Timeshare Sales Training

Timeshare Sales Training - The Book

2010-06-16T18:12:00.140+02:00

Close More Deals On The Day Using These Tried And Tested Timeshare Sales Techniques!

The "Five Simple But Essential Steps To Getting The Sale" is the first Timeshare Sales Training e-Book written by popular Author and Professional Sales Trainer Alan Roy Hocking.

"The Five Simple But Essential Steps To Getting The Sale" will teach you the Secrets to Closing More Deals using Tried and Tested Timeshare Sales Techniques that are guaranteed to have you closing more sales and turning all those "No's" into "Yes's"!!

Click Here To Take A Look Inside The Book

In these more difficult economic times, “the five simple but essential steps to getting the sale” will make all the difference to your sales figures and closing percentages by using five simple but fail proof Timeshare Sales Techniques guaranteed to get you through the toughest of sales objections and Close The Deal On The Day Every Time!

"In all my years of Selling Timeshare and teaching Timeshare Sales Techniques, it has always amazed me how difficult everyone makes it!"

"The whole Timeshare Sales Process is as easy or as hard as you want it to be!"

"The only hard part about Selling Timeshare, is learning how to make it easy."

Having written several Timeshare sales training manuals over the years for various Timeshare sales and telemarketing companies, I'm pleased to be able to share some simple but powerful Timeshare sales techniques here with you all in this, my first Timeshare Sales Training eBook.

“The Five Simple But Essential Steps To Getting The Sale” will take you from the all important, but largely overlooked “Self Preparation” right through to “Closing The Deal On The Day!" In an easy to read and down to earth format that will have you returning to the book over and over again whenever you need inspiration or a quick refresher course to boost your sales figures.

Inside The Book:

•About The Author
•Acknowledgments
•Foreword
•Introduction To Timeshare Sales Training
•Know Your Enemy
•The Importance Of Proper Self Preparation
•Meet And Greet
•Warm Up
•Breaking The Pact
•The Purpose of the Statement of Intent
•Fact Finding, The Foundation Of Your Timeshare Sales Presentation
•The Simple Timeshare Sales Presentation
•Closing The Deal on the Day!
•Free Bonus Chapter!: A Tried And Tested Three Step Formula Guaranteed To Overcome Any Timeshare Sales Objection
•Final Word

This is not just another one of those “The Ultimate Timeshare Sales Training Course” that we see so many of on the Internet these days, or one of those "sign up for the free introduction Sales Training Course today" and then I'll charge you an arm and a leg for the rest of the sales course later on schemes either.

Neither is it a "get rich quick" solution, you will still need to do the hard work and close the deals!

However this ebook will show you how to close more deals, easier than you've ever imagined!

It’s a complete step by step Timeshare Sales Training Manual that teaches you Simple Tried And Tested Timeshare Sales Closing Techniques I have used to earn me a six figure income and I’m sure it will help you to earn a six figure income as well.

Can you afford not to have "The Five Simple But Essential Steps To Getting The Sale" in your collection of Essential Timeshare Sales Training Books?

>Click Here To Get Your Copy Now<

Direct Sales Training Workshop

2010-06-12T11:30:00.000+02:00

Thank you all for joining me on the Direct Sales Training Workshop.

Although I do have a set structure that I am going to be following to make this workshop work and flow naturally from one step to another I’m sure as the weeks unfold and we receive more and more input and comments from yourselves we might need to deviate a little here and there in between.

To kick the first session off, I just wanted to dispel one of the biggest myths and mistakes that we all fall into when we start a career in Direct Sales.

People don’t buy your product just for the name on the Tin!

If you are lucky enough to work for Disney Vacation Club then you do have a slight advantage as far as company background and product credibility goes over someone who works for a brand new marketing company selling a resort that nobody has ever heard of! But you still have to sell the concept first and make the clients want what you’ve got, no matter who you work for.

You won’t make many sales just running around waving your arms about shouting “It’s Disney Vacation Club!”

“So what!”

“I hate Mickey Mouse!”

Could be the answer you get.

The point I’m trying to make here is that people buy things for what it will do for them, not because it’s got a household name.

It makes no difference if it’s Marriott’s, Hiltons, Disney World or an old tin shack in the middle of nowhere.

Your clients will only buy your product if it’s going to benefit their lives or their family’s lives in some way or another.

I started my career in Direct Sales many years ago for a marketing company that had never sold Timeshare before on a resort that was never meant to be a Timeshare resort!

The only part that was built was the bit that faced the road! The rest was still a building site but it was the best selling time of my Direct Sales Career and I’ll tell you all about it in part 2

For those of you that can't wait check out my ebook "The Five Simple But Essential Steps To Getting The Sale"

Until then, this week’s exercise is to forget who you work for and just look at the product you are selling.

What are the unique selling points? What would make you buy your product?

Make a list of all the things that would make you buy it and why and we’ll cover it all in step 2

At Last I Can Sleep At Night!

2010-06-01T14:55:00.004+02:00

This one simple thing has Doubled My Traffic, Tripled My Conversions and let's me Sleep At Night!

It's so good I had to stop the direct sales training workshop for a minute and share it with you all.

What am I talking about?

Socialoomph

I started twittering or is it tweeting? a short time ago because a good friend of mine who has been internet and affiliate marketing for years now, told me I had to get involved in the social network marketing scene If I wanted to keep up with the latest internet marketing techniques and make more money on the internet.

I fell in love with Twitter the minute I started using it. What a great tool for interacting with people all over the world, bringing people to my blog, answering questions they might have about direct selling techniques and just generally having fun.

I only had two problems with Twitter.

1. I didn’t have many followers to start with and

2. The people who read this blog and the few followers I had were all American!

Now that might not seem like two very big problems to you, but when you live on the Costa del Sol in Southern Spain and all your followers and readers live on the other side of the World, the time difference makes connecting with them a little difficult!

I was sitting up till three and sometimes four in the morning while my wife and children where fast asleep in their beds just posting tweets to my Twitter ccount!

Then I discovered Socialoomph and started sleeping at night again!

Socialoomph is just one of those incredible twitter tools that has improved my social networking and productivity on Twitter, increased my blog traffic and boosted my followers tenfold almost entirely on autopilot freeing up my time to spend on more important things like quality time with my family!

And it is so simple to use.

What a Godsend joining Socialoomph has been for me.

The main benefits I have found since joining Socialoomph is the ability to schedule some of my tweets for later on in the day or even later that week, which means I can set up all my tweets during the daytime to go out at night time when Spain goes to sleep and America wakes up, and Socialoomph takes care of posting them for me while I sleep!

I also like the automatic direct message feature that sends a quick thank you out to all my new followers.

I used to sit up for hours at night times going through all my new followers and sending them all messages one by one. Socialoomph now handles all that for me and I can even include a shortened URL in the message sending them on to my latest article.

Lastly being able to fully track all of my URL’s and CTR’s from one place and get a full picture of what’s driving traffic to my sites and what’s not for me is priceless!

But don’t take my word for it. Check it out for yourself and see how Socialoomph could be saving you precious time and money.

There is a Free version and a Professional version depending on your personal needs.

CLICK HERE for a full list of all the features, and decide which one suits you best

Direct Sales Training Workshop Starts Next Week!

2010-04-22T16:30:00.006+02:00

I never get tired of all the Direct Sales Training and Coaching that I’ve done over the years.

I still believe that Direct Sales is one of the most exciting and rewarding careers you can choose and even more rewarding than selling, is training and coaching other people on how to be successful and professional in their selling careers.

So by popular demand I am going to be posting a series of articles from a Sales Training Workshop that I did for a large Timeshare company here on the coast last year and I’m going to cover some of the most effective Timeshare closing techniques that can be adapted and used in all types of Direct Sales Presentations.

I’m going to look at the entire sales process from A to Z from your initial meet and greet right through to asking for the sale and closing the deal on the day!

I will be revealing some closely guarded closing techniques and secrets that all the top performers like to keep to themselves and I will be taking a look at and reviewing some of the best sales training books available in the market place.

If you have already learned that in the Direct sales industry you can never stop learning bookmark this site today.

At the end of the workshop we are going to take a deeper look inside Sales Training and Coaching for anyone who feels they would like to move into man management and start a rewarding career as a Sales Trainer and I will also be covering the pros and cons of how to set yourself and find work as a Freelance Sales Trainer.

If there is a particular subject you would like me to cover drop me an email or leave a comment below so that we can all join in the discussion.

Remember there is no such thing as a foolish question.

