Colleen Bulla
Where were you born? In Winchester, eastern Ontario.
What was your 1st job? Babysitting. I remember earning 25 cents an hour to take a little girl out for a walk in her stroller!
How long have you been in the business? 8 years. Before that, I was a rehabilitation consultant.
Tell me about your 1st airplane ride. To the former Yugoslavia in 1975. My parents were teachers who loved to travel, and that was our 1st overseas trip.
How has the business changed since you got into it? When I got into the industry, if you were a home-based agent you were a lesser human being. Now we are absolutely mainstream. And of course, there’s so much consumer access now, and a little knowledge is a dangerous thing!
Do you have a specialty? Europe and river cruising.
If you could have any job in the business what would it be? The job I have right now!
What was your best FAM? Ireland with Transat and Tourism Ireland. What a great experience all around.
What drives you crazy? Wild goose chases.
What was your biggest individual sale? $24,000 for 2 couples travelling to Ireland for 10 days.
What’s the 1st thing you do when you get into a hotel room? Take a picture.
Do you have a magic sentence to close the sale? I don’t have one master one, but one that works sometimes is, “I think this sounds like the perfect itinerary for you.”
What’s the weirdest question you’ve ever been asked? This didn’t happen to me, but I’ll never forget the client who asked my colleague for a hotel in “downtown Austria”.
Do you have any time management strategies? It’s a constant struggle. I must say I suffer from “something shiny” syndrome and can get distracted! I do turn the ringer off my phone and I minimize my email. And I also turn off the sound notification for every time I get a new email.
How do you cope with jetlag? A couple of things: going to bed at the local time, and when I have enough points I fly in business class. That helps!
What do you do to keep you clients loyal? I personalize what I do for them and keep records on their habits, interests and celebration dates. I personalize documents for them including, for example, a plastic airport security “liquids bag”.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received? “Specialize.”
If you had to spend 6 months in a destination, which one would you pick? Europe – eastern Europe especially.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing? I would just be travelling. In business class, of course! (laughs)
If you or someone you know is a front line travel agent in Canada and would like to be featured in Up Front, please email martha@gk.openjaw.xyz.
