I have had several e-mails lately requesting more tips on closing techniques for In-House Reps and also asking if the skills required to sell Timeshare In-House, differ from those you would use when selling Timeshare in a Cold Line situation.
I think the easiest way to start especially for the newer reps out there and certainly for anyone just starting out or maybe thinking about starting out on a career in Timeshare Sales is to look over the next few weeks at the differences between In-House sales and Cold Line sales and also dispel some of the myths that have been created by the very people who work within the Timeshare Industry.
Let’s look this week first at the main differences, how the clients get to be sat in front of you in the first place.
In a Cold Line situation in Europe (I’m not sure if it differs in America?) the clients will have normally been approached in the streets whilst on holiday in your resort area by an OPC (Outside Personal Contact) and offered some sort of free gift or duty free pack in return for attending a short presentation at your resort to promote the new health club, golf course etc.
They will probably not been told that it’s a sales presentation and will certainly not have been told that it’s a “Timeshare sales presentation!”
The stark reality of what they have really let themselves in for will probably hit them whilst they are in the car or taxi on the way to the resort.
This is why as a Cold Line Rep you have to work so hard in the initial stages of your presentation in breaking down the massive defence shield that has been put up purely from a fear factor, and gain the trust and confidence of the clients before you can really even start to present your product.
An In-House client on the other hand is already stopping on your resort.
They may already own Timeshare having brought before on a Cold Line presentation. Or they have been invited out to your resort on a presentation week and are fully aware that sometime during their holiday they will be spending a day with you and given the option to buy into the club.
The In-House clients are normally much more relaxed about their presentation because they feel they have the advantage of saying, “We’re here all week so we’ll think about it and get back to you.”
This is where as an In-House Rep you have to be much stronger to be able to close the deal on the day.
So what is easier In-House or Cold Line?
Well the Cold Line Reps will tell they are better closers because they’re on the front line and that In-House is “Easy-House”
The In-House Reps will tell you that they are the better closers because their clients have already brought and now they have to sell them again.
I think Timeshare is Timeshare and everything depends on your attitude but that’s another issue……
See you next week.
If there’s a particular sales skill or closing technique that you would like me to cover in future articles, or an objection that you are having a problem overcoming, leave me a comment below or drop me an e-mail
Remember: there is no such thing as a foolish question, only a fool who doesn’t ask questions.
Timeshare Jobs – In-House Rep Vs Cold Line Rep
How “Active Listening” leads to “Effective Communication”
Hi all,
This week I want to look at not just getting back to basics, but really listening to what the client wants.
We are going to cover how “Active Listening” leads to “Effective Communication” which equals not just more sales, but more solid sales and fewer cancellations.
The most productive Timeshare sales presentations all start with asking good questions and listening carefully to the answers. This we call, “The Fact Finding or Discovery Period”.
This fact finding period is essential to knowing exactly how to present your product to the client. But once you have done your fact finding and you start your full product presentation what happens then?
You’ve become so immersed in presenting your product and selling the features and benefits that you’ve forgotten the most important factor!
The most successful sales presentations are those in which the client does at least 70% of the talking!
The most successful sales people are the ones who have learned to communicate effectively by utilising “Active Listening”
So what is “Active Listening”?
"Active Listening" is not just about asking a question and accepting the answer.
You need to confirm the answer by asking more questions until you have enough information about what the client really wants to be able to say “Let’s see if my product will fit your needs?”
Then, and only then should you start to present your product based on how your product will fill all the needs and requirements that your client has told you they want.
Any additional features and benefits can be added as extra bonuses once the client is sold and you are filling out the worksheet.
How many times have you brought something and it wasn’t until you were at home reading the brochure or operating manual, you realised how many other things your new toy could do that the salesperson hadn’t bothered telling you about before, because you hadn’t shown any interest in those features at the point of sale.
I guarantee the more you read and the more features you found out for yourself after buying, the better you felt about your purchase.
Imagine if every one of your clients felt that good about buying Timeshare off of you?
Wouldn’t it increase your completion rate and make your commission cheques even bigger?
See you next week.
If there’s a particular sales skill or closing technique that you would like me to cover in future articles, or an objection that you are having a problem overcoming, leave me a comment below or drop me an e-mail.
Remember: there is no such thing as a foolish question, only a fool who doesn’t ask questions.
Sunterra European Members Vote For Yet Another Name Change
I read with interest the other day that the European members of Club Sunterra Ltd have voted by an over 85% majority to change the clubs name once again.
Here is the article as posted by “The Timeshare Blog.”