It’s the fool that doesn’t ask questions!

For those of you who can't wait check out my popular sales training ebook:

The Five Simple But Essential Steps To Getting The Sale

See you all next week.

Internet Marketing On A Budget

2010-04-19T17:00:00.002+02:00

I’m overwhelmed by the amount of emails I’ve received over the last few weeks from all the out of work moms and dads who would love to start an internet marketing business but really don’t have any spare cash to invest into some of the work from home business opportunities available, and they just don’t know how to get started on a tight budget.

I’m pleased to say that anyone can start a successful home based internet business with very little or even no initial investment at all if you know howto do it.

Over the next couple of months I’m going to reveal exactly how I started working from home and built my own affiliate marketing business with just $10!

Before we look at how I did it, I want to blow a few internet marketing myths away and tell you what you don’t need to spend money on when you first start!

1. You don’t need an all singing all dancing “Free Search Engine Optimized Company Website” that’s guaranteed to earn you money in the first five minutes! (They’re not “Free” you’ll end up paying for it somewhere down the line.)

2. You don’t need to tie yourself up into any monthly hosting packages!

3. You don’t even need a website to start with if you haven’t got the money to invest in one just yet.

4. And you don’t even need your own products!

Ok I know I said that anyone can get started with minimal or no start up costs but it goes without saying that to run a successful home based internet business you will need a computer with internet access in your home.

I do know of a few people that have set up and started running very small businesses using internet cafes for an hour a day but they eventually invested in a cheap laptop or desktop computer later on when they found that internet cafes aren’t always open, or are sometimes full just when you are getting an inspirational moment and need to post something important on your blog!

This is not going to be a “Get Rich Quick Scheme” but if you keep dropping by over the next few weeks and months I’m going to teach you how to start and build a successful internet marketing business with minimal outlay that will eventually earn you and your family a substantial passive monthly income for a very long time.

In the meantime click on the image link above or here and check out the book 101 Internet Businesses You Can Start From Home for some excellent start up ideas.

Stay tuned and I’ll see you all next week.

Internet Marketing - Choosing The Right Product Or Company To Promote

2010-04-12T16:00:00.011+02:00

With the explosion of Social Networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, anyone with access to a computer, internet and a good social network marketing system can start a very successful Internet Marketing Business today and enjoy all the benefits of working from home and spending more quality time with their friends and family.

But where do you start if you want to join the new Wealth and Wellness Internet Boom?

Everywhere you look these days we are being bombarded with the “Ultimate Work from Home Business Opportunity” that promises to earn you a “Six Figure Income” for only two hours work a week! It’s no wonder so many people get confused and can unfortunately waste valuable time and money signing up with the wrong companies or trying to promote the wrong products, just because the “Work from Home Opportunity” sales page sounded so good.

It’s a fact that around 95% of all the people that start out in the Home Based Internet Marketing business with all the right enthusiasm and all the will in the world will fail in the first twelve months and unfortunately go back to looking for a “Proper Job” just because they didn’t choose the right products to start with.

Over the next few weeks I’m going to be posting some helpful tips on what is hot in the Internet Marketing circles and where people really are making money. But for now, here are a few guidelines I personally use when choosing a product or company to promote on my websites:

1. Would I buy and use the product myself?

2. Would I be quite happy promoting and selling it to my friends and family?

3. What are other people saying about the company and their products in forums and searches?

4. Am I just signing up because of the promise of "Unlimited Wealth and Riches"?

5. Is the compensation plan realistic and believable?

These are just a few pointers for now. I'm going to look at each one and more on an individual basis over the coming weeks so stay tuned.

If you have a specific query you would like answered leave a comment below so we can all join in the discussion or email me at: info@simplesalesandmarketing.com

Remember “There is no such thing as a foolish question. It’s the fool who doesn’t ask questions!”

Why Affiliate Marketing Makes Such A Good Work From Home Internet Business

2010-04-05T18:00:00.010+02:00

As I mentioned in my previous article, Affiliate Marketing is a win win situation for both the merchant and the affiliate alike.
For the merchant it is the most cost effective form of advertising he can do.

Because the merchant only pays you commissions on sales that are made through your personal marketing efforts. There are no upfront marketing costs to the merchant and all advertising is paid for after the sale has been made. How can he lose?

From the affiliates point of view it is a very lucrative low cost business opportunity to set up and work from home.

Let’s look at all the benefits:

1. You don’t need to invest large sums of money into buying or renting office space, shops or warehouses. As long as you have access to a computer and internet connection, your business can be run from your kitchen table, so start up cost is minimal.

2. You don’t need to be a professional salesperson or have any sort of direct selling skills. All you need to do is to be able to recommend products and send people to the merchant’s website to have a look. It’s up to the merchant to do the selling for you.

3. You don’t need to stock any products yourself.

4. You don’t have to get involved in shipping or delivery of the products.

5. All selling, after sales and customer support is handled by the merchant.

6. There is no ceiling on your earning potential. You work as hard you like, full time or part time. Hours to suit, earnings to suit.

7. You are your own boss!

8. Anybody can be successful at affiliate marketing.

There are numerous benefits to affiliate marketing and we will look at them all individually as this series unfolds. I hope I’ve wet your appetite so far.

Next week I want to look at choosing a merchant and product to promote and some of the different compensation plans available to you.

See you next week.

What is Affiliate Marketing

2010-04-01T18:15:00.004+02:00

Affiliate Marketing is an excellent Work From Home Internet Business that has everything going for it. It can be started with little or no start up costs and if worked correctly can eventually earn you a Six Figure Income!

But what is Affiliate Marketing?

If you have a business that sells a product or service to the public or trade, you will only survive if people know you exist and people know what your product or services can do for them. So no matter how good your product is or how big your company is, you will only stay in business if you have customers that want your products or services.

That means you have to advertise yourself in the market place or you’re going to be sat with a lot of unsold stock on your shelves!

There are numerous forms of advertising and marketing strategies that a business can use these days but the most cost effective way is “Affiliate Marketing”

Affiliate Marketing is a win win situation for both the merchant and affiliate alike.

You can use all the traditional methods of advertising like: flyers, mail shots, newspapers, television, websites which are all very effective and will always produce results but you can never be 100% sure that you are reaching your target audience or really manage to track the results.

With Affiliate Marketing you only pay for results. That is why it is so cost effective for the merchant.

From an Affiliates point of view you get paid just for recommending new potential clients that convert into customers for the merchant.

You probably don’t realize it yet but you have been Affiliate Marketing or Network Marketing all your life. You just haven’t been paid for it in the past!

When was the last time you recommended a good pub or restaurant you liked and the person you recommended it to went and spent over $100 the next weekend on a nice meal and thanked you for the recommending it to them?

Did the owner of the restaurant thank you and give you $10 for sending him business?

Well there are thousands of companies out there willing to do just that and actually pay you for recommending their products and services to other people! The nuts and bolts of how it all works we’ll be covering over the coming weeks so stay tuned!

Next week I want to look at the main benefits to you as an Affiliate Marketer.

Have a good weekend.

Affiliate Marketing – What Is It? How does it Work? And Can I Make Any Money From It!

2010-03-29T18:00:00.001+02:00

When someone tells you they’re an affiliate marketer, what sort of business does that conjure up in your mind?

I’m often asked when I’m out socializing, “What is it you actually do for a living these days?”
And when I answer “Affiliate Marketing” I get all sorts of strange and enquiring looks.

Unfortunately Affiliate Marketing or Internet Marketing to the average person in the street will still be pigeon holed into the MLM, Network Marketing or internet based Pyramid “Scams” that every one hears about these days but doesn’t really know what it’s all about or how it really works. After all, good news doesn’t sell newspapers or get you on the front page of Google these days does it!

Apart from the illegal “pyramid scams” that are illegal and are scams. Internet Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Network Marketing and Multi Level Marketing are all very legal and in most cases very lucrative home based business opportunities that anyone can get involved in today and build up quite a healthy second or even main income stream.

With more and more households possessing at least one computer in their homes, Marketing products or services through the internet makes perfect sense to any business that wants to stay in business. You only have to look at all the major companies and household names that are spending billions of dollars advertising on the internet to realize what a fantastic opportunity you have to build your own marketing business on the internet.

So what is Affiliate or Internet Marketing? How does it work? And how much can you earn from it?

To start with although all the different types of internet and online marketing programs are very closely linked and can be even more beneficial to your marketing and business success when they are used together, they are all very different in how they work and what can be achieved as far as your earning potential is concerned.

