HOMEWORKING firm Travel Counsellors has announced it will close its virtual call centre by January next year, claiming leads from Teletext ads have become too expensive to generate.
Last month, when Travel Counsellors stopped offering telesales as an option for new starters, the amount of bookings made through its telesales agents accounted for just 6% of overall business, down from 28% three years ago.
Now the Bolton-based firm says its remaining 41 telesales workers will become personal travel counsellors by January leaving all 680 employees on the same franchise arrangement brought in this year under which counsellors retain 60% of commission compared to just 45% on telesales.
Travel Counsellors has operated a telesales division since 1996 and chairman David Speakman said it had proved successful building the business but that now it was too expensive a way of generating leads.
“The only way forward is either to go online or to give ultra consumer service, everything else in between – travel consultants giving prices over the phone and selling on price – is dead.
“We do not believe telesales is the future for home-based agents who want to run and develop their own successful travel business working from home. We feel now is the right time to do this.”
Speakman said the decision to end Teletext advertising will have little impact.
“The biggest single source of leads is referrals and that’s what our personal travel counsellors live off,” he said.
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