{"id":14727,"date":"2022-05-31T12:00:30","date_gmt":"2022-05-31T11:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/?p=14727"},"modified":"2022-05-30T15:42:33","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T14:42:33","slug":"networking-has-made-my-travel-franchise-almost-1m-in-sales-heres-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/networking-has-made-my-travel-franchise-almost-1m-in-sales-heres-how\/","title":{"rendered":"Networking has made my travel franchise almost \u00a31m in sales. Here\u2019s how."},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Not Just Travel franchise owner Lloydie Gardiner shares his 3 top tips if you\u2019re thinking about using networking to grow your business.<\/h4>\n

In the middle of 2020 the pandemic was in full swing. While many businesses had to survive, travel agents had a particularly difficult time. They had to be available to refund or reschedule customer\u2019s holidays, all while making no new revenue.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s at times like these that support networks were vital.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Lloydie was a member of his local BNI chapter. They continued to meet virtually and provided much needed camaraderie during the lockdowns.<\/p>\n

But that wasn\u2019t the only benefit of having like-minded people around. As well as being highly active in all areas of his business, Lloydie made sure he remained a valuable member of the chapter.<\/p>\n

And now, because of his efforts, he\u2019s managed to create nearly \u00a31m in sales through his local chapters alone.<\/p>\n

Here are his top 3 tips for how you can succeed at networking with your franchise.<\/p>\n

1: Be yourself, but be prepared<\/h4>\n

Lloydie explains that you don\u2019t have to be overly rehearsed, but you should definitely have your introduction prepared in case you\u2019re asked to speak.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe prepared. Get yourself ready, just in case you need to do a 60 second or 10 minute presentation.<\/p>\n

But don’t try to be something you’re not. Just be yourself.<\/p>\n

Talk to them naturally. Tell them what you do.<\/p>\n

As a travel agent, I say I\u2019m their easiest referral. Because everyone wants a holiday or knows someone who does. Any time I ask \u201cWho knows someone who goes on holiday?\u201d everyone puts their hand up straight away.<\/p>\n

I say great – you all know the perfect person to refer to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also says to be clear about what type of referral you don\u2019t want.<\/u> This stops you wasting your own and other\u2019s time dealing with leads that won\u2019t go anywhere.<\/p>\n

2: Don\u2019t expect too much, too soon<\/h4>\n

Lloydie is clear that your first year should be spent building great relationships with the group. It\u2019s certainly more about giving-to-receive than expecting everyone to refer others to you cold.<\/p>\n

He says:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about helping others before they help you. You have to give more than you get. But then it comes back, it just flows back. This part is just a no-brainer for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

3: Ignore the stereotypes<\/h4>\n

Badly run networking groups can be a drain – you get little in the way of a supportive community or new business. But Lloydie\u2019s clear that good groups are a vital part of his business growth.<\/p>\n

He also says that you may want to reconsider any preconceived ideas about what to expect.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe old \u201cmen\u2019s club\u201d image is totally gone now. It’s a very modern and very welcoming environment. There are apps and virtual meetings to go along with physical ones and it\u2019s a really friendly place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lloydie also highlights that it\u2019s not all about getting new customers. He sourced lots of great suppliers – and got great free advice – for his own business too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve met marketing and financial experts who provide so much free value. I\u2019ve also met my printer who\u2019s absolutely amazing. I even get my car valeted through someone I met at the chapter!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not Just Travel franchise owner Lloydie Gardiner shares his 3 top tips if you\u2019re thinking about using networking to grow your business. In the middle of 2020 the pandemic was in full swing. While many businesses had to survive, travel agents had a particularly difficult time. They had to be available to refund or reschedule […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":14728,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1490,223],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-travel-franchise","category-leisure-franchises"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/activities-that-will-help-you-make-more-customers-5.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}