Travel suppliers with a focus on South America to be heavily featured as part of SCORE 2.0 initiative

Today, Travel Leaders (www.travelleaders.com) – America’s leading franchised travel agency brand – unveiled significant enhancements to SCORE, the new customer lead generation program Travel Leaders publicly launched earlier this year but announced to its members at the 2010 National Meeting in Orlando. Through its newly released SCORE 2.0 system, Travel Leaders will enable prospective clients to easily connect and engage with participating agents through the least number of clicks from its online marketing campaigns via the new “Agent Profiler” that is maintained and managed directly at the agency level. Travel Leaders also announced that SCORE 2.0 would feature leading suppliers focused on selling top destinations in South America.

SCORE 2.0’s “Agent Profiler” will ultimately offer consumers an opportunity to browse Travelleaders.com for the travel agent specialist who most appeals to them. Participating Travel Leaders travel agents will be able to use the “Agent Profiler” to provide a full representation of their expertise and knowledge, along with photos and biographies. “Agent Profiler” also offers Travel Leaders Associates (franchisees) with a quick and easy way to manage the skillsets of their agents and easily know the areas of expertise housed within the entire agency, as well as better understand the gaps in knowledge that could or should be filled.

“One year ago, we proudly announced our SCORE Program, which matches our cadre of top Travel Leaders leisure specialists nationally with qualified consumer leads through highly targeted online marketing. Our enormous success over the past year enables us to very publicly and confidently take the
wraps off of SCORE 2.0,” noted Roger E. Block, CTC, President of Travel Leaders Franchise Group.

“SCORE 2.0’s innovative ‘Agent Profiler’ provides our participating members and their staffs with greater control over their destinies in determining how to amplify their destination and lifestyle certifications. In turn, this level of engagement will ultimately serve as a springboard for further niche marketing.”

Travel Leaders’ SCORE Program will continue tapping directly into participating members’ expertise by providing them with qualified leads from travelers already interested in a particular destination. Block indicated that the biggest success story to date has been with Australia, for which a full 25% of all certified Aussie Specialists are Travel Leaders Franchise Group agents. Block also indicated that Travel Leaders hopes to replicate that success by working with suppliers focused on selling South America.

“Based on the tremendous success we’ve had in matching consumers with specialists who thoroughly know travel products spanning the globe, we’re proud that we’re joining with key suppliers in adding points in South America as part of SCORE 2.0,” Block stated. “As with our previous SCORE endeavors
in which we’ve added new specialists for destinations like Australia, Mexico, Germany, Alaska and Hawaii, we’ll be working closely with suppliers to provide our travel agents with exclusive FAM opportunities so that each specialist will personally know the associated destination inside out.”

Through SCORE, Travel Leaders systematically develops enticing and creative marketing hooks using ad word searches, banner advertising and third party campaigns. In turn, each offer is designed to generate qualified consumer leads. Additionally, Travel Leaders has been providing training and tools to empower members with the skills to close each sale.

Travel Leaders members will continue to have the opportunity to decide which destinations and suppliers they wish to receive qualified leads for. Travel Leaders’ key stipulation is that its members may only participate in the categories in which they are truly specialists and have completed extensive training to
ensure they not only have the confidence to receive each qualified lead, but more importantly, to close each sale.

“Anyone can place destinations and promotions on a website, but we’re moving consumers from an online experience to a one-on-one marketing experience with specialists ready to speak with personal expertise and passion,” Block explained. “The human contact with a specialist is an essential part of the Travel Leaders difference.”