Burris sheds deep insight on Professional Fees

Nolan Burris, a Vancouver-based 46-year travel industry veteran, turned Training & Development Consultant for Signature Travel Network, offered a thought-provoking presentation on professional fees to an attentive audience at Luxperience last week. Burris was one of two guest speakers as part of Luxperience‘s inaugural ‘Indulge & Inspire’ series, co-hosted by LATTE.

‘Professional fees’ are a “big subject”, Burris said, and while he was given only 25 minutes to present on the topic at Luxperience, his knowledge has extended to 14-week seminars, based on studying thousands of travel agencies, interviewing thousands of individuals in the United States, Canada and even Australia. All his extensive research can be squeezed into five key factors.

Burris, himself a former frontline travel advisor, drilled down on his ‘5 Factors of Fees Success,’ which are centred on mindset, selling yourself, packaging your business, consistency and brand image.

“Mindset being the most important of these,” Burris told his audience of luxury travel advisors.

He explained that travel advisors can charge “whatever professional fee you want, you just have to make it worth whatever you’re charging.”

While most advisors are charging a couple of hundred dollars, Burris highlighted one advisor in the US who is imposing a US$2,500 professional fee. And he has a waiting list of clients seeking his service.

“That’s his minimum fee. When people ask him, how do you do that? His response is simple. I think I’m worth it.”

Burris said advisors should use every opportunity with every enquiry to promote themselves.

“Don’t sell yourself short,” he said. “If you’re too low it seems like a service charge.”

“Fees are not about making a reservation,” he says. “Of course, they’re part of it. But this is a very important mindset when people say to me, ‘Well, why would anyone pay me more to do what they can do themselves?’

“Oh, you really think they could do what you do? Really think that through. Because when you make a booking with me, you’re making the right booking with the right supplier, in the right destination, in the right kind of room, on the right date, etc.”

Burris emphasised that travel advisors offer advice, they have the support, the have the relationships, the connections, “and the clout” when it comes to travel bookings.

“Fees are for things you do for your clients,” he said, adding, “do your clients keep informed about the latest updates from suppliers on webinars after hours?”

“People who try to book something themselves, they don’t have somebody else’s phone number to call to say, I need a little favour here, I need to negotiate this, I need to negotiate that.”

Burris said agencies and individuals who excel with professional fees “view themselves as a separate product, as a separate service,” using an example of selling a luxury cruise.

“I am selling you the information you need to get the right cruise, the right cabin, to the right place, for you, the human. How much that cruise might cost doesn’t change your value.”

The former Chicagoan said that supplier commission is “for the things you do for suppliers” and that “fees are the things you do for the client”.

Burris encouraged advisors to brand their own service, and offer different tiers or service package levels, such as Bronze, Silver and Gold levels, which can be based on the level of time and complexity involved by the consultant to prepare a proposal or booking.

He said it was essential that advisors show consistency with their professional fees from one client to the next. “[Consistency] is a make it or break it. Don’t confuse your clients. Inconsistency makes them suspicious that something’s going on.”

“You’re going to have exceptions, and that’s okay, but be consistent with what defines those exceptions. Don’t make your clients that that you’re up to something.”

Lastly, Burris says “protect your image like it’s the most valuable thing we have, because it is.”