Gary M. Pollard

Ambassador Tours

San Francisco

www.ambassadortours.com

Pollard grew up in the travel business, joining the family-run agency 28 years ago. “When I became more involved in the business, many of the suppliers who used to deal with my dad would tell me stories of how he was a player in his day and if I wanted to be like him, I had to learn quickly,” he remembers. He followed marketing trends in other businesses that could affect travel, “thus giving me a better understanding of how to make clients buy from us and not the supplier or our competition. Being able to identify the right product for the client is what makes a difference in closing the sale or not.”

As an example, when a client wanted a private tour of India, he contacted Micato Safaris and helped them get into remote areas an average traveler might miss—all while staying in comfortable hotel rooms, palace rooms and luxury tents. “My clients couldn’t have been happier,” he recalls, “and neither could I.”

http://www.travelagentcentral.com/agent-profiles/travel-agent-recognizes-25-leading-travel-advisors