Different marketing strategies work better with certain types of marketing programs or products and I’m going to be covering some of the different types of Network Marketing and Business opportunities available to you over the coming weeks.

I’m starting this series with Affiliate Marketing and how to use social networks like Twitter and Facebook to build your list of potential customers.

If you have a particular subject you would like me to cover in the future, drop me an email or feel free to add your own thoughts and comments below.

See you all next week.

Work From Home - Starting Your Own Home Based Internet Business

2010-01-02T12:37:00.006+01:00

Welcome to 2010 I want to start this year’s articles by looking at some genuine ways to build a successful Home Based Online Marketing Business.

After over twenty years in the Timeshare Industry the latter part of which has been spent mostly recruiting and training new sales consultants and reps, I once again found myself out of work or Surplus to requirements due to the cut backs or changes in products and company policies.

“Does that sound familiar to you?”

As most of that twenty years had been spent as a self employed freelance consultant, with no unemployment back up or way of replacing that income other than finding another job, I soon realized that at fifty years old this was becoming increasingly more difficult and I was rapidly eating into any savings I had built up through all my hard graft, for someone else’s business and benefit.

“Does that sound familiar to you?”

It was the turning point in my life when I realized that the only person I could really rely on for a secure long term career and guaranteed income was me!

I wanted to create my own business that I could run from my home, work the hours I chose to and generally fit my work around my life instead of trying to fit my life around my work as I had done so often in the past.”

“Does that sound familiar to you as well?”

I have been writing articles for my Sales and Marketing Blog: Simple Sales And Marketing Solutions and my personal Blog: In Between The Tapas And Tantrums for a quite a while and they are both getting regular traffic and good reviews so I decided that if I could market and sell other peoples products and build up their businesses so well, why can’t I market and sell my own products and build my own business?

This year’s articles will be mainly focusing on the successes and failures, joys and frustrations and ups and downs that I have experienced along my almost two year journey to eventually achieving my dreams and the financial freedom of being my own boss and producing and selling my own products through my own home based internet business.

“Don’t waste two years of your valuable time or maybe even give up!”

Use my experiences of what works and what doesn’t work and cut all the guess work out of making money on the internet.”

Keep dropping by for regular updates and check out My Youtube Channel where I will be posting a series of Free Sales Training and Marketing Videos over the next few months.

So here’s to a very healthy, wealthy, prosperous and successful home based internet marketing 2010 for us all.

The Best Closers In The World

2010-01-01T19:00:00.000+01:00

My twin daughters are the best closers in the world.

At only three and a half years old they have already learned the priceless lesson that “No” doesn’t always mean “No!”

I’ll give you an example.

When they come to me to ask for something and my first answer is “No” they immediately ask “Why?”

It might be that I’m in the middle of something important or that I need to get up from the sofa and move to get them something that they want so they realise that I didn’t mean “No end of story”, I just meant “No not at the moment”.

If I say “No because…..” I have now given them an objection to overcome and children are the best negotiators you will ever come across. They will start by asking the same question from different angles. They have also already learned to ask for more than they want. If they want a pony they’ll start by asking for a horse knowing that they can always negotiate down to a pony or at worst riding lessons! And when all else fails and they still can’t close me they start the whole process again with Mum.

So what can we learn from this to make ourselves better closers?

1. Don’t be afraid of the word “No”.

2. Never accept a “No” without asking “Why” and if they can’t give you the reason “Why” then the initial “No” might just have been a defence reaction. Dig deeper and find out the “why”.

3. When you get the “Why” out into the open you now have a genuine objection to overcome and close.

4. Find several ways of asking the same question.

5. Ask for a bigger deal you can always negotiate down to an affordable option later when you have got it down to just the money.

6. Remember that when one person has said “No” it doesn’t always mean that their partner agrees with them and they can help to close the deal for you, so always trial close all people present on the presentation.

Lastly, children are such good closers because they focus 100% on what they want and they will not be swayed until they get it.

Nothing else exists in their heads until they have received what they wanted.

We all need to learn to focus 100% on getting the deal every time when we do a presentation and there should be nothing else in our heads until the sale is made and the contract is signed.

Then we can start to think about how we are going to spend all the money we are now making!

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 personally having a problem overcoming, leave a comment below or drop me an e-mail to: info@simplesalesandmarketing.com

Remember: there is no such thing as a foolish question, only a fool who doesn’t ask questions.

Home Based Internet Business Scams

2009-12-23T11:59:00.003+01:00

Earn a five figure income working only three hours a day from the comfort of your own home!

All you need is a laptop and a mobile phone!

I don’t think so!

Beware of the latest work from home and earn a fortune MLM or pyramid scams that are becoming far too common on the internet these days. Sadly I am seeing more and more of them advertised in our local papers every week.

I’m not saying that every home based internet business opportunity out there is an MLM or Pyramid Scam, I’m just saying be very careful and check into the company background, the terms and conditions, commission structure and any small print or hidden costs before you sign up, enroll or hand over any money or bank and credit card details. Remember the old adage “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”

I would like to know if Bill Gates or Richard Branson managed to earn their fortunes working only three hours a day and any well established internet marketer like Seth Godin or Problogger Darren Rowse will tell you they probably work more hours in any one week than you do.

I have to admit, even I got curious at all the fantastic offers out there to free up my time and earn me a fortune at the same time as travelling around the world and just enjoying myself so I started doing a little research and this is what I came up with.

1. To get more information you need to fill out an online request form for more information giving your e-mail address and a contact telephone Nº then you go to your email and just click on the confirmation link in the e-mail they send you to confirm your address and that you would like more information. (You have now been added to a mass mailing list and although they insist that they would never sell or pass on your personal information, my spam box tripled with spam e-mails only minutes after filling out a couple of these online requests.)

2. Next you will get a call from your personal contact that originally placed the advert you replied to and after a brief chat will give you a free phone number to call at a certain time and date to listen in to a “live” information conference call. (This is the motivational part where there is “live” input from real people who have already taken the plunge and are telling how it changed their lives and they have never looked back since and telling you to do the same.) There is no hard sell at this point and the only money mentioned is how much they are all earning.

3. Only after you have enrolled and paid the initial enrollment fee (You will be offered a free website or some other marketing benefit for this money to make it seem like it’s a good investment) will you be given the full breakdown of how the commission structure works.

After doing a little more digging around and research into the commission structures, it seems that the majority of these systems work on an MLM or Pyramid Systems where you have to become an activated associate before you can start earning your money which usually means selling a certain amount of product/s first or even buying them yourself.

BEWARE!

Until you do this all your commissions will be paid to the person who introduced you and any commissions earned by someone you introduced would also pass on to the person who introduced you until you had become an active associate yourself!

So some people are making enormous amounts of money out of these home based internet businesses but it’s normally the people who own them or the ones that got in at the beginning or top of the pyramid making all the money. I am not saying that all schemes run like this I am just saying that all the ones I have researched up until now did and I would welcome your opinions if you know different and can prove me wrong. I would also like to hear from anyone who has been ripped off by these so called fool proof money making schemes.

Leave your comments below and let others know about the good ones or the bad ones and which ones we can trust or which ones we should avoid.

How Do You Overcome The Objection We Want To Think About It

2009-09-21T18:30:00.004+02:00

I am inundated with emails every week asking how to get over the objections:

“We never do anything on the day.”

“We always like to think things through before we make any decisions.”

“That’s brilliant. We’ll take all the paperwork away with us and we’ll let you know in a day or two!”

The last thing a Professional Timeshare Salesperson wants to hear at the end of what you think has been a good presentation on the benefits of Holiday Ownership is: “You’re very good at your job and it all looks fantastic, but obviously we couldn’t make a decision today. We need to go away and way it all up.”

Now there have been endless sales training books written on the art of overcoming objections and closing any deal and most sales training books will have a section dedicated to overcoming the most common sales objections normally at the end of the book.

I even thought of including a section on the most effective responses to the fifteen most common objections in my own book: “The Five Simple but Essential Steps to Getting the Sale” but I decided that there where already enough very good sales books out there covering the subject probably better than I can and I didn’t want to just repeat the same old closes again.

I can only relate what I have found in my own personal experience when I myself have been faced with the objection “We want to think about it.” No matter what clever closes or smart answers I have used it has always boiled down to my own fault.

There have only been two reasons I ever got the objection “I want to think about it”:

1. I gave them too much information and therefore created a situation where their heads were full of useless stuff that wasn’t relevant to their own personal holidays so of course they needed to think about it.

