Saying What You Want To Hear

Every salesperson, well every good salesperson, learns early on to tailor their pitch to each unique individual. 

While I continue to be amazed at the throngs of unsatisfied timeshare owners falling victim to an ever increasing group of shady, if not downright scammy, self-proclaimed exit companies; I have to give those outfits credit for their ability to sell. 

The vast majority of owners who are looking for a way out had no business buying a timeshare to begin with. They didn’t understand the intricacies of what they were presented with, couldn’t afford what they purchased, were caught up in the ether of the moment, or just plain didn’t understand that the contract favors the developer. Many were lied to. Again, the salesperson tailors the pitch to the customer. 

Now, after several years, the beleaguered consumer wants out. Most of the time, they’re embarrassed to admit they made a mistake. They say they don’t want to make another mistake. But here’s where the scammy exit companies make their millions. They tell the owner that the developer is evil. They put all the blame on the developer. They promise easy, quick, money back guarantee and anything else that gives the owner a sense of relief. 

The truth is that they’re in the same business as the timeshare salesperson. They’re there to put your mind at ease, tell you what you want to hear and sell you something. Anything. 

The best defense is of course a good offense. If you know what questions to ask before buying, you’re much less likely to fall prey to a well trained salesperson. 

What questions should you be asking?  I have a list of 19. It’s yours for $18.99. Your choice. $18.99 or $20,000 to get a timeshare you probably shouldn’t purchase and another $5,000 thrown out to get rid of it. 

Do Better

There’s an article that’s coming out shortly entitled “How To Create A Travel Experience That Keeps People Coming Back For More.”  It got me thinking that timeshare resorts, more often than not, create travel experiences that hinder people from coming back. Almost as if they’ve forgotten that they are in the hospitality industry. 

Here are 5 ways that timeshare resorts make things miserable for travelers:

1. Insisting that owners, exchangers and renters get their parking pass or other such necessity at the woefully misnamed ‘concierge desk’ which is manned by people whose sole purpose is to get the traveler into a sales pitch during their stay. 
2. If those tactics don’t work, routinely calling, texting, emailing and even knocking on the door to harangue the traveler into attending the sales pitch.  
3. Bad mouthing or in some cases actively insulting consumers who choose to not purchase or purchase more at the conclusion of the sales pitch. 
4. Not being respectful of the travelers’ time during the sales pitch. Even though the minimum required time is in writing, a 90 or 120 minute sales pitch oftentimes turns into a half day of high pressure. 
5. Not allowing the traveler to think about making the purchase, instead insisting that the decision be made now. There’s only one major developer that doesn’t have this insulting and frankly, crazy requirement. 

So, developers-If any of this sounds familiar, change it now. You have a tremendous opportunity to not only do better, but to set yourself apart from other developers who routinely forget they’re in the hospitality industry. 

Do better.