Every Travel Proposal Has a PLOT: Here’s How to Find It
The Social Takeoff Podcast with Kelli Hayes SmithShow Notes
SHOW NOTES Travel agents, what if your biggest content problem isn't that you don't know what to post, but that you aren't recognizing the content you're already creating?
In this episode, I'm introducing The PLOT Framework, a new framework I've developed to help travel agents find the stories hiding inside the work they're already doing.
Because every time you create a proposal, you're making decisions. You're listening to what your client is actually telling you. You're navigating challenges. And you're noticing tiny details that can completely change the vacation you recommend.
That's the content.
PLOT gives you four places to look:
P — PICK: The Decision Story What did you pick, and why? L — LISTEN: The Client Story What did your client say that mattered? O — OBSTACLE: The Challenge Story What did you have to work around or solve? T — TINY DETAIL: The Difference Story
What small detail changed the recommendation or experience? We're also talking about why storytelling matters more than ever in travel agent marketing, how AI is changing the research and booking process, and why showing your discernment is more powerful than simply telling potential clients you're an expert.
And this is only the beginning. Over the next four episodes, we're breaking down each part of PLOT and talking about how to recognize these stories, frame them, and turn them into Reels, carousels, emails, captions, Stories, blogs and more.
YOUR HOMEWORK: Pull up the last proposal you sent and find the PLOT. Then come tell me what you found in my Instagram DMs. LINKS + RESOURCES Come talk marketing with me on Instagram Connect with me on LinkedIn Watch The Social Takeoff on YouTube
More from The Social Takeoff Podcast with Kelli Hayes Smith
You worked hard to earn the client. So why would your marketing stop once they book? In the final episode of the PLOT series, we're talking about the T: Tiny Detail. And this one is a little different. Instead of finding another piece of content to post on social media, we're using the tiny details you learn about your clients to create better loyalty marketing and turn first-time clients into repeat clients. Because by the time someone has planned and taken a trip with you, you know A LOT about them. You know what they loved, what they didn't love, what they were willing to spend more on, what surprised them, what their kids couldn't stop talking about, what they would never do again, and maybe even where they're dreaming about going next. The question is: are you actually capturing that information and using it? In this episode, we're talking about how to: • collect Tiny Details before, during, and after a client's trip • use post-trip feedback to build a living client profile • create personal, one-to-one touchpoints that don't feel like sales pitches • segment past clients based on what they actually care about • make mass email marketing feel more personal without pretending a first-name field is personalization • use your CRM to help you remember what your brain absolutely will not • create marketing that makes your clients think, “She knows us.” Your CRM shouldn't just tell you where someone traveled. It should get smarter every time they travel with you. Because the proposal gives you marketing material. The relationship gives you marketing intelligence. And some of the most powerful marketing you do may never be posted publicly at all. This is the final piece of PLOT, and it's all about keeping the clients you've already worked so hard to earn. Come find me on Instagram: @kellihayessmith https://www.instagram.com/kellihayessmith/
Travel agents, when I say Challenge Story, I am NOT telling you to wait until somebody loses a passport, gets stranded somewhere, or has a full-blown travel emergency before you have something worth talking about. Most of the obstacles you solve are a whole lot more ordinary than that. The budget doesn’t quite match the wish list. The better flight costs more. The resort your client found on TikTok doesn’t actually fit the vacation they described. The perfect family resort doesn’t have the room setup they need. Two people on the same trip have completely different priorities. Nothing went wrong. Something just made the answer less straightforward. In Part 4 of my PLOT series, we’re unpacking O: OBSTACLE → the Challenge Story. We’re talking about how to recognize the ordinary obstacles hiding inside the proposals you’re already working on, the difference between a Challenge Story and the Decision Stories we talked about in Part 2, and why showing the problem-solving between a client’s request and your eventual recommendation can make some of your most valuable work visible to potential clients. I’m also breaking down the boundaries I think matter when telling these stories, because this isn’t about manufacturing drama, making a client look difficult, sharing private information, or positioning yourself as the hero who swooped in and saved the day. And we’ll get practical about turning one Challenge Story into a talking-head Reel, carousel, B-roll Reel, email or Stories. Your assignment this week is simple: go back to your last proposal and don’t look for what went wrong. Look for what wasn’t completely straightforward. What did you have to solve, balance, adjust or work around? That’s your Challenge Story. Ordinary obstacles count, too. CONNECT WITH KELLI Instagram: @kellihayessmith LinkedIn: Kelli Hayes Smith
Show Notes Travel agents, some of your best content is already happening in conversations with your clients. The question is: are you listening for it? In Part 3 of the PLOT framework, we're digging into LISTEN and the Client Story.
Travel agents, your booking is probably not the most interesting part of the story.
Most travel advisors think they need better marketing.