Or.

2. I didn’t make them want it enough!

The key to the whole thing in my opinion is keeping it simple and making them want it!

I guarantee if you can make someone want something badly enough they won’t just want it today!

They will want it right there and then!

When was the last time you saw something you really wanted and that you could comfortably afford?

I bet you didn’t have to think very long about whether you should buy it or not did you?

How long was it before you where walking out of the shop or showroom with it under your arm?

I don’t there is a magic formula or clever closers response to overcome “We want to think about it” I think all you need to do is make them want it enough and the only thing they will need to think about is how they would prefer to pay for it!

Let’s have some feed back on this problem that all Professional Timeshare Sales Consultants all around the world have to face everyday so that we can all learn from each other.

What do you do to get around the objection “I want to think about it”?

What tips can you give our other readers to overcome “We never do anything on the day”?

I’m looking forward to all your comments.

$100 Million Hyatt Siesta Key Beach Resort Opens

2009-09-07T17:30:00.000+02:00

The newly completed Hyatt Siesta Key Beach luxury fractional resort is now open.

The resort is located on one of the top beaches in the world, Siesta Key Beach, Florida.

Owners of Hyatt Siesta Key Beach have travel opportunities to 14 other Hyatt Residence Club and Hyatt Vacation Club properties as well as over 380 Hyatt hotels worldwide with Hyatt Gold Passport.

Mark Schoenfeld, Managing Director for The Carlyle Group, owners of Hyatt Siesta Key Beach, today announced that the resort has been completed and is now open.

Hyatt Siesta Key Beach is the first purpose-built luxury fractional beachfront residences in the Sarasota area. The resort is the 15th property in the Hyatt Residence Club and Hyatt Vacation Club portfolio. Other resorts are in Key West and Bonita Springs, FL; Carmel, CA; San Antonio, TX; Aspen, Beaver Creek and Breckenridge, CO; Lake Tahoe, NV; Sedona, AZ and Dorado, Puerto Rico with Fifth Avenue, New York City coming soon.

“Carlyle enjoyed working with Hyatt to develop this splendid property on one of the most pristine beaches in the country,” said Schoenfeld. “Its coming to fruition validates our shared vision for choosing Crescent Beach for Hyatt Siesta Key Beach.”

The resort features 44 fully furnished residences with thirteen different floor plans and living space ranging from 1,865 to 2,920 square feet. Each residence features extraordinarily high-end finishes — including Wolf, Sub-Zero and Fisher & Paykel appliances. Other furnishings include custom furniture and décor, lavish linens and Lube Italian cabinetry throughout.

Hyatt Siesta Key Beach was built by Sarasota-based Tandem Construction. Over 500 construction workers, craftsmen, tradesmen, landscapers and labourers contributed to building the resort. The project was completed with equity provided by private equity firm The Carlyle Group.

Hyatt Siesta Key Beach was completed in thirteen months and infused approximately $100 million into the local economy.

Luxury Fractional Ownership at Hyatt Siesta Key Beach provides owners with as much time as is typically spent at a wholly-owned second home, but with the added benefits of on-site property management by a luxury brand, the style of service and amenities luxury buyers expect and travel opportunities to 14 other Hyatt Residence Club and Hyatt Vacation Club properties as well as over 380 Hyatt hotels worldwide with Hyatt Gold Passport.
Ownership at Hyatt Siesta Key Beach includes Cabana Club privileges which provide owners 365-day access to resort amenities (subject to Cabana Club rules and regulations). Residences are deeded and may be passed along to future generations.

Hyatt Siesta Key Beach should be seen in person to fully appreciate the experience. For more information, visit: www.HyattSiestaKeyBeach.com.

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 personally having a problem overcoming, leave a comment below or drop me an e-mail to: info@simplesalesandmarketing.com

Remember: there is no such thing as a foolish question, only a fool who doesn’t ask questions.

“I Sell Timeshare!”

2009-08-31T17:30:00.002+02:00

I wrote an article a couple of weeks ago entitled “Probably The Best Job In The World” all about how I truly believe that selling Timeshare is the best job in the world and it was nice to receive an e-mail from Rajbir who after eight years in the industry also shares my views.

I was further reminded of it when we were in our local campo bar the other evening having a cold beer after work and our girls started playing with the young daughter of another couple who were sitting a few tables away from us.

After a little while my wife wandered over to the couple to say hello and make sure that our girls weren’t being a pain.

As she got talking to them it turned out that they were actually staying at the resort where I’m working at the moment on a fly buy promotion. She quite proudly told them “Alan works there.” “He’s on the cold line”. “Come over and meet him we can all have a beer together while the girls are playing.”

Now a few years ago this would have been the kiss of death to any conversation in a bar and I have even used it to get rid of someone who I don’t want to talk to. When I’ve had enough and they started becoming a pest I would always steer the conversation around to get them to ask me what I did for a living knowing full well that when I said “I sell Timeshare!” the conversation would end rapidly and they would normally make their excuses and leave at the first opportunity!

This time however the couple eagerly picked up their drinks and came back over with my wife and sat down with us.

After telling me what a beautiful resort it was and their reasons for not buying which I won’t go into here but were genuinely due to personal circumstances and not an objection that could have been overcome, we just got chatting and have become really good friends. We met up again before they went home and they reminded me again of how lucky I was to have the job I did. We have swapped emails and will definitely meet up each time they get out to Spain or we go to England.

The whole point of this article is:

How far we have come since I first started selling Timeshare over twenty years ago. Thanks to companies like Marriott, Hilton, Disney, MacDonald’s and now even Butlin’s with their Blueskies holiday club the words: Timeshare, Holiday Ownership, Vacation Ownership, Fractional Ownership, Points clubs and Holiday Clubs have now become accepted in Europe and a career in the holiday ownership industry has now become a respected profession and lost the stigma it had many years ago when I first started.

So if you sell Timeshare or any other form of Fractional Ownership or Holiday Club, be proud of what you do. Lets all fight towards cleaning up the image of the “Professional Timeshare Salesperson”

What do you think?

What has been the reaction when you have told someone that you sell Timeshare?

Leave your comments below.

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 personally having a problem overcoming, leave a comment below or drop me an e-mail to: info@simplesalesandmarketing.com

Remember: there is no such thing as a foolish question, only a fool who doesn’t ask questions.

Canvassing For New Business (Part 2)

2009-08-24T18:00:00.001+02:00

Last week we took a look at the difficult job of looking for new clients.

Those of you who missed it might like to read last weeks article first.

This week I want to look at how to ask for those referrals and add a few more simple ideas to help you find more customers.

Market surveying existing customers on follow up calls is always a good exercise to determine when they are likely to need to replace or upgrade to newer or better products. If they are happy this is also an excellent opportunity to ask for those referrals we talked about in last week’s article.

Asking for referrals is very easy when you know your clients are happy with everything. My pitch would go something like: “I’m glad you’re happy with everything John and I’m pleased I’ve been able to help you out.” You know that most of my business comes through word of mouth and personal recommendation.” “Just like you where recommended by George, I’m sure you must know a couple of people just like yourself who could use my services/products and I could help as well?” “In fact George probably told you I always offer a little incentive to any of my clients who recommend me to their friends and family.”

Remember it is always worth offering your clients some sort of financial reward or incentive to give you referrals no matter how small it is. You would have had to spend the money somewhere on marketing anyway so this is a much more productive way of directing some of your marketing costs and will bring you much better results.

Always contact existing clients with any new products/services or upgrades that are available to them, you’ll be surprised how many customers will by want to upgrade and could buy something every year.

Most companies will have a customer services department that deals with complaints.

Don’t be afraid to take on some of the problem customers.

An unhappy client can be worth their weight in gold for referrals if you just happen to be the only one who could solve their problem.

Make sure your business cards are of the best quality you can afford and that they stand out from the crowd. I even have a friend who has his picture on his cards because he knows most people will remember his face long after they’ve forgotten him.

There are a lot of companies that although they offer different products and services will work along side each other and deal with the same types of customers. For example your plumber could recommend a good electrician; roofers know plasterers, gardeners know someone who maintains swimming pools etc.

Think of who else you know who would deal with your type of customer and arrange to swap client bases or again pass on referrals or recommend each other.

And lastly don’t forget to do some cold calling remember every person you speak to is a potential client.

The list of potential new clients is endless if you just use a little imagination and start thinking out of the box.

Hope this last two weeks has given you some new ideas for lead generation.

See you all next week when I’ll be going back to some more hardcore Timeshare Sales Techniques.

