A couple questions regarding selling vacation packages to resorts...

[robbiestark Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close robbiestark]

Hi everyone... I've been in the timeshare industry now for the past year and a half. I'm in my mid to late 20's, I live in Orlando, and all I do is sell vacation packages over the phone so that people can come in and tour the resorts.

I don't think of myself as a telemarketer, but that's basically what I do. I think timeshares are great only for people who vacation a lot, and nowadays I think that's not a lot of people. I had a rough year last year with lots of ups and downs while working for one of the bigger resort companies but I still managed to stick around for a while, until I got sick in more ways than one and didn't show up for work one day...

Now I'm getting a fresh start next week with a smaller company. It seems to me they're an up and comer in the industry as they continue to build more resorts. I'd rather not say what company it is, but I'm looking forward to it and I'm trying my best to get rid of all the negatives in my head and have a positive attitude about the industry and my new company.

I'm not very good at asking for help at work and there are a lot of books about selling, but I've never seen one specifically for what I do. Most of them focus on selling to business owners so the scenarios and suggestions in those books don't really help me very much. Selling to consumers and talking to housewives and busy husbands is very different. So I have a couple questions to all of you who frequent this forum, and especially to timeshare owners.

First of all, when it comes to telling people about the tour in our pitch, is it best to downplay it or is it better to show a lot of excitement and tell them what a great opportunity it is to tour the property? I've heard people downplay it to the point where they're basically lying to them about what it is. I guess I'm too honest sometimes but lying is never the answer. The industry obviously has a terrible reputation and unfortunately so many people have had a bad experience during the tour in the past that it would seem like you're shooting yourself in the foot if you don't downplay it as much as you can. At the same time, if they're looking forward to touring instead of thinking about it as a drag, they're more likely to buy timeshare, right? It's a catch-22.

As far as the objection of timeshare when people say they don't want to tour because they had a bad experience or because they've heard of what happens at the end of the presentation, what's the best way to overcome that? Obviously the packages are very cheap and they include gifts, for the most part, but aside from using the gifts and the value of the package, and telling them how important it is to our company for them to have a good experience, what else would you guys suggest that can be said for people to not be afraid of the tour?

And last thing, if anyone is kind enough to offer some suggestions as well on overcoming the mother of all objections, which of course is the dreaded spousal "I must talk to my husband (or wife)" crap, I would really appreciate that as well.

Thanks in advance to everyone who chimes in!

- Rob

[aliikai2 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close aliikai2]

Sorry Rob

But this is a timeshare users site, that preaches buy resale. I don't think you are going to find anyone here able to help you sell retail.
Greg

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

I think you should look for another field. Selling people something that is worth less than 25% of the sale price does not make for good self esteem. Of course you could choose to tell them the whole truth and never make a sale.

[SallyHoover Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close SallyHoover]

There is a site called insidethegate. I read it occasionally to see how to avoid TS salespeople and their BS but it might help you and might be a better place to pose your question.

[billymach4 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close billymach4]

Rob,

Thanks for your honesty here!

Yes we are a bunch of cynics here, but somehow we all got into time sharing. It is a damn shame that so much time, marketing, and money has to go into selling this product.

It would be great if I could just buy my vacation off the shelf at BJ's or Costco.

It would be great if I could buy my car off the shelf, my life insurance policy off the shelf. Cars would sell at 20% discount, Life Insurance would sell at 25% to 50% discount.

Timeshares would sell for a 75% discount.

But no...... The developers want to see their ROI!

I think the insidethegate is a great place to start. Read our commentary here. Maybe you can impress your prospects by learning how to advise them of their exchange possibilities! I think that is a great selling point!

Listen up my fellow TS4MS friends... We are not going to stop the developers from selling this stuff. Someone has to buy into timeshareing, otherwise we would not benefit from the resale market! That is the way I look at it.

I signed on the dotted line and rescinded when I discovered the resale market within my rescission period. We tell everyone that finds us to rescind.

Rob is just trying to make a buck, I can't knock him for being honest with us!

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

There are many books and courses out there that provide exactly the type of training you are looking for. It shouldn't be easy to find something.

Having had sales as a significant job responsibility for much of my career (continuing to the present) there are a few comments I can weigh in with.

1. Some of the best resources and orientation materials (books and audio tapes - how quaint!!) I received (from a former boss) was by Zig Ziglar. It would be appropriate for what you may be interested in. Zig spent a good part of his career as a door-to-door salesman selling cookware and kitchenware.

2. The most fundamental principle in sales is to shut up and stop talking. Contrary to common belief good sales people do not have the gift of gab, they have the gift of listen.

3. If you don't absolutely and totally believe in the value of what you are selling, do yourself, your employer, and your prospects a favor and quit your job. Then go find a job selling something you do believe.

4. Becoming an effective sales person is both a life skill and a professional skill. If you are raising a family, do you think you would be more effective as a parent by coercing your children to behave because it's what you want from them or by convincing them that they should behave because it's in their best interests? IOW - much of parenting is about selling. Knowing how to motivate people to do what is in their best interests is a good like skill to develop.

5. I bolded the phrase in the preceding paragraph because it is key to being a sales professional. Your goal as a sales professional is to understand what your prospect needs and then determine if what you are selling matches their needs. You have to have the personal integrity to to walk away from a sale that is not in the prospect's interest even though it is in your power to close the sale. If you do proceed to close the sale even though you know it is not really what the prospect needs, you are not a sales professional, you are a craven manipulator. And that is what gives timeshare sales people such a bad reputation - the industry relies on sales people of low moral fiber who have no qualms about manipulating people to buy something they don't need, can't use, and can't afford.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

At about the same age, I was doing similar work, and relied on See You At The Top and other materials by Zig Ziglar. I was in sales, then sales management and training, and all of my sales force was indoctrinated with the video and classrom version of ZZ's Richer Life Course, which I also offered to the public.

I participated in The Richer Life Course in Dallas, Zig teaching.

I also recommend you find another career. You will eventually, when reality sinks in, so the sooner you get started on a new endeavor, the better.

[robbiestark Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close robbiestark]

Thanks a lot to everyone who replied, even those who were somewhat discouraging. People don't like sales people or being sold. That I know very well. It's not easy but I know a lot of people that with hard work and perseverence end up making good money and being very successful, working only 30 hours a week, and some of them make close to six figures. Others go into management and make a career out of it... I'm not sure if that's in the cards for me, but we'll see.

Selling people something that is worth less than 25% of the sale price does not make for good self esteem.

First of all, that's the case for a whole lot of things that you can buy nowadays. The actual value of a $1000 high def TV is probably somewhere around $300-400. But people still pay retail. And keep in mind, it's not like I'm selling the timeshares over the phone, I just sell the packages, and those are pretty cheap... Some of them are just $99 to stay at a nice resort for 3 or 4 days, which makes it really worth it for some people.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Yes, but you don't pay for the tv forever even after you pay it off---and you can take it to the dump.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

&, if you are using your real name, you should change that immediately.

The Internet is dangerous enough without giving crazy folks a head start.

&, if Mr. Seigel happens to pass by, say Hi for me.