Up next in our “Five Secrets to Success” campaign is Melissa Pugh of Jetset World Travel, Inc. Featured in our December 2016 Trendsetters issue, Pugh tells what habits have led to her current success.
Many of Pugh’s clients are very similar to herself: active, adventurous, and inquisitive. She joined her first agency at age 29 but spent six years on her own traveling to 60 countries after college, educating herself organically, as she says.
- Follow your passions—This may seem obvious, and perhaps cliché even, but if I didn’t follow my heart and my passion then I would not be where I am today. I had very different plans for my life, which I threw to the wayside when travel became the love of my life. When I was overcome with the “travel bug” I didn’t even really know that this luxury travel market even existed. I followed my passion without an end goal in sight, it just all came together and worked.
- Work hard—When you think you have tried your best, try harder. When you think you cannot do any better, raise the bar, set standards higher. You are the only one who will be able to push you to your maximum potential.
- Stay curious—The minute you think you know everything you are sabotaging yourself. No matter how much you know about something, in this industry especially, you don’t know it all, and you never will. Always ask questions. Always revisit topics, places you know to stay on top of your game.
- Have confidence—Yes, we sell travel but first and foremost we are selling ourselves. Make sure you understand how important you are in this process. You are the expertise. Leverage your knowledge and be confident with your clients and colleagues. Know how much you are worth.
- Make relationships—That saying “It is not what you know, but who you know” is so prevalent in this industry. There is no way you can know everything, but you can know the right person in each destination, each niche around the globe to help you get the answers. Lean on others in the industry to help you and help others when they ask you.
Make sure to keep checking out Luxury Travel Advisor for more Secrets to Success from our featured advisors!
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