Part Two of a Two-Part Series for Agency Owners
Once you have documented how your agency operates, the next step is turning that information into a clear onboarding process for every new advisor or recruit who joins your team.
Bringing someone into your agency is only the beginning.
A successful onboarding process should answer one very important question for the new advisor:
What do I need to do, and how do I make sure I am working correctly within this agency?
Without a clear process, new advisors can quickly become overwhelmed by supplier registrations, booking platforms, technology, commission procedures, client communication, and industry terminology.
Your job as the agency owner is not to teach them everything in one day.
Your job is to give them a system they can follow.
Create a New Advisor Checklist
Every new advisor joining your agency should follow the same basic onboarding process.
Your checklist might include:
- Independent contractor or employment agreement
- Agency policies and procedures
- Commission structure
- Client ownership policies
- Errors and omissions insurance requirements
- Supplier registrations
- Booking-platform access
- Agency TRUE accreditation information
- CRM access
- Agency email setup
- Marketing and branding guidelines
- Social media policies
- Training requirements
- Commission tracking procedures
- Emergency contact procedures
This keeps the process organized for both the agency owner and the advisor.
Instead of trying to remember what each new person needs, you have a repeatable system.
Make Agency Accreditation Part of the Training
One of the most important areas to address during onboarding is how your new advisor books travel under your agency.
Your agency operates under a TRUE accreditation number, your new advisors need to understand from the beginning that they are working and booking under the agency’s accreditation.
That means the agency should clearly explain:
- Which TRUE number is associated with the agency
- Where that number should be entered in supplier registrations
- How the advisor should identify the agency when creating supplier profiles
- Which booking portals are approved by the agency
- How to confirm the agency accreditation is correctly attached to a booking
- How commissions are tracked back to the agency
This is not a detail that should be left for the advisor to figure out on their own.
It should be a required part of the agency’s onboarding process.
Teach Advisors to Verify the Agency TRUE Number
One of the most important habits you can teach a new advisor is to verify that the agency’s TRUE number is properly recognized before completing a booking.
That simple step can help prevent major commission problems later.
Before completing a reservation, the advisor should confirm that:
- The correct agency profile is attached
- The agency TRUE number is showing where required
- The supplier recognizes the agency
- The booking is being made through the approved agency account
- The commission information is correct
- The booking confirmation reflects the correct agency details
If the agency accreditation is missing from the booking, fixing the issue after travel may become much more difficult.
The goal is to make sure everything is correct from the beginning.
Build a Supplier Registration Plan
Do not simply hand a new advisor a list of suppliers and tell them to register everywhere.
Agency owners should control and guide that process.
Start with the suppliers and booking platforms your agency already works with.
For each one, explain:
- How the advisor should register
- Which agency information should be used
- Which TRUE number should be entered
- Whether the advisor should create an individual login under the agency
- How the booking should be tied back to the agency
- Who receives the commission
- How commission is ultimately paid to the advisor
This keeps your supplier relationships organized and helps ensure that every advisor is representing the agency consistently.
Explain How Your Agency Books Travel
Knowing that a supplier exists is not the same as knowing how your agency wants bookings handled.
For each major supplier or booking platform, your SOP should explain:
- How to register
- Which agency credentials to use
- Where the TRUE number should appear
- Whether commission is built into the booking
- How the booking should be documented
- Where confirmation numbers should be stored
- How payments are processed
- How commission is tracked
- Who to contact when something goes wrong
This becomes especially important when a commission is missing.
If the advisor can quickly provide the client name, supplier, booking number, travel dates, and agency TRUE number used on the reservation, researching the issue becomes much easier.
Protect the Agency’s Supplier Relationships
Your agency has worked to build supplier relationships, establish booking accounts, and maintain professional recognition within the industry.
New advisors need to understand that they are now working within that structure.
They should not create duplicate agency profiles, register using different agency information, or book outside approved channels without first speaking with the agency owner.
This can create confusion with supplier records, commission payments, and account ownership.
A strong onboarding process protects both the advisor and the agency by making expectations clear.
Teach Client-Service Expectations
Every agency has its own personality and standards.
Your onboarding process should explain yours.
How quickly do you expect advisors to respond to clients?
How should they introduce themselves?
How frequently should clients receive updates?
What should a proposal look like?
When should payment reminders be sent?
What happens if a client stops responding?
How should complaints be handled?
What happens during a travel emergency?
Your SOP should not only explain how to make a booking.
It should explain how your agency takes care of its clients.
Include the Difficult Situations
New advisors will eventually encounter situations that do not go according to plan.
Prepare them before that happens.
Your training should address situations such as:
- A client wants to cancel
- A supplier changes an itinerary
- A flight is cancelled
- A traveler has a passport problem
- A hotel cannot locate a reservation
- A commission is missing
- A credit card is declined
- A client complains
- An emergency occurs while the agency owner is unavailable
Your advisor does not need to memorize every solution.
They simply need to know:
Where do I find the procedure?
and
Who do I contact?
That is the value of having documented systems.
Use AI to Help Build Your Training Manual
Agency owners already know much more than they realize.
The challenge is getting that knowledge out of their heads and into a format someone else can use.
AI can make that process much easier.
Instead of starting with a blank page, speak through a process as if you were explaining it to a new advisor.
For example:
“Here is how our agency handles a new travel inquiries.”
Then explain the steps naturally.
AI can help organize that information into:
- Checklists
- SOPs
- Training documents
- Templates
- Supplier guides
- New-advisor manuals
- Client communication procedures
You still review everything and make it your own.
The technology simply helps you document what you already know.
Your Goal Is Consistency
A strong onboarding program should allow every advisor to operate confidently while still following the systems, standards, and accreditation structure of your agency.
That means they understand:
Your procedures.
Your suppliers.
Your expectations.
Your technology.
Your client-service standards.
Your commission process.
And how to correctly book under the agency’s TRUE accreditation.
Consistency protects the agency, supports the advisor, and helps create a more professional client experience.
Build Advisors Who Understand Your Agency
Growing an agency is not simply about adding more people who can make bookings.
It is about developing advisors who understand how your business operates and how to represent it professionally.
That requires structure.
It requires training.
It requires documented procedures.
And it requires making sure every advisor understands exactly how to work within the agency’s accreditation and booking systems.
Your TRUE Accreditation is an important part of the foundation of your agency. Make sure every new advisor understands how to use it correctly, how to book under it, and how to protect the professional structure you have worked hard to build