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 personally having a problem overcoming, leave a comment below or drop me an e-mail to: info@simplesalesandmarketing.com

Remember: there is no such thing as a foolish question, only a fool who doesn’t ask questions.

Looking For New Business

2009-08-17T17:30:00.001+02:00

Although this blog is predominantly about selling Timeshare, I like to cover all aspects of sales and marketing problems. So this week I want to look at the biggest problem of all for the freelance direct sales person.

Finding new clients!

Unless your leads are supplied by your company, canvassing for new business has always been a major headache for any body working in direct sales. You really need to have a good marketing plan set out if you want to be a successful. It doesn’t matter how good your product is, if you don’t have anybody to sell it to you’re not going to make any money are you! So let’s look at some simple ways to generate new leads.

The best source of new business is repeat business.

Look for referrals from your existing client base. This is probably your first and most important source of new business. Providing your existing client base have been well sold and looked after properly after the sale, they will be more than happy to recommend you and your products to their friends, family and even their own clients.

If you can get them to call their friends first before you call them it’s even better. It’s not just a new lead it’s now become a warm lead!

Just imagine how easy your next call could be?

“Hi is that Bob?” “Its Alan calling,” “John asked me to give you a call he said you might be interested in……”

Work it out. If you have an existing client base of 100 and each one gave you three referrals you now have 300 new warm leads to call.

You should convert at least 100 of them and if each one of them gave you three referrals you now have another 300 warm leads to call!

This system will work every time as long as you have a good product, have built a good working relationship with your clients and they are getting a good after sales service if your product requires it.

If you work the referral system properly you will never have to cold call again!

Even a new sales person can adapt this method of canvassing right from the start.

Instead of getting the phone book out and blindly cold calling every number in alphabetical order, look first at your own circle of family, friends and associates.

You should know what type of person would need your products or services, so start looking for who you already know that might be happy buying those products and services from you. Think of the people you know in your local pub or social club. If you are a member of a golf club or society these are always very good sources to network and find new clients.

Next week I’ll cover how to ask for referrals. There are many other ways to look for new clients instead of cold calling and I’m going to cover some more of them in the next few weeks. For now start working your existing client base and never cold call again!

See you all next week.

If there’s a particular sales skill, marketing problem or closing technique that you would like me to cover in future articles, or an objection that you are personally having a problem overcoming, leave a comment below or drop me an e-mail to:

info@simplesalesandmarketing.com

Remember: there is no such thing as a foolish question, only a fool who doesn’t ask questions.

You Have To Open Before You Can Close!

2009-08-10T16:30:00.004+02:00

An old manager of mine had a favourite saying.

“You have to open before you can close”

What he was getting at was you have to open up your clients before you can even start to close them into buying anything.

We all know that we can’t sell to a closed mind so I want share with you and old trick I used with my managers help to calm my clients down and get them feeling like old friends right from the very start of my presentation.

Now I know most people will tell you that once you have introduced yourself to your clients you should never leave them on their own. I would firmly agree with that once you have started presenting your products, but what we are looking at here is a subtle way of opening up your clients’ right in the beginning before you even break the pact and start your warm up.

Once I had met my clients in the reception and introduced myself, I would take them through to the warm up terrace and sit them down. I would make light conversation ask a few questions about where they were staying and how they had been brought in to the resort etc and then I would ask them if they would like a tea or coffee and leave them to go and order their drinks.

This first time with them would only last about five to ten minutes and I would leave them for around five minutes to relax and enjoy the view over the swimming pools.

When I went back I would apologies for being so long and tell them I had got caught up with my manager Paul who hopefully would pop by to say hello a bit later on if he had time.

I would now start my warm up and fact finding.

Around half an hour later my manager would come over to my table and tell me that there was an important phone call for me so I would apologise again and leave them with my manager and offer to order some more drinks while I was gone.

By the time I came back my manager had done his warm up and psychologically this was now my third meeting with them and we were just like old friends!

This was a game we would play on every tour and it worked like a treat for us.

I would make sure that I made another opportunity to get my manager back on the table sometime during the presentation to answer some very important question that my clients had brought up so that when he came back on at the end to put the price down, it was also his third time of meeting them and he was now an old friend they had met twice before who was going to help them get the best deal possible.

The reason this little game works is because of the way our subconscious mind works.

When we meet someone for the first time we are total strangers. When we then meet the same person/people for the second time we are not strangers any more we already know each other from the first time we met so we are more open to getting to know each other better. By the third time we meet someone as long as we liked them on the first and second meeting we subconsciously log them in our memories as old friends regardless of the time factor between meetings.

This will work every time as long as it is executed smoothly and with complete naturalness. So go and ask your manager if he/she is willing to play the game.

I’m sure if it means getting more deals he/she will be more than happy to try it out.

See you all 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 personally having a problem overcoming, leave a comment below or drop me an e-mail to: info@simplesalesandmarketing.com

Remember: there is no such thing as a foolish question, only a fool who doesn’t ask questions.

Absolute Group Sign Two Year Marketing Deal With Owners Perspective Magazine

2009-08-07T16:30:00.000+02:00

New members to Absolute Vacation Club will now receive a complimentary 12 month subscription to the leading consumer publication for the shared ownership industry as part of an innovative marketing agreement.

Owners Perspective Magazine recently launched a unique package for developers of timeshare and fractional ownership resorts and is pleased to announce that Absolute Group, Asia’s market leader in mixed-use resort development has entered into a two-year agreement with the consumer magazine.

Absolute Group currently offers fractional ownership schemes on a range of properties in Thailand including Absolute Bangla Suites (Phuket), Absolute Nakalay Beach Resort (Phuket), Absolute Signature Villas at Palm Grove (Jomtien - Pattaya) and Absolute Platinum Suites (Jomtien - Pattaya). The group are also pleased to announce the pre-launch of yooPhuket, Thailand’s most exciting designer fractional and whole ownership development, by the internationally acclaimed YOO design team. Already nearing 30% sell out of the first phase, outstanding deals are to be made before major release later this year, register now at yooPhuket.com.

“We are very pleased to be offering Owners Perspective Magazine to all our new Absolute Vacation Club members. We are sure they will enjoy all the vacation ideas and keeping up to date with the latest industry news.

There are many facets to the magazine offer for developers but by being able to include a branded letter with each edition, we are especially looking forward to communicating monthly with our members in such a unique and personal way.” says Bryan Lunt, Chairman of Absolute Group of Companies.

In response, Paul Mattimoe, CEO of Perspective International said, “Our specially designed package for developers which helps with consolidation, communication, referrals, upgrades and lead generation is definitely creating a buzz in the industry and we are extremely pleased to have Absolute, a valued long term client of ours as one of the first to benefit.”

For more information on Absolute Group visit http://www.absoluteresorts.com/

For more information on the Developer Package offered by Owners Perspective Magazine visit http://www.perspectiverates.com/developer

Worldwide Timeshare Hypermarket and Four Chairs Advertising Are Breaking Down The Barriers Of Timeshare!

2009-08-06T13:20:00.004+02:00

Starting from the 1st of August Worldwide Timeshare Hypermarket Europe’s leading timeshare resale company are showing a 60 second commercial promoting the concept of timeshare. This will be shown on the new ‘Travel Deals Direct’ channel 647 on the Sky platform.

This is an industry first, as it’s not selling from the TV; it’s more about “finding out more” and trying to educate the public and increase their awareness of timeshare.

The ad explains that timeshare is the opportunity to own for life, with affordable luxury in five star accommodation around the globe. It also explains that you can exchange your week for similar resorts around the world if you so desire, giving you the chance to see the world, it also says “all you need to do is pay a realistic management fee, which covers the running of the resort, and pay for your flights”.

Worldwide Timeshare Hypermarket and Four Chairs Advertising have also teamed up with TATOC (The Association for Timeshare Owners and Committees) and Owners Perspective Magazine which gives those that watch the commercial the opportunity to explore further and provides a level of reassurance and transparency.

Paul Mattimoe, CEO of Perspective International said “It is important, especially in the current economic climate where cost and value for money are paramount in the mind of the consumer, that leading companies within the timeshare industry take the opportunity to stand proud and begin to educate the next generation of timeshare owners.”

Phil Watson Managing Director of Worldwide Timeshare Hypermarket, with the technical direction of Terry Rose from Four Chairs Advertising, has negotiated sponsorship of the Travel Channel and already run a number of successful competitions. Terry said “the whole concept of timeshare being a main sponsor of a Travel Channel is truly amazing and a great achievement and with Phil Watson’s forward thinking, timeshare is moving forward with many other plans already in motion.”

