[4/2008 Thread] What is the best way to shorten a sales presentation

[dmarcin]

Ok I admit it, I like to go to sales presentations. I like to earn the money and other free stuff. Plus I like to see the resorts and use these tours as a guide line for purchasing resale's. Now don't get me wrong, I, like most TUGGERS, know better than to purchase from a sales presentation. And know that I wont consider purchasing even before I sigh up for a presentation. Is this taking advantage of the company trying to sell the units? Or the nice salesman presenting the resort? Well yes it is. But when I see and hear some of their sales pitch and promises, I really don't care. What I am doing is renting my time to them and the higher the dollar per hour I can get the better.
Now having said this, WHAT IS THE BEST WAY OF SHORTINGING THE TIME BETWEEN THE END OF THE TOUR AND RECEIVING MY FREE GIFTS? I have tried several ways but don't seem to have it down to a science yet. Please share with us your ways to shorten the sales pitch and still get the gifts. I know there are some great ways to do this, its just I am not smart enough to think of them.

 

[bnoble]

I find they are shortest when I do not attend them.

 

[Phill12]

Ok I admit it, I like to go to sales presentations. I like to earn the money and other free stuff.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY OF SHORTINGING THE TIME BETWEEN THE END OF THE TOUR AND RECEIVING MY FREE GIFTS?

We have many topics on this subject and you should go back and read them for your own knowledge.

When you lose interest just tell the salesman you have other plans and this presention was told to be 90 min or what ever and you need to leave on time. You could just state its more money than you thought and will not spend that kind of money.

If you give them some reason that you can't or won't be buying they will move on to someone else they think they have a chance with.

You can always drop the bomb on them and say your going to compare there offer to the resale market before buying.

 

[AwayWeGo]

The Chief Of Staff Says Act Bored.

No doubt The Chief Of Staff is right about that.

The trouble is, I start pretending to be interested. Then that gets the timeshare sallers' hopes up. Then we get to talking about timeshares, etc., & that takes time. Plus, we've learned that nothing counts toward the 90- or 120-minute mandatory presentation time except the timeshare sellers' spiels. Not the time it takes to eat the complimentary breakfast or lunch. Not the time taken up by conversational attempts at pretending to be interested. So, I am trying -- not with much success so far -- to sit there lump-like, the perfect picture of boredom, & let the waves of arm-twisting high pressure roll over me till the 90 or 120 minutes are up & they shoo me over to the freebies window.

I'm wondering if it would help to buy TUG T-shirts & baseball caps & make sure I'm wearing those when I'm seated across those little tables from the timeshare sellers.

Click here for a semi-serious discussion of timeshare tour ethics.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[rickandcindy23]

Ok I admit it, I like to go to sales presentations. I like to earn the money and other free stuff. Plus I like to see the resorts and use these tours as a guide line for purchasing resale's. Now don't get me wrong, I, like most TUGGERS, know better than to purchase from a sales presentation. And know that I wont consider purchasing even before I sigh up for a presentation. Is this taking advantage of the company trying to sell the units? Or the nice salesman presenting the resort? Well yes it is. But when I see and hear some of their sales pitch and promises, I really don't care. What I am doing is renting my time to them and the higher the dollar per hour I can get the better.
Now having said this, WHAT IS THE BEST WAY OF SHORTINGING THE TIME BETWEEN THE END OF THE TOUR AND RECEIVING MY FREE GIFTS? I have tried several ways but don't seem to have it down to a science yet. Please share with us your ways to shorten the sales pitch and still get the gifts. I know there are some great ways to do this, its just I am not smart enough to think of them.

If you can take the high pressure sales pitch, go for it. But I know of no way to shorten the time. You can keep them to the time by telling them what time you expect to leave and make them hold to that time.

I think it is fun to go on a tour, but Rick hates it. Salespeople can make you feel as if you have an obligation to buy for that timeshare because of the $100 gift. It's ridiculous.

Don't be insulted by those who don't go to presentations, as they have made personal decisions not to go. I say, "Go for it," but Rick won't go with me anymore. The pressure is just too much. No wonder average people hate timeshare. If that is your only experience with timeshare, a sales presentation, then what would your opinion be?

 

[lprstn]

We usually do not talk much, let them do most of the talking, definately don't bother to argue. Then when it comes to pricing we look and say, we can't afford it, and we just purchased a home. Although it was nice we are not interested. Usually we are done pretty quickly. We have tried other methods, told them that we own resale, told them that we own all that we need, told them that we are just there for the gifts, told them that their program doesn't work for us, told them that the MFs are too high, told them that the price is too high and all that does is cause them to argue their point and get hostile. So I find doing the first makes it easier and they are less angry.

