$300 to sit thru a time-share sales pitch

[BradleyT]

Plus you get to post a trip report when done.

[Howard Beale]

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Plus you get to post a trip report when done.

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That's my plan if there is anything noteworthy. I'm pretty laid back though so unless the sales people are particularly awful there won't be much to report.

[roy_miami]

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90 minutes of driving each way, gas, 90 minutes listening to a sales pitch, some awkward interactions with the salespeople afterwards,

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a timeshare. DOH!!

[jzpiano]

go, but don't bring any credit cards,checkbooks, or cash. Just keep saying no, and you should have no problems.

[Assani Fisher]

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Sounds like a no brainer to go to one of these, as long as they can't weasel their way out of paying you. I'd love to go and break out the 'no speakey engish'

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But think of it from this perspective:

They are obviously making money out of it or else they wouldn't do it this way. And I bet that 99% of the people going in are telling themselves "theres no way I'm buying one of these." A good salesperson can be hard to refuse.

[Assani Fisher]

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so, is the reason they make the wife come because they think women are irrational and will try to convince the husband to buy?

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yeah, basically.

Id rather sell to 2 people than one, wouldnt you?
It only increases your odds of a sale.
Its all part of their master plan.

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I'm sure they know more than me, but I acutally hate this idea. I used to do door to door sales for the Cable Company. Quite often I would totally convince someone to buy but they said they had to talk to their spouse first so come back later. And then the spouse would just slam the door in my face and not even be interested. I would much much rather just have to convince one person, especially when you're selling them something that they never really asked for.

[Assani Fisher]

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I have been to about 10 of these. We had one horrible sales rep that tortured us at Hanalei Bay in Kuauai.He was the only one in the office so I couldnt call his manager over. I then turned him in to the resort GM so they knew how this guy was operating.

I think the key to getting in/out fast is being polite. Listen to the initial pitch and just say no thanks. Don't ask questions that will lead your rep into a longer pitch.

If you say something rude or give the rep any crap he'll probably sick the closer on you or torture you longer for jacking him around. You know you are there for free stuff and he knows you are there for free stuff. Its not his fault you are there.

I like to say "hey, its a nice resort and you have given a nice presentation, if we have a good year we would definately consider it in a year or so". Could you follow us up when we are able to make a big purchase?"

A strong salesman will ask for the order 3-8 times. On the 3rd or 4th time i'll get firm. I LIKE THE RESORT! We are not making any purchases for a year. You will still be here in a year I hope? Call us or email in 9 months.

They never follow up. They are all about a TODAY sale.

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really? Again I'm just speaking from my experience in sales, but whenever I got someone that said to "come back later" I would always ask for a phone number and call them once a day until they decided.

[321Mike]

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not if 1.5 of those hours are highly painful

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Most of the 90 minutes is going to be spent touring the resort and (probably) watching a video. They try to make it fun and build a rapport. And the last part is only painful if you have trouble saying no (which is true of a lot of people).

The most iumportant thing is to confirm at the beginning how long you will have to be there. When they say 90 minutes look at your watch and say something like, "OK, great. So I'll be out of here by xx:xx." When you reach the 90 minutes simply cut them off. Tell them clearly that you were not impressed by the resort or timeshare in general and will not be buying.

And be sure to get your $300 before leaving. I've seen people get mad and walk out without their gift.

[DamitBob]

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I have been to about 10 of these. We had one horrible sales rep that tortured us at Hanalei Bay in Kuauai.He was the only one in the office so I couldnt call his manager over. I then turned him in to the resort GM so they knew how this guy was operating.

Also there is huge turnover for time share reps.

I think the key to getting in/out fast is being polite. Listen to the initial pitch and just say no thanks. Don't ask questions that will lead your rep into a longer pitch.

If you say something rude or give the rep any crap he'll probably sick the closer on you or torture you longer for jacking him around. You know you are there for free stuff and he knows you are there for free stuff. Its not his fault you are there.

I like to say "hey, its a nice resort and you have given a nice presentation, if we have a good year we would definately consider it in a year or so". Could you follow us up when we are able to make a big purchase?"

A strong salesman will ask for the order 3-8 times. On the 3rd or 4th time i'll get firm. I LIKE THE RESORT! We are not making any purchases for a year. You will still be here in a year I hope? Call us or email in 9 months.

They never follow up. They are all about a TODAY sale.

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really? Again I'm just speaking from my experience in sales, but whenever I got someone that said to "come back later" I would always ask for a phone number and call them once a day until they decided.

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I agree that most sales reps in most industries would follow up. I have trained a few hundred car sales reps and follow up is huge. Time share guys have your phone number and never follow up. It might be that several resorts I have toured are in Hawaii and I live on the mainland. Thats not a normal "follow up" call. I think to them its a total "today sale" or move to the next fish.

Maybe the guy that worked at a time share office can give us more on that. Even if one does call its easy to say we changed our mind not interested buh bye.

My main point was be nice. I think that will get you outa there quicker than bringing a tude or making up a story. The sales rep will almost always bring in his closer/floor mgr/boss to show him that you are a jerk and unclosable. This shows the manager that the rep didnt waste an up. Then the closer will make you pay for bringing a tude. There are many ways to do this. The most popular is he'll take off "I'll be right back". You can't leave cause he has not signed off on your gift. 20 minutes later he comes back. He was probably vacuuming his car or calling his girlfriend. If you get pissed and leave thats fine with them. You left without your freebie that in their mind you don't deserve since you came in with a tude and had no interest in a purchase.

[DamitBob]

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so, is the reason they make the wife come because they think women are irrational and will try to convince the husband to buy?

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yeah, basically.

Id rather sell to 2 people than one, wouldnt you?
It only increases your odds of a sale.
Its all part of their master plan.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm sure they know more than me, but I acutally hate this idea. I used to do door to door sales for the Cable Company. Quite often I would totally convince someone to buy but they said they had to talk to their spouse first so come back later. And then the spouse would just slam the door in my face and not even be interested. I would much much rather just have to convince one person, especially when you're selling them something that they never really asked for.

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Not sure if you had a "3 day right of recission" law on door to door. We have it here. If a time share guy closes just one then the chances of a cancellation in a day of two when he tells wife is going to be huge. So they all prefer to close both, once.

In our state its different for most products. For instance, if a wife comes to my car dealer and purchases a car I don't need hubby. There is no recission law since she came to our place of business and signed a contract. If I went to her house to sell her a vacuum she would have 3 days to cancel since I solicited her at her home. Most Time shares properties have a recission law even if you go to their place of business.