DeVere Hotels & Resorts are be supplying a major prize for the competition in August, with Seasons PLC sponsoring the competition in September.

Worldwide Timeshare Hypermarket together with Seasons PLC will also feature on the Travel programme ‘travel today’, which is shown across Europe, again a major first in the world of timeshare.

Phil Watson was quoted as saying “we have made major steps towards educating the public about timeshare and what it has to offer. We have the ability to offer a family the chance to go on holiday to luxury resorts at sensible prices and buy into a lifestyle.”

Phil added “Both myself and Terry have many projects in hand and welcome other resorts to join in, not only are resorts such as DeVere Hotels & Resorts and Seasons PLC gaining TV exposure, but they also get the chance to contact the competition entries afterwards, adding even more awareness of their respective companies and the timeshare industry.

For more information on joining this initiative contact:
Phil Watson ~ Managing Director
Worldwide Timeshare Hypermarket
Tel: +44 (0)871 781 6 781
Mob: +44 (0)7770 498349
Email: philw@wwlg.co.uk

Probably The Best Job In The World!!

2009-07-29T11:28:00.008+02:00

I’m often asked if it’s a good time to start a career selling timeshare in the present financial climate and I posted an article earlier this year entitled “Selling Timeshare In The Recession”

Apart from the fact that the experts are now telling us that we are through the worst of the recession and that we will start to see a slow but steady recovery by the end of this year, I firmly believe any time is a good time to start a career not just Selling Timeshare but to start a career in any sales industry.

Let’s just look briefly at some of the benefits of earning a living as a commission only sales person:

1. There is no limit to your earnings. You decide how much you want to earn and set your goals to achieve it.

2. You can work as hard or as little as you choose based on what you want to earn.

3. In most commission only based sales jobs you are your own boss and get to work out in the open, on the road visiting clients as apposed to being stuck in an office.

4. Commission only sales jobs are very rarely nine to five so there is a certain amount of freedom in setting out your working day and week.

Now let’s look at Selling Timeshare as a career choice:

I think Selling Timeshare has got to be THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD!!

For those of you who have turned up on your resorts today feeling “Here we go again” and are ready to go through the motions and hope a deal pops out of somewhere, lets just take a minute to remind ourselves of just how lucky we are.

Added to the above benefits are:

5. You earn a living spending your working days on a beautiful holiday resort speaking to people who are on holiday about holidays!

6. You get to walk around the resort, sit by the pool have a cool drink in the beach bar and you’re surrounded by happy people chilling out and relaxing.

It’s almost like being on a permanent holiday yourself and to top it all of you can earn more money this year than your Doctor can stuck in his surgery each day!

When I was a rep I used to get so buzzed up in the mornings just thinking about the day ahead because I really believed I had the best job in the world. I would remind myself every day on my way to the resort what the pool bar was like how nice the apartments were. I would picture the Jacuzzi’s in the en-suite bathrooms and I would think about how I was going to feel walking through the immaculately kept gardens on my way to the health center and spa.

I loved my job and I still do. I would have no hesitation to go back to being a sales rep and often miss the buzz.

Selling Timeshare is a fantastic career for those who learn to love what they do and it can be the path to much greater things if you want to progress through to management and eventually run your own resort.

It is also one of the few sales jobs that offer you the opportunity to travel and work anywhere in the world so just remind yourselves once more how lucky you are.

You probably have the best job in the world!

See you all 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 personally having a problem overcoming, leave a comment below or drop me an e-mail to:

info@simplesalesandmarketing.com

Remember: there is no such thing as a foolish question, only a fool who doesn’t ask questions.

People Don’t Buy Products….............

2009-07-23T11:31:00.005+02:00

I’m having a lot of fun at the moment working with a telemarketing company that sells Google advertising and manages Adwords Campaigns for small to medium sized businesses.

Whilst I was wandering around the sales floor the other day listening to the sales team and looking at areas for potential improvement, I was suddenly made aware of something I had forgotten a long time ago.

People don’t but products for what they are or what name is on the can.

They buy a product for what it will do for them!!

Now you would think the mere mention of the word “Google” would have people screaming out to get a part of it wouldn’t you?

Wrong!

Even Google advertising doesn’t sell just because it’s Google. It sells because of what Google advertising can do for your marketing campaign.

So I thought I would share this mornings training session with all of you. Even if we’ve heard it all before it sometimes helps to be reminded of the basics of selling.

"Sell the sizzle not the sausage!"

Example:

“I’m selling sausages, they’re small slightly curved edible pink things that are wrapped in a thin see through skin that is made from some part of an animal’s inside and they are stuffed with minced pig.” “Special offer today and today only €1.99 for six” “Do you want some?”

Not really do you?

Ok let’s try again.

“Sausages are really good things to buy because they are cheap, easy to cook and can be wrapped in pastry to make nice little aperitifs at a party or just thrown on the Barbie and eaten in the hand. Would you like some for your next party?”

A little better but not the best pitch yet.

How about:

“Just imagine waking up to the sound of a couple of sausages sizzling in the pan alongside the bacon and eggs. As you rub your eyes and climb out of bed you can smell the fresh aroma of a traditional English breakfast being cooked and sitting down at the breakfast table you see your plate with two lightly fried crispy brown pork sausages that as you cut into them are all fluffy and pink inside. Can you imagine how it’s going to taste when you put the first piece in your mouth?”

Now do want some sausages?

Of course you do and I bet you want them right now don’t you? Not tomorrow right now! You won’t have to ask your partner if you should eat them will you?

Do you get the idea? It’s all about painting the picture, putting your client in the picture then building the desire and getting your client to want it there and then.

You wont sell your product just because it's got a good high profile branded name. You have to sell your product on what it will do for your client or how it will make them feel using their senses to build the desire.

I’m going to carry on next week by showing you how to adapt the sausage pitch into selling your resort until then, sell the sizzle and not the sausage!

See you all 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 personally having a problem overcoming, leave a comment below or drop me an e-mail to:

info@simplesalesandmarketing.com

Remember: there is no such thing as a foolish question, only a fool who doesn’t ask questions.

Professional Sales Trainer on the Costa del Sol

2009-07-21T15:17:00.013+02:00

Alan Roy Hocking

Author, Professional Sales Trainer,

Independent Marketing Consultant and

Personal Development Coach is now available for individual or Group Training Sessions along the Costa del Sol

Alan Roy Hocking has over twenty years personal experience selling timeshare on the Costa del Sol, the latter part of which has been dedicated to the Recruiting and Training of Timeshare Sales Professionals for Resort Marketers World Wide,

Alan offers a refreshing look at the psychology behind the sales process and can train on all aspects of Sales and Marketing Techniques.

His relaxed and easy going manner, along with an easy to understand and down to earth style of teaching and writing is a welcomed new look at the art of closing sales and has earned him quite a large following of regular readers to this Blog: “Simple Sales And Marketing Solutions”.

Alan has made it his personal mission to dedicate himself to studying the psychology behind why people buy, and passing on his knowledge to anyone who chooses to make selling a long term career and really wants to learn how to sell more efficiently.

The constant e-mails, words of encouragement and feed back received from this long running Blog, have eventually lead to the release of his first E-Book, “The Five Essential steps to closing the sale” and the decision to go freelance and offer his training services to all Sales and Marketing Companies along the Costa del Sol looking for a fresh input into their existing Sales Training Programmes.

Training can be arranged on an individual or group basis to cover all aspects of Sales and Marketing including:

Timeshare

Points Clubs

Holiday Clubs

RCI and II Exchange
Cold Line Sales Teams

In-House Sales Teams

Telesales

Direct Sales

Telemarketing

Customer Services

Business Development

Personal Development

Internet Marketing

Public Relations

Recruiting

For a no obligation call and to discuss your requirements in more details contact:

info@simplesalesandmarketing.com

Selling To RCI Exchangers (Part 2)

2009-07-10T20:57:00.007+02:00

Hi everyone

Last week we looked a little into how to sell your resort to clients on an RCI exchange holiday and as I pointed out, the biggest problem when selling to RCI exchangers is that the mere fact that they are on your resort proves that the RCI exchange system works and we all know that people only buy another product or upgrade existing products when the product they already own stops working or they are offered a better option.

For those of you who didn’t read part 1 follow this link first.

