Apple Valley, MN
The $1.9 million annual sales volume that Sara Butruff generated in 2013 is a direct result of the 20-year veteran’s strong success in selling Hawaii, cruises, luxury and other niche markets during her tenure at Travel Leaders’ Apple Valley, MN branch, which she owns.
“I love people, whether it’s creating a trip of a lifetime or helping a corporate client turn a business trip into a fun trip by adding a show in New York, a wine experience in California and surprising the spouse to come along,” she says. “My clients become my friends and I always want my friends to travel with a ‘Wow!’ factor.”
One of her winning moments recently was winning a new client who called at the last minute when their river cruise was cancelled. Butruff had 48 hours to find them, and two other couples, something exceptional in Europe. And that she did. “I got them booked with the fabulous help of my preferred suppliers, C&H and Silversea Cruises. First-class air with a single connect and three suites on a 12-day Baltic cruise with a post extension in Copenhagen,” she says. Butruff knew she’d won them over when they called from the ship toward the end of their trip to say though they’d traveled fabulously in the past, they’d never traveled quite this fabulously.
A true devotee to ensuring things go right on the road, Butruff has brought her twin daughters into the business to assist with group travel. More Praise: Butruff and the Farmington Rotary Club this year raised $140,000 through a music festival to assist the local community, an orphanage in Bolivia and to provide clean water wells in Haiti.