The Requirements
To be a good fit for this opportunity you will have:- At least five years of recent experience selling international and domestic travel services in a face-to-face setting (as opposed to online or in a call center).
- Detailed knowledge of travel products.
- Knowledge of worldwide geography and the ability to read and interpret maps and brochures.
- Strong consultative selling skills and documented sales success.
- A demonstrated ability to identify customer needs and recommend solutions.
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Computer proficiency and familiarity with:
- Microsoft Office applications such as Word and Outlook.
- Industry specific applications such as Galileo, VAX, Apollo, Travelport, etc.
- A high school diploma or equivalent.
- Travel Institute certification, such as CTA, CTC or CTIE, is preferred.
- Multilingual skills are a plus.
- Strong self-motivation and the ability to achieve goals independently as well as to contribute as part of a team.
- The ability to communicate clearly in English in person, on the phone and via email.
- Sound judgment and good decision-making skills.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to cultivate relationships with internal and external contacts.
- A commitment to serving AAA members.
The Role
We have opportunities for Travel Consultants in multiple branches in Northern California, Nevada and Utah, and branches vary in size from a few employees to as many as 50.While many travel agencies approach their work in a transactional way, we are committed to a consultative approach. We'll look to you to provide exceptional travel sales and support experiences to our Members, probing to understand Members' goals and preferences, and then tailoring our AAA products and services to create unique and memorable vacation experiences.
You will work with a portfolio that includes full service international cruise and tour bookings as well as air, hotel, car and rail ticketing. You also will cross-sell products and services such as membership and insurance. While you will receive some accounts as you come on board, you also will need to reach out to existing members, participate in events and tradeshows, and implement flyer and email campaigns.
More specifically, you will:
- Own the relationship with the member from beginning to end of each travel related transaction.
- Research, evaluate and compare appropriate AAA travel partner packages to match up with member needs for the purpose of "delivering exceptional member experiences" in every transaction.
- Stay current with world events and latest travel industry developments and trends, and provide relevant information to members.
- Process and interpret travel documents for members purchasing travel products with AAA and inform them of governmental requirements.
- Investigate and respond to travel-related member questions / complaints, and recommend solutions.
- Initiate contact with members and past customers to prospect for new business and encourage repeat business.
- Maintain minimum production goals in the following areas: travel sales, sales of travel partner and proprietary products (such as Sojourns, AAA Vacations, etc.).
Why AAA NCNU
Strong brand, great products -- people know and trust AAA. In addition to offering an extensive suite of products and services, we are an established "thought leader" in the industry; for example, every year, AAA tourism editors evaluate and assign ratings of 1 to 5 diamonds for nearly 32,000 lodgings in the US, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. These diamond ratings are listed in the annual TourBook® guides.Entrepreneurial opportunities -- most branches have one Travel Consultant, a few have two, and many have none and refer members to other branches. That means you'll get a strong share of walk-in traffic. However, you'll also have an extensive member database to do "warm calling." And as long as you are motivated to market yourself and your services, the sky's the limit.
Professional development -- we are committed to helping our employees continue to grow professionally and personally. Our career development program encourages employees to develop new skills, embrace new opportunities and prepare for the future they want.
Leadership across categories -- AAA and NCNU boast some impressive numbers across our operations. Some examples:
- AAA is the largest, most reliable provider of emergency road service in the world, responding to almost 30 million distress calls from Members nationally.
- NCNU and its employees provide volunteer and financial support to hundreds of local charitable organizations, from AIDS Foundation - Sacramento to Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
- Our car and traffic safety programs have been helping everyone stay safe on the road for more than 100 years.
- AAA Members save an average of $100 each year with discounts on hotels, restaurants, and rental cars as well as at retail stores both online and in person.
- One of the largest travel publishers in the world, AAA distributes millions of maps, TourBooks, TripTik® and other auto and travel publications each year as well as providing online directions and gas prices.
- VIA, AAA's award-winning bimonthly magazine, is the 20th largest consumer magazine in the U.S., with a circulation of more than 2.7 million.
Pictured: AAA partners with Pleasant Holidays, which offers a huge variety of custom vacation packages featuring top-rated hotels, airlines and car rentals to destinations such as Hawaii, Mexico, the Caribbean and others.
Keys to Success
It's important enough that it bears repeating here: if you're used to a transactional approach -- simply waiting until the Smiths call to book their annual trip -- then this may not be the right position for you. But if you truly enjoy talking with Members, drilling down to understand what they like and what they don't like, then you'll fit right in here. In addition to your sales skills you'll need a degree of marketing savvy to reach out and bring the business in. You also will need the ability to establish trust-based relationships with Members as well as a knack for cross selling. Beyond sales and marketing, you will need to share our commitment to serving our members -- the membership relationship means we deliver to a higher level of service.About AAA NCNU
In 1900, a few automobile enthusiasts gathered at San Francisco's Cliff House to form a club dedicated to helping car owners get where they wanted to go with greater comfort, safety and convenience. Today, AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah (NCNU) is the second-largest regional Member club of the national AAA organization, serving more than 4 million Members in Northern California, Nevada and Utah.Headquartered in Emeryville, CA, NCNU employs some 2200 professionals in more than 75 AAA branch offices located in Northern California, in addition to six AAA Express stores. There are 11 AAA branch offices located in Nevada and six in Utah.
AAA offers a wide array of automotive, travel, insurance and financial services. In North America, AAA is a not-for-profit, fully tax-paying federation of 57 motor clubs with more than 1,100 offices, serving more than 52 million Members throughout the United States (41 clubs) and Canada (nine clubs).
Pictured: AAA NCNU membership includes a subscription to VIA, which provides in-depth articles for travelers; tips on restaurants, cafes, the wine country and breweries; and information about fairs, art exhibits, film festivals and other events.