Secondly there is always that element of “pride of ownership” and nobody likes to be told they’ve been sold a pup or will admit that the resort they own at isn’t as good as the one they are staying at so we have to be extra gentle and subtle when dealing with this type of client.

I ended the article with a favorite closing question I always use to use:

“If this was your resort, what facilities or things would you change or add to it, to bring it up to the same standard of the resort you already own at?”

What was I trying to achieve with that question?

I always found that if I could get my clients to compare my resort and their own resort themselves; they didn’t feel as if I was trying to sell my resort to them or pick holes in their home resort.

Now we have to remember that people will only buy something if their existing product stops giving them the service it used to, or they see something newer, better value for money or they feel that they are upgrading to a higher standard.

This is even more evident with people on an RCI exchange.

So what can you do?

You can only sell your resort on these buying factors:

The yearly maintenance fee is cheaper but the exchange power is higher therefore offering a more cost effective exchange vehicle. (Financial – Saving money in the long run)

There are more or better facilities on your resort therefore representing an upgrade in their existing ownership to a higher standard resort. Resort of International Distinction or Gold Crown. (Keeping up with Joneses or Ego sale)

New development planned in future so your apartment will be worth far more in a few more years. (Better return on Investment should you sell at a later date. (Greed sale)

The key to closing the RCI exchanger is to get them to point out one of those points themselves and they will have sold themselves and be asking you to help them upgrade!

I have to admit that I found the clients on an RCI exchange the hardest to sell to and there are times when we all have to admit that some people can’t be sold.

As long as you can honestly say to yourself after the presentation that you had tried everything you could. Gave it 100% of your effort, and you are 100% sure that nobody else could have sold them either, then don’t beat yourself up and get down, accept it as one of your “No’s” and realize it just means you’re one “No” closer to the next “YES!”

See you all next week.

Put Your Business On The First Page Of Google

2009-07-01T11:25:00.010+02:00

Simple Sales And Marketing Solutions has teamed up with one of Europe’s leading Internet Marketing Specialists to be able to offer you one of the best Google Advertising Packages available today.

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As a company that has invested time and resources into creating an online presence, I am sure you are aware of the importance of gaining the maximum exposure for your website.

There are many routes your potential client base could use to find your products or services however it is statistically proven that the vast majority of all online searches are directed through Google.

Most people are aware of the power Google holds although very few people know how to take advantage of Google's search volume.

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Selling To RCI Exchangers (Part 1)

2009-06-26T12:56:00.006+02:00

Hi everyone

This weeks subject come thanks of John who sent me this email the other week.

So a big thanks John and I hope my book has helped a little.

Here is the email that he has kindly given me permission to use to help others who might be experiencing the same problems:

I am in-house rep for Massanutten Resort in Va. I am having so-so success with upgrading owners, but no success in selling to RCI exchangers. For what ever reason I get no interest in this beautiful resort. I build the value and solve their problems on how to better exchange, (I know they are lying when they say they have no problem). Any suggestions!!!!!!!!!!!

Help

Firstly dealing with RCI exchangers can be a problem in itself as the mere fact that they are on your resort proves that the RCI exchange system works and we all know that people only buy another product or upgrade existing products when the product they already own stops working or they are offered a better option.

Secondly there is always an element of “pride of ownership” and nobody likes to be told they’ve been sold a pup or will admit that the resort they own at isn’t as good as the one they are staying at so we have to be extra gentle and subtle when dealing with this type of client.

My own experience was that they needed a very laid back approach. An almost, "I’m not even going to bother trying to sell you anything," we’ll just go through the motions because that’s what I get paid to do attitude.

The majority of my presentation would be spent in warm up, fact finding and just having fun.

The main answers I wanted were:

Did they buy their home resort because they liked the resort, it was close to home, or did they buy it as an exchange vehicle?

How often do they stay at their home resort and how often do they exchange?

Was this exchange their first choice and if it wasn’t why did they think they didn’t get their first choice?

What was their first choice and why?

And how often have they not got their first choice?

These are all standard fact finding questions when dealing with RCI exchange clients but the one I loved and would always leave till the end was:

If this was your resort, what facilities or things would you change or add to bring it up to the same standard as the resort you already own at?

I want to follow on from this next week as I think it’s impossible to cover this subject properly in one article so stay tuned for:

“Selling To RCI Exchangers Part 2”

See you all next week.

My Latest Book Now Available At Lulu.com!

2009-06-13T20:56:00.004+02:00

May was a particularly exciting, positive and very productive month for me.

My first Sales Training e-book “The Five Simple But Essential Steps To Getting The Sale” is not only getting good reviews and selling well on my own site, is now published and can be previewed and downloaded at lulu.com

I have also just finished my second book “Oh Look There’s Two Of Them!” a light hearted look at bringing up twins based around my own personal experiences of bringing up my own twin daughters.

“Oh Look There’s Two Of Them!” can also be previewed and downloaded at lulu.com

May was also the start of a new project for me.

I have been asked to set up and develop a dedicated customer support department for a young but rapidly expanding Telemarketing Company here in Mijas Costa.

Customer support is a new challenge for me as I have always been front line sales and marketing so I’m really enjoying the learning curve and will be starting a new section covering customer services here on this blog based around my experiences over the coming months.

I’m helping out with the recruiting, training and managing of the telesales teams as well so we will be adding more articles to the Tips for Telesales section over the next coming weeks.

Any spare time I have will be dedicated to producing my next book covering the art of closing over the phone.

“Hmm. I must start a book about writing books………….”

See you all 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 a comment below or drop me an e-mail to: info@simplesalesandmarketing.com

Remember: there is no such thing as a foolish question, only a fool who doesn’t ask questions.

A Testimonial:

Dear Alan,

Just to say thank you so much for the info that has boosted my sales career to another level.

For the life of me I could not see where I was going wrong, I have read many other publications and to be honest could not make much sense of it all.

After reading your 5 simple steps guide it just "clicked",

I am now selling almost double the amount in just a few days of putting your suggestions into practice. I'm waiting for your next publication with great excitement and will be following your blog with great interest. Thank you so much for some genuine, great advice...

Simon Peterson (London UK)

"You Can’t Be Taught How To Manage People You’re Either A Good Man Manager Or You’re Not!”

2009-05-23T23:00:00.008+02:00

I was listening to a conversation in the bar the other night between two sales managers discussing their different opinions as to how you should best manage a direct sales team when one of them piped up quite loudly, “Man management skills are something you either have or you don't". "You can’t be taught how to manage people you’re either a good man manager or you’re not”.

I wanted to join in at this point but my wife gently reminded me that it was Friday and I had finished work for the weekend and was supposed to be relaxing with a cold beer and dedicating my time to the conversation my twin daughters were trying to have with me about what they had done in school that day!

It did start me thinking though about some of the managers I’ve worked for in the past and I have to admit that some people are just naturally born leaders

I’ll always remember a long time ago now when I was a new sales rep selling Timeshare on the cold line. I’d worked under a couple of different sales managers and seen a few changes in the management line up in a very short time and they all seemed to be the same old stereotype Timeshare Sales Managers that were around in the old days so I didn’t take a lot of notice when we were told that we had yet another new sales manager taking over on Monday and he was really going to make some changes to this sales deck.

What a surprise this one turned out to be.

He didn’t come into the meeting shouting and banging his fists on the table threatening us with the old “If you don’t get a deal today you’ll all be out of a job!” He was quite laid back, very gentle and almost human for a sales manager but still carried an air of authority about him and silently commanded respect without ever asking for it. He was one of the most motivational men I had ever met and we would almost run into the morning meetings just in case he had got there before us and we’d missed something he had to say.

Even more important was that he was very approachable and always seemed to have time to sit with you and listen to your problems and give advice on where you could be going wrong in your presentation.

It was quite a few months before I started to realise that in all the times I’d gone to him and asked advice or discussed a problem I was having, he never once gave me the answers.

He would sit and listen to my problem and then ask me what I thought my options were. Once I’d given him all the options I thought I had for solving the problems, he would then ask me what I believed would be the outcome of each option if I put them into action. Once I’d told him that he would ask me which of the outcomes I thought would best resolve my problem. He would finish by saying that as long as I know what the problem is. And I know what action would best solve the problem. I just needed to take the appropriate action to create the desired outcome and I wouldn’t have the problem any more.

No wonder he was such a relaxed manager. He taught all his staff to managed themselves and find their own solutions to their problems and so slowly there where less people going to him every day and that freed up his time up to concentrate on what his job was really about. The day to day running of what became a very successful sales operation.

