Many of our Tripologists (that’s what we like to call our registered travel agents now) have complained about the fact that a good amount of our leads come through without phone numbers. While this is true, we believe there’s a disconnect here in terms of the online consumer’s behavior and our Tripologists’ expectations.

In a world of multitasking, people with multiple devices, many methods of contact and limited availability, online consumers simply do not view phone calls as their primary method of communication. After a focus group with several consumers who have used our site, it’s clear to us that a lack of a phone number does not mean a lack of seriousness of intent to use a Tripology travel agent. Most of these consumers, after submitting a request, expected an email from their matched travel specialists, and were open to giving their phone number after seeing the initial email from the agent. Most also said they still preferred to do most of their trip planning with agents via email, and were open to scheduling phone calls “only if necessary.” If they did not like the intital email the agent sent, they often did not reply or clicked “Decline this Agent’s Services.” Reasons for declining or not replying included “the email looked like a form letter” and “this agent clearly didn’t read my request.”

We do have work to do to more clearly explain to our consumers to respect our Tripologists’ time and money. But this same message applies to those consumers who provide phone numbers and let your call go to voice mail, never to be returned.

We strongly recommend that you not ignore the leads with only email addresses — many of them are good leads with sincere intent to use the services of a Tripology-matched travel specialist. If the rest of the lead looks good, the best advice we have is to send them a winning opening personalized email that addresses their request and shows why you’re the right travel specialist for the job.