 

[bobcat]

We usually do not talk much, let them do most of the talking, definately don't bother to argue. Then when it comes to pricing we look and say, we can't afford it, and we just purchased a home. Although it was nice we are not interested. Usually we are done pretty quickly. We have tried other methods, told them that we own resale, told them that we own all that we need, told them that we are just there for the gifts, told them that their program doesn't work for us, told them that the MFs are too high, told them that the price is too high and all that does is cause them to argue their point and get hostile. So I find doing the first makes it easier and they are less angry.

When they sit you down after the tour, tell them you own time shares and only buy resale. They will ask you why .?? Tell them it is cheaper and i am not buying today. They will show you the door most times. Yes, also give you your gift.

 

[CapriciousC]

I must admit that I've blatantly used pregnancy and squirmy children to get out of presentations in the past. When we first toured Waiohai, I was about 7 months pregnant and told them I couldn't sit still for very long. When we went back, we had a crawling infant with us who conveniently started to cry about the time we were ready to leave. Since then we've been able to keep them short by saying that kiddo was bored/hungry/tired/we had promised to take her to see (insert fun place here). When we were at Grande Vista last month, though, she stayed in the child care center while we met with the sales rep (who was the most aggressive we've ever seen) and we ended up telling her that we're contemplating a cross-country move in the near future (which is true) and that we weren't prepared to buy anything right now.

We like to go to the presentations for two reasons: we always take the points (Marriott) and we like to hear about new resorts, etc. We've learned something valuable every time we've gone to a presentation.

 

[Phill12]

If you can take the high pressure sales pitch, go for it. But I know of no way to shorten the time. You can keep them to the time by telling them what time you expect to leave and make them hold to that time.

I think it is fun to go on a tour, but Rick hates it. Salespeople can make you feel as if you have an obligation to buy for that timeshare because of the $100 gift. It's ridiculous.

Don't be insulted by those who don't go to presentations, as they have made personal decisions not to go. I say, "Go for it," but Rick won't go with me anymore. The pressure is just too much. No wonder average people hate timeshare. If that is your only experience with timeshare, a sales presentation, then what would your opinion be?

Cindy if Rick won't go then how do you go on your own because they always state if married you both need to be there.

After getting junk that still sits in our store room or just thrown out the boss won't go either!

Like I have stated we went to about five in our life and two were because we planned on buying and this was before resales.

PHIL

 

[PigsDad]

Tell them that just before you left on your vacation, you lost your job due to downsizing, or you are worried that you are going to lose your job due to the economic condition. That should put a damper on things.

Kurt

 

[Judy]

Then when it comes to pricing we look and say, we can't afford it, and we just purchased a home. Although it was nice we are not interested. Usually we are done pretty quickly.

Glad to hear that works for you. Whenever we've tried the "We can't afford it" technique, they bring out the sales manager to show us how they think we can afford it: payment plans with high interest rates and all kinds of other misleading arguments.

After getting junk that still sits in our store room or just thrown out the boss won't go either!

We don't go anymore unless they give us money, restaurant coupons, or gas cards. All of those we spend while we're still on vacation.

 

[lprstn]

Oh, usually when they try to convince us to purchase, my husband STERNLY says (and he is 6ft 3 in and a big guy) ... "NO is a complete sentence, and I am telling you NO!", he has only had to say that 2 times (one in Puerto Vallarta and one in Myrtle Beach).

 

[Steamboat Bill]

Here is an interesting idea that I have never tried, but could possibly work extremely well.

After 10 minutes into the presentation, tell the sales rep that your stomach feels funny because you ate a large bowl of baked beans for lunch. Then hide one of those remote "fart alarms" in your travel bag and hit the button every time the timeshare sales rep starts to talk.

Fun times...for sure.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

We do occasional tours of resorts in which we are interested. Not as many we formerly did - we've seen quite a few of the resorts we want to see.

We make clear at the outset that we are not interested in purchasing. We make sure they understand that we are aware of the resale market. We are explicit that we will not make any purchase decision without doing on-line research, which can only be done outside the presentation.

On the matter of "buy today" or else, I point out to them our buying history, which documents that we do know what we are doing and we don't buy on impulse. It's clear that if the deal makes sense for us, we will buy even after we do research.

At least 50% of the time, about 30 minutes into the presentation the sales person we have been assigned to finds some reason to leave the table for a moment. When that happens, the person never comes back. Usually a sales manager appears, asks us some questions about the presentation, and moves us to the gifting center.

