It's My Blog and I'll Rant If I Want

WARNING: This post is being written while I'm angry.

I'm fed up and don't mind saying so. Years back in 2001 and 2002 while I was still a timeshare salesperson, I kept asking questions about the timeshare sales strategy that was being used everywhere. You know; the bribe, the 90-minute, the "must buy today or the price goes up" spiel, the lack of follow-up (a/k/a there are no be-backs), etc.

I wrote about my questions, my ideas, my thoughts on consumers hating to be sold anything, including timeshare and their embracing of purchasing, on the need for timeshares to advertise and other things in the now (unfortunately) defunct The Timeshare Beat and in the following years in my first two books, "Surviving A Timeshare Presentation...Confessions From The Sales Table" and "Timeshare Vacations For Dummies."

And what did I get for these thoughts? Riducule. Outrage. Blackballed. Shunned. Lobbied against. Dirty looks. And while I didn't go into this with the plan to make a quick million dollars and get out, I did anticipate my ability to make a decent living being The Timeshare Crusader and HELPING consumers and resorts alike through the mish-mash of timeshare. Well, THAT certainly didn't happen. Not even close.

Flash forward to 2010 and the timeshare conferences, the timeshare industry publications and the timeshare talking heads are all about "the need to come up with new marketing fundamentals" and "consumers like options and will share information" and "it's time to change the sales strategy", etc. etc. etc. And all these people are making gazillions of dollars spouting the exact same stuff I was talking about and writing about years ago when no one listened.

While it is true that even with 10 years experience in the industry, I am a relative newcomer and I will be the very first person to admit that I have a lot to learn about the industry, I'd like to know where the hell I went wrong. "Timeshare Vacations For Dummies" should have been a huge seller. Timeshare resorts had the opportunity to create custom editions of this book and include it in all of their kits as an anti-recission tool. Timeshare resorts also had the opportunity to talk to me about new and improved marketing and selling strategies.

Instead, I've had to suffer the indignation of watching other people get rich, get speaking opportunities, get quoted in mainstream and industry media by saying the exact same things as I said years ago...sometimes verbatim! Glad to see they're reading my stuff...NOT.

I'm glad to see that there is some positive movement in the timeshare industry and I hope that it will continue. Timeshare is a wonderful product as I've maintained from the beginning. I just wish that "they", and "they" know who they are, would have the decency to give credit where credit is due.