Behind the Scenes of a High-Touch, High-Volume Travel Business with Ali Raymer
I joined Roslyn Ranse on the Travel Agent Achievers podcast to talk about what actually happens behind the scenes of a high-touch, high-volume travel business.
How do I keep my service personal even with high sales volume?
I try to nudge clients into the systems I have in place rather than force them, especially first-timers. Repeat clients are actually harder because they get so comfortable they skip the process entirely.
What role do boundaries play in running my business?
Everything. I don't answer client calls after 5pm unless it's a true emergency, and my team knows the same rule applies to me. We've started using voice memos to talk things through on our own time instead of hopping on calls that interrupt someone's deep work.
What system change made the biggest impact on my business?
Switching to Travefy. It replaced multiple tools, holds all my task lists, follow-ups, and welcome-home email automations, and lets me build proposals faster than ever.
What's the first thing that would break if my systems disappeared?
Follow-ups, without question. Once a trip is booked it's solidified in my brain, but leads in the early stages can slip right out of my head if I don't have reminders keeping me on track.
How did I figure out what to delegate first?
I built a simple quadrant: what I love and have to do, love but don't have to do, hate but have to do, and hate and don't have to do. Consult calls stayed firmly in my "love and have to do" column, while invoices and proposal-building were the first things I handed off.
How do I protect my own energy while running a growing team?
Routines. I'm up by 5:15, I never outsource my social media, I go to the gym daily, and I time block my week by task type, client calls on certain days, deep work on others. If I get off that rhythm, everything starts to slip.