About The Author Alan Roy Hocking

2009-05-18T13:42:00.004+02:00

Alan Roy Hocking a professional sales trainer and independent marketing consultant, spent his early years in the entertainment business and developed his love of being in front of an audience and working face to face with the public from there.

It was a natural move into direct sales where he could continue to earn a living doing what he enjoyed the most. Entertaining!

After a few years spent selling various products in the U.K. He eventually moved out to Spain and started to work for what was then a relatively small marketing company, selling Timeshare.

It was in Timeshare that he really started his professional sales career and has remained in the Timeshare industry ever since.

The one thing that seemed to stick out during his early sales experience was the severe lack of proper professional initial and ongoing sales training.

New recruits would always be given the usual basic product knowledge training, but then mostly, just like he himself had been, they were let loose on the public and expected to sell!

No wonder so many potentially good sales people fail in the early stages!

Ever since then, Alan has made it his personal mission and dedicated himself to studying the psychology behind why people buy, and passing on his knowledge to anyone who chooses to make selling a long term career and really wants to learn how to sell.

His straight forward, easy to understand and down to earth style of teaching and writing is a refreshing new look at the art of closing and has earned him quite a large following of regular readers to his Sales Training Blog: “Simple Sales And Marketing Solutions”.

The constant e-mails, words of encouragement and feedback received from his original blog has eventually lead to the release of his first Sales Training E-Book, “The Five Simple But Essential Steps To Getting The Sale”

For more information on his book and other Simple Sales Training Products visit:

http://stores.lulu.com/simplesalesandmarketingsolutions

We hope you enjoy it

If there’s a particular sales skill or closing technique that you would like Alan to cover in future articles, or an objection that you are having a problem overcoming, send an e-mail to:

info@simplesalesandmarketing.com

Remember: there is no such thing as a foolish question, only a fool who doesn’t ask questions.

Warm Up Is All About Building Trust

2009-05-01T12:16:00.001+02:00

Warm up is all about making friends with your clients.

Nobody will buy off you if they don’t like and trust you.

That means you have to spend some time getting to know your clients on a personal level and let them get to know you personally before you can get into the all important part of fact finding.

Your fact finding is the foundation on which your sale is built, but you have to earn the right to move into fact finding. That is done during the warm up period when you become your client’s new best friend.

I’m often asked “how long should the warm up period last” And the answer I give is “As long as it takes”

There is no set time for warming up a client. Each client will be different. Some will be very open and easy to talk to. This type of client can be warmed up in minutes and before you know you’re laughing and joking like you’ve known each other for years. Other clients are very reserved and take what seems forever to start to relax with you and open up. Whatever happens you should never move into fact finding until your client is ready otherwise your just wasting your time and you would have been better off staying in warm up, enjoying the coffee and not even showing them your product.

A good gauge is your clients’ body language. When you first meet you will see that your clients are normally seated stiffly with arms and legs crossed, the lady will probably have her handbag held tightly on her lap and they could be slightly turned in towards each other and away from you. These are all defensive/protective body language positions. When you start to see that the arms become unfolded, the shoulders start to drop slightly and the lady puts her handbag on the floor or on another chair. Then you know your clients are starting to relax and feel comfortable in your company.

Take control right from the beginning with alternative choice closes like: “Would you like to sit in the sun or the shade?” “Would you prefer to sit by the window or over in the corner where it’s quieter?” People feel more comfortable when they’re given a choice but not too much choice. For example, don’t ask them what they want to drink you will get all sorts of answers. Ask them if they would like a hot drink or a cold drink, “Tea or Coffee?” They will not realize that you’re controlling the answers and getting them used to making choices right from the word go. They will see it as you being very polite and well organised and that will make them feel more comfortable.

Once you have them seated and have ordered the drinks get back into relaxing your clients. People love to talk about themselves and their achievements. Remember your warm up should be 20% talking and 80% listening. Find a common interest but men don’t be tempted to talk about football and leave the wife completely out of the conversation or you will have lost the sale before you even start.

There are two types of warm up, the bus stop warm up and the pub warm up. The bus stop warm up is like two people at a bus stop who make light conversation to pass the time but don’t really get to know each other and most of the conversation goes over their heads. The pub warm up is where you start chatting to someone in a pub and before you know it you’re buying each other drinks, chatting about things you would never discuss with a stranger and arranging to meet again next week for a game of darts.

If you make all your warm up’s pub warm up’s I guarantee you will write more deals and you’ll have a lot more fun while you’re doing it!

Now go out tonight and practise just talking to people and finding out as much as you can about there hobbies, interests and favourite pastimes. Who knows, you might even make some new friends.

Some Tips To Help You With Your Meet And Greet

2009-04-03T12:05:00.003+02:00

The first five seconds of a Timeshare presentation are crucial because this is the part where you’re presenting yourself not the product.

Before meeting your clients try to put yourself in their shoes.

Your clients will have normally been brought in by taxi. Once they are in that taxi and start their journey to the resort, the stark reality of what they are doing suddenly hits them and they realise they’re on their way to “another one of those Timeshare presentations”. How do you think they are feeling at this point?

Probably very nervous and definitely a bit scared if they’ve attended a Timeshare presentation in the past and experienced the old five hours of Timeshare hard sell tactics.
They will have made a pact in the taxi to collect their gifts and get out of there as quickly as possible and not sign or agree to anything today.

Normally the dominant partner will have said to the sub-dominant partner to keep quite and let them do all the talking and they will be expecting some smooth talking, slick Timeshare sales person to be meeting them in reception just like the last time.

This is a massive defence wall they have built for sales protection through past experience and the longer they are in the taxi the stronger the wall will be. If you don’t get through that defence
shield during your presentation you will never get the deal no matter how many sales tactics and closing techniques you can use! So the sooner you can start breaking down the defense shield the better.

So how can you start to break down this defense shield right from the first moment?
Reverse psychology.

Throw them completely of balance right in the first five seconds. Don’t try to be smart and use power control tricks, that’s what there expecting. Just be yourself. They’re not expecting that. Remember these people are really very scared of you; for the first half an hour they will still feel very vulnerable so be extra sensitive to their body language.

These people are on holiday and they want to enjoy themselves so start to entertain them. Have fun. Make them wish they were staying on your resort instead of at the hotel they are actually staying at. Try to make them forget you’re a sales professional until you’ve calmed them down enough to start your presentation.

Here are some do’s and don’ts to help you break through the Timeshare sales defence
shield.

Don’t: Carry any sales material with you when you first meet your clients. That can be picked up later or be prepared and waiting in the presentation room. I didn’t even have a pen on show until I needed it I kept one in my trouser pocket out of site.

Do: use open body language when you first meet them and always include all family members in your introduction. Children can sell this for you if you get them on your side and Grandma and Grandpa will have a lot of influence in the final buying decision out of pure respect from their children. So don’t leave any body out when introducing yourself.

Do: get onto first name terms with all the people in the party. They will feel you have known them a lot longer if you use their first names right from the start. When they start using your first name then you’re just like old mates having a coffee together.

Don’t: be tempted to mention anything about the product at this stage even if they prompt you.

Do: Take immediate control and move your clients to the warm up area where you can order drinks and start to relax them even more

Do: ask them if they need the toilet on the way to the warm up area, they could have been stuck in traffic and the nerves will also have had an effect on their bladders. They might not be comfortable enough to ask for the toilet just yet so pre-empt it and watch the sigh of relieve cross their faces. With that one gesture you’ve just won a load of brownie points!

Consejos Simples Para Vendedores En Español

2009-03-29T12:00:00.001+02:00

Hola a todos/as,

Anqué mi Español no es perfecto todavía, después de unos veinte años viviendo en la Costa del Sol tengo mucha gente quien quiere que me escribo algunos de mis consejos simples para vendedores en Español.

Muchos de mis amigos me dicen que falta de un bueno entrenador y anqué siempre puedes encontrar muchos consejos escrito en ingles, no hay muchas cosas escritas sobre la venta de Timeshare para gente que solo habla y vender en español.

Entonces me ha decidido a intentar a escribir algunos artículos aquí en mi blog y me gustaría saber vuestras opiniones sobre mi idea.

Si hay suficiente personas quien le gusta mis consejos en español escribiere más a menudo y igual también escribiré mi libro “The Five Simple But Essential Steps To Getting The Sale” en versión Española.

Me gusteria saber tus opiniones sobre mi idea.

Espero tus comentarios

Un saludo.

Alan Roy Hocking

Close More Deals Using These Three Powerful Selling Emotions