Diamond Resorts International® (DRI) announces the European members of Club Sunterra Limited voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution to change the legal name of the members’ club from Club Sunterra Limited to Diamond Resorts European Collection Limited at the Extraordinary General Meeting held earlier this month.
The members’ meeting vote, held near DRIs European headquarters in Lancaster, England was augmented by an online balloting system, available to all members prior to the EGM, under strict United Kingdom legal guidelines.
“The many name changes that occurred over the last few years together with the acquisitions made on behalf of Club Sunterra left a very complex legal structure promoting waste and inefficiencies,” says Stephen J. Cloobeck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DRI. “Our efforts to simplify and streamline every aspect of our business to create a successful global brand drove our resolution to change the club name to align with our other resort collections worldwide.”
The name change, supported by over 85% of votes cast, to “Diamond Resorts European Collections Limited” is a change to the member club’s legal name only. From a marketing and membership perspective, the members club will simply be known as THE ClubSM.
THE ClubSM will build upon the successes of DRIs existing member offerings with additional choices and convenience, supported by an efficient international network and exchange platform serving all members worldwide with uniformly exceptional products and services.
“The name change was necessary to ensure long term benefits and global consistency - and simplicity - for our club members,” says DRI President and Chief Operating Officer Simon Crawford-Welch Ph.D., RRP. “It’s one more step toward a worldwide hospitality brand without the confusion of a complex organizational structure.
It was a necessary transitional step that will allow us greater ease in delivering our brand tenets of simplicity, choice and comfort to members of THE ClubSM.”
The official name of the global DRI company is, and will continue to be, Diamond Resorts International®
Diamond Resorts International®, based in Las Vegas, Nev., is one of the largest vacation ownership companies in the world with more than 110 branded and affiliated resorts throughout the continental United States and Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe. Offering simplicity, choice and comfort to its more than 360,000 owners through the branded-service of more than 5,000 team members worldwide,
Diamond Resorts International® is dedicated to providing its guests with effortless and relaxing vacation experiences every time, for a lifetime.
For more information, please visit http://www.diamondresorts.com/.
More Timeshare news and daily updates can be found at: http://www.thetimeshareblog.com/
Well worth a visit for anybody in the Timeshare Industry who wants to keep up to date with the latest Timeshare News and Industry changes around the world.
I Used To Be Good At Selling Timeshare
The opening subject for 2008 comes thanks to an e-mail I received just before Christmas.
The e-mail was typical to what we have all suffered from, and what every new Timeshare Sales Consultant will suffer from when they first come into the Timeshare Industry and are fresh out of the sales training, full of enthusiasm and raring to go.
In your first couple of months you sell to everybody who sits in front of you.
You can’t seem to put a foot wrong.
Much to the dismay of the older and more experienced Timeshare Reps on line, you’re breaking all the sales records and winning all the competitions and the big commission cheques are starting to roll in.
Then it happens!
You suddenly stop selling!
You’ve gone two weeks without a sale and you can’t seem to give it away.
To make things worst, you’re slipping back down the line order and your so called team mates are all sniggering behind your back and saying “I told you it wouldn’t last!”
You naturally start thinking you’re doing something wrong, you’ve lost it and you start looking for what you can change to bring back the magic you had before.
Stop Panicking! You are not having any issues you are just suffering from what every new "Vacation Advisor" suffers from in the first few months of selling Timeshare.
I guarantee in your first month when you where brand new and fresh out of training you where also filled with an abundance of this magical thing called "Enthusiasm!"
As you settle in to the sales team and especially when you have had a fantastic first month or two, the newness wears off and it all starts to seem easy.
Also as your knowledge grows you start adding more and more into your presentation and forget the basic rule. “Only show them what they ask to see”
Your enthusiasm also starts to wears off and you now have the added pressure of topping last month’s sales figures especially when you know that your co-workers are waiting for you to fall flat on your ass. This just adds to your stress levels.
Unfortunately this industry is full of jealous co-workers who don't want other people to succeed especially when they too are in a slump, so just relax forget everyone else and concentrate on enjoying the job and re-gaining your enthusiasm again. your clients can smell when you are under pressure and will in turn feel under pressure themselves and this will definitely stop them buying from you.
So Chill out!
Relax again and get back to the basics of asking your clients what they want and give it to them.
Your first task for the this year is to read my article on: "The Importance Of Fact Finding"
See you next week.
If there’s a particular sales skill or closing technique that you would like me to cover in future articles, or an objection that you are having a problem overcoming, leave me a comment below or drop me an e-mail.
Remember: there is no such thing as a foolish question, only a fool who doesn’t ask questions.
