents at its new offices in Leyland, Lancashire, for its bi-annual Access All Areas event. Benjamin Coren reports
Over two days in mid-November, Gold Medal invited 80 agents to visit its new offices as part of its Access All Areas (AAA) event. The trade-only tour operator
holds two AAA events per year, where agents from all over the country come for business updates, to meet call centre staff and suppliers. Gold Medal usually invites 40 agents to the event but, to celebrate moving to Lancaster House in Leyland from its former offices at the Trident Centre in Preston Docks, doubled the number of attendees. Kerry Gallagher, dnata Travel marketing director of B2B in Europe, said: “The event enables agents to broaden their knowledge of our products, we are continually sharing knowledge and it’s good for suppliers to get in front of agents. It’s also great [for the agents] to meet other agents.” Five suppliers showcase their products to the
agents after they are welcomed by key account manager Louisa Jackson, who updates agents on Gold Medal’s latest incentives.
The group was split into three for the supplier sessions, which were delivered jointly by Dubai hotel Atlantis The Palm and Emirates; Visit Florida and Virgin Atlantic; and a third from Visit Barbados. Gallagher said: “When we
request feedback from agents, we nearly always get a 100% positive rating. It enables them to put a face to a name, it’s more like a family and develops
that relationship. “Agents can meet the call centre staff they speak to on a daily basis, it takes that always business level, functional relationship to something that is much more – like a partnership. Meeting in a relaxed environment empowers that relationship and that aids the whole process. Suppliers also need that opportunity to facilitate their relationships with agents. “Suppliers live and breathe that product, day in, day out. Agents find it very engaging and they get more in-depth knowledge that they wouldn’t find in a brochure. Wherever we can enhance that first-hand knowledge is a key thing in the agent-supplier relationship.”
36
28 NOVEMBER 2019
travelweekly.co.uk
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