The Trout Are Jumping On Cape Cod!
May 2st, 2012

In the north, life dies or falls asleep in winter. It is a long, dark time that runs counter to the needs of the human animal. But every year, right on track with the way our Creator rigged it to work, the sun starts to move back to its summer home. Life reappears, the flowers bloom, the sap flows and best of all, the trout start to jump! In fact, if you stand very quietly at the edge of a glassy, Cape Cod kettle pond, cup your ear and listen very carefully, at the exact moment the fish exits the water, you can hear an undeniable "Yahoo!". Yes, every living being rejoices as life returns to a land long denied it.

Part of the money that fishing-folk pay for their fishing license goes into stocking ponds and lakes that are traditional habitat for trout. This year, Bay State anglers can look forward to nearly 575,000 feisty brook, brown, rainbow and tiger trout being stocked this spring according to figures released by MassWildlife (our fish & game management department). They'll be putting out more than 286,000 rainbow trout averaging over 14 inches long. 46,000 brown trout in the 12-inch class will be stocked along with 87,000 browns in the over 9 inch range and 20,000 in the 6-9 inch range. The larger water bodies will receive the larger fish with the smaller brooks and streams receiving the younger fish. Brook trout will be stocked in a similar fashion with 12,000 fish measuring a foot or better, 77,000 greater than 9 inches and 30,000 in the 6 - 9 inch class. Anglers can also anticipate trying to tame some of the 3,250 tiger trout to be released, all topping the 14 inch mark. These handsome fish, a cross between a female brown trout and a male brook trout, have become popular with folks lucky enough to land one. I've caught a few of these and they're definitely a freshwater fish with an attitude.

So, this spring, when I'm not prepping eSales Calls, know that I'll be on and around the ponds and lakes of Cape Cod. Oh, and don't forget. If you're near a great place to wet a line, get out there, get in the game and don't forget to bring a kid fishing!

Bill Mallia, CTC, DS - Your Cyber-Sales Rep
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Thank God I'm Driving A Computer!
April 2nd, 2012

Before many of you knew me as your cyber-sales rep, I was a traditional road representative in the Northeast United States.  Always as a sales and marketing professional, I started out with a company called GWV International, moved to Savoy Resorts and, at 29 years old, started a multi-line sales firm that represented many of our industry's top suppliers and destinations.  Between 1984 and 2000, I carried out more than 20,000 personal sales calls and countless trade shows/seminars, all the while racking up over 650,000 miles behind the wheel of a car.

As you know, these days I visit travel agents all over the United States and Canada via my monthly "eSales Calls" and thank God I do.  With gas prices as high as they are and most travel agents working out of their home offices, the old way of doing sales calls is pretty much a thing of the past.  I want you to know that it's a privilege to bring Sugar Bay Resort & Spa, TravelSafe Insurance, Liberty Fleet of Tall Ships, Courtesy Rent A Car and now The Travel Institute's Communiversity to you.  I hope I can support you as much as you have supported me!

Bill Mallia, CTC, DS - Your Cyber-Sales Rep
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Travel Agents Are Still the Pillar of the Travel Industry!
March 14th, 2012

I have been helping travel suppliers promote their offering to travel agents for 28 years and I’ve seen a lot of changes in the relationship between these two partners along the way. Once upon a time, suppliers only sold through travel retailers and heaven help them if they tried otherwise. While the Internet has altered the distribution landscape, these days travel agents continue to be one of the most important allies that tour operators, cruise lines, hotels, etc. have.

One of the fundamental rules of sales dictates that the primary source of business for any travel supplier is from repeat clients, followed by referrals from those clients and thirdly, business from “Centers of Influence”, which in the travel industry are travel retailers. You see, when I carry out my eSales Calls each month, my goal is to create the opportunity for travel supplier sales to occur in travel agency offices. When I started my career, I was a traditional sales representative working a small geographic territory but now, by way of my eSales Call creation, I can reach agents from coast to coast, located throughout the United Sates and Canada.

Travel agencies may no longer be positioned on every street corner, but that doesn’t mean that these important pillars of our industry have gone away. Today, I encourage you to remind those suppliers you work with just how important the travel agent community is to their business.  Also, while you’re at it, don’t hesitate to mention that you know a cyber-sales rep who would be honored to share his extensive experience with them!

Bill Mallia, CTC, DS - Your Cyber-Sales Rep
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So, My Daughter Wants To Be A Lawyer
March 1st, 2012

President's week in your cyber-sales rep's part of the world is school break time.  So, it seemed a good time to pack up the family and go check-out colleges.

Now, at the risk of sounding like Ron Paul, the price of colleges has gone through the roof since the government decided to "help".  With that said, I just seem to stare at the rates with dizzied disbelief now that free-market forces no longer apply.

Nevertheless, we left Cape Cod, bound for North Carolina.  Our plan was to grab a little in "R&R" in Wrightsville Beach while checking out nearby Campbell University, which offers one of the best Pre-Law and Law programs in the nation.

Our next stop was on the way north-bound at Liberty University.  Whatever some may say about the academics at this school, the campus and associated facilities are simply amazing!

Now, all we have to do is take one last trip to Texas to visit Dallas Baptist University and Baylor University and we should have the reviews complete.  In the meantime, I'll just keep flailing the pom-poms for my daughter to increase her GPA so that we can get more scholarship money!

Bill Mallia, CTC, DS - Your Cyber-Sales Rep
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