Building and scaling a TMC

FOR experienced corporate travel professionals, going independent can be exciting. Bradley Pearsall, Travel Counsellors South Africa’s Business Development Manager Corporate agrees with this principle but, he says, it also raises an important question: how far, realistically, can one person scale? Pearsall says Travel Counsellors for Business is designed to answer that question, and differently. He says the franchise model gives corporate travel professionals the opportunity to build an owner- managed business, supported by the technology, infrastructure and community needed to grow beyond the limits of a traditional one- person operation. “A key part of that is our unique collaboration model, TC Teams.” He explains that TC Teams allows Travel Counsellors to collaborate with other experienced franchise owners, sharing expertise, responsibilities and client servicing. This means they can take on more corporate clients, support larger and more complex accounts and create greater service continuity without losing the personal relationships that sit at the heart of the Travel Counsellors model. In practice, it gives franchise owners the potential to build something that feels more like a highly personal, owner-managed TMC. And they are not expected to do it alone. Each Corporate Travel Counsellor has access to a qualified Business Coach, as well as a dedicated Business Development Manager, to help them shape their strategy, win new accounts and grow sustainably over the long term. “That matters because corporate customers increasingly expect more than bookings,” says Pearsall. “They want responsive service, robust duty of care, insightful reporting, sustainability support, travel policy compliance and a partner who understands both their people and their business objectives.” Concierge travel He emphasises that at the heart of the Travel Counsellors proposition is Concierge Corporate Travel: a highly personal, outcomes-based approach to business travel. As franchise owners, Corporate Travel Counsellors are personally invested in the success of those relationships and the outcomes they deliver. They are also backed by Travel Counsellors’ wider infrastructure. An in-house Duty Office provides 24/7 support during developing and emergency situations, while the myTC app helps travellers manage itineraries and travel information on the go. Corporate clients gain visibility of travel spend and patterns through myTC Insights, with carbon reporting helping businesses make more informed decisions around sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance objectives. Travel Counsellors also work with approved suppliers, helping to protect customer money through its financial protection arrangements. Pearsall says that for a travel professional considering becoming a Corporate Travel Counsellor, the opportunity is therefore about more than becoming self-employed. It is about taking the corporate travel skills and client-management experience they already have and using them to build an asset of their own, with the ability to collaborate, grow their client base and pursue larger corporate opportunities as their business develops. “With Travel Counsellors for Business, independence does not have to limit their ambition. It can be the starting point for building a scalable corporate travel business of their own.”