To help travel professionals who have taken their businesses home or are considering becoming home-based in the future, THE TRADESHOW has announced new seminars geared to home-based agents attending this year's show. The 2008 THE TRADESHOW will take place in Orlando, Sept. 7-9, at the Orange County Convention Center.

"With the explosive growth in the home-based travel industry, education becomes even more important as increasingly travel agents are taking their business home," said Scott Koepf, president of NACTA, a sponsor of THE TRADESHOW. "Understanding the basic tenets of running an home-based agency and then building on that with specialized marketing courses makes all the difference when it comes to running a successful agency out of your home."

The home-based seminar series kicks off with Seven Things You Can Do to Turn Your Travel Business into a Middle Class Lifeboat, presented by Paul and Sarah Edwards. In this home-based general session, attendees will learn how business opportunity today is disguised by skyrocketing airfares and gasoline prices, an anemic dollar and economic changes that are squeezing many Americans. This session covers emerging niches and suggests how to capitalize on them and will provide travel agents with a roadmap of steps they can take to make their travel business a middle class lifeboat.
Additionally, delegates will have the option of attending any or all of the following seminars:

• If I'm Like You – You Will Like Me. Presented by Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC. In this workshop attendees will discover how to speak their customers' language by understanding their communication patterns. Being able to build rapport by creating an emotional attachment with customers is at the foundation of a long term relationship that will build business.

• Tool Box for Making a Small Fortune as a Home-Based Agent . Presented by Gary Fee and Anita Pagliasso. Agents will learn marketing and other essential steps to elevate their home-based business to the next level. This seminar will cover the following topics: understanding the tools that are needed for a professionals home-based agent; legal issues for home-based agents; industry ID codes; e-commerce and database tools; how to build business through networking; the home-based agency host; selling and managing groups and much more.

• Ultimate Sales Seminar Part I & II. Presented by Scott Koepf, CTC, MCC. This selling workshop provides specific tools and will introduce a process and style that can be personalized to each individual. By using the sales system provided, the goal changes from completing a transaction to creating a lifetime client.

• Using Technology to Develop and Maintain Relationships with Today's Savvy Customers. Presented by Brad Anderson. During this seminar, travel professionals will learn how to skyrocket their home-based businesses through the use of today's technology. With the right applications, technology can offer an unparalleled advantage to the 21st-century travel agent, helping to build relationships with current and prospective customers. This interactive workshop will give attendees a new perspective on today's technology, and they will leave inspired to sell more travel.