***

The reality is that a good sales organization does not waste time trying to sell to prospects who won't buy. After it becomes clear that you are not going to buy, a good organization will get you on your way as quickly as they can.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Cindy if Rick won't go then how do you go on your own because they always state if married you both need to be there.

After getting junk that still sits in our store room or just thrown out the boss won't go either!

Like I have stated we went to about five in our life and two were because we planned on buying and this was before resales.

PHIL

The last one was Marriott Horizons, and we both went. It was a mistake, as the guy lied to us several times. Rick really hated it, and the guy kept us WAY too long. This was over two months ago, and it was truly not fun to sit there, while the guy lied and said he was doing an "exchange of an II exchange." There were other lies, too.

The time before that was a year ago, and we bought and rescinded, but we may buy that same thing now, as more informed purchasers, directly from the developer (Fairfield points and VIP Platinum membership).

Before that, it was a long time between tours. I cannot drag Rick nearly as often as I want to go. It isn't worth $100. We never get "junk" for our tours, by the way, only cash or tickets that we use.

 

[PerryM]

No need to fib about it...

Honesty is the best policy – before you go on vacation decide what timeshares you want to tour and simply print out the RedWeek and MyResortNetwork resales and bring them with you.

Get your free food, take a tour of the resort, get important factoids like best restaurants and things to do and then whip out the resale pages.

Inform the salesrep that you will gladly buy if they can match the resale prices – however this offer is “Good for today only”.

That will get you on your way with little problem and you won’t have to fib; don't forget the free gift. There is NO way that they will match resale prices.

P.S.
If your cell phone has a browser on it you can simply bookmark the sites for quick retrieval at the sales tour. Just whip out the cell phone and show the salesrep the resale prices and ask for a matching price.

Don't let him think about it - demand an answer within the 90 minutes since you have many more tours to make.

P.P.S.
To hurry things along you might start to TALK LOUD ABOUT RESALES! As the "R" word starts to spread from table to table you will quickly be given the free gift and shown the door.

 

[Cathyb]

Wouldn't recommend mine, but it worked... In Maui we took the local bus downtown for the presentation and while on the bus, something got into my eye. It wouldn't stop watering. The salesman graciously got me some water and kleenex -- no help. After about 20 minutes and I was starting to feel some pain, he excused us, gave us our prize and we left.

 

[janapur]

We won't do tours for trinkets, as we prefer cash. We generally only tour places to which we'd like to exchange or purchase resale.

I always bring ebay ads, though I rarely need to get them out. I remember a few years ago in Ixtapa, the rep thought they were a joke and showed them to her manager who escorted us out pretty quickly. It really helps to have ads for that specific resort. We are always extremely polite. If they can match the price we'd be happy to buy. It's never happened.

 

[Phill12]

The last one was Marriott Horizons, and we both went. It was a mistake, as the guy lied to us several times. Rick really hated it, and the guy kept us WAY too long. This was over two months ago, and it was truly not fun to sit there, while the guy lied and said he was doing an "exchange of an II exchange." There were other lies, too.

The time before that was a year ago, and we bought and rescinded, but we may buy that same thing now, as more informed purchasers, directly from the developer (Fairfield points and VIP Platinum membership).

Before that, it was a long time between tours. I cannot drag Rick nearly as often as I want to go. It isn't worth $100. We never get "junk" for our tours, by the way, only cash or tickets that we use.

Don't you want to laugh out loud when you realize you have more knowledge than this sales person.:hysterical:


One of the last ones we went to was in Orlando and when the salesmen was giving his story of owning four timeshares himself when from the looks of him he couldn't have bought us a beer.

My wife pops off with we own a Ridge Tahoe two bedroom and thinking of buying a second unit because we love the desert area so much (RIDGE IS LAKE TAHOE) and he comes back with he also owns at the Rige Tahoe and loves it but found he spent more time here in Orlando then in his Ridge Tahoe unit in Arizona.

My wife just shook her head and laughed and I don't think he ever caught on to what was so funny.:hysterical:

 

[AwayWeGo]

The Time We Tried That, The Resort Was No Longer Selling Weeks, Just Points.

We won't do tours for trinkets, as we prefer cash. We generally only tour places to which we'd like to exchange or purchase resale.

Us too. Except 1 time the timeshare tour headhunter signed us up for 2 free attraction tickets with the understanding he'd buy'm back from us for cash. He did. So we signed up with the same headhunter for another tour at a different timeshare, also for free attraction tickets, & we sold him back those freebie tickets, too.

I always bring ebay ads, though I rarely need to get them out. I remember a few years ago in Ixtapa, the rep thought they were a joke and showed them to her manager who escorted us out pretty quickly. It really helps to have ads for that specific resort. We are always extremely polite. If they can match the price we'd be happy to buy. It's never happened.

We printed out a bunch of TUG ads to take with us to our promotional stay at Summer Bay Las Vegas. That was shortly after the interim period when that timeshare was known as Las Vegas Vacation Suites after formerly calling itself Ramada Vacation Suites Las Vegas -- 1 timeshare with a sequence of 3 names.

Anyhow, by the time we got there & steeled ourselves for the hard sell, they weren't selling timeshare weeks. They were selling timeshare points. So none of the TUG ads directly corresponded to what they were selling.

The Summer Bay Las Vegas timeshare seller was so sure he'd made a sale that he moved us from our little 4-place table in the sales presentation room into an office-like cubicle nearby, just him & us. We wisely did not buy -- wisely, because when we did take the points plunge later on, it was for lots less money than Summer Bay Las Vegas would have cost us.

However, that Summer Bay Las Vegas points sales pitch did succeed in getting us interested in timeshare points, which we later sprang for in a dinky & penny-ante kind of way -- resale -- via eBay. The rest is history.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[janapur]

Don't you want to laugh out loud when you realize you have more knowledge than this sales person.:hysterical:


One of the last ones we went to was in Orlando and when the salesmen was giving his story of owning four timeshares himself when from the looks of him he couldn't have bought us a beer.

My wife pops off with we own a Ridge Tahoe two bedroom and thinking of buying a second unit because we love the desert area so much (RIDGE IS LAKE TAHOE) and he comes back with he also owns at the Rige Tahoe and loves it but found he spent more time here in Orlando then in his Ridge Tahoe unit in Arizona.

My wife just shook her head and laughed and I don't think he ever caught on to what was so funny.:hysterical:

Oh that is awesome!! Wait til I tell my husband, he loves to play with the salesperson. Next thing you know we own in the Mountains of Minnesota!

 

[AwayWeGo]

Educating The Timeshare Sellers.

Wait til I tell my husband, he loves to play with the salesperson.

You should have seen the look of perplex on the face of the rookie timeshare seller in Gatlinburg TN we dealt with last summer when I explained to him in a low, confidential tone why there is no such thing as a new timeshare because by the time anybody shows up & checks in all timeshares are used-used-used.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[talkamotta]

The last one we went to was Kona Coast. We received half off deep sea fishing and half off dinner. It was worth about $300 (enough for the boyfriend to sign me up because him and his father thought it would be fun for me ).

I did like thier resorts. I would like to buy one of them in the future. I dont want to pay $42K (that was the first price they quoted). The sales person must have been very new because when I threw out terms like ROFR, she didnt know what I was talking about. Then I started doing some math on thier paper. $42,000 + interest (I dont have $42K readily available) / 15 years x mf = too much money. If I could get it for $6K like I have seen it go for on the resale market, ok.

They brought up trading value and I told them why would I trade such a beautiful resort, I would use it with my SOK I paid $5K and Pahio $2K. Thats when we got to leave.

 

[pjrose]

Here is an interesting idea that I have never tried, but could possibly work extremely well.

After 10 minutes into the presentation, tell the sales rep that your stomach feels funny because you ate a large bowl of baked beans for lunch. Then hide one of those remote "fart alarms" in your travel bag and hit the button every time the timeshare sales rep starts to talk.

Fun times...for sure.

Hee hee hee :rofl: --- After reading CapriciousC's post about pregnancy and squirmy children, I was going to post much the same suggestion - need to change the baby's stinky diaper, can I use this table? Or, if no baby, just start doubling over and moaning that you're not sure you'll make it to the bathroom, and just what was in those tacos or the water?

I think I'll skip the fart alarm part, though, too embarrassing.

 

[Steamboat Bill]

Hee hee hee :rofl: --- After reading CapriciousC's post about pregnancy and squirmy children, I was going to post much the same suggestion - need to change the baby's stinky diaper, can I use this table? Or, if no baby, just start doubling over and moaning that you're not sure you'll make it to the bathroom, and just what was in those tacos or the water?

I think I'll skip the fart alarm part, though, too embarrassing.

You could always ask your spouse for a bottle of Beano in front of the sales rep and say something like, "you feel a rumbling down under."

For the PMs I received...yes there is such a device as a remote fart alarm...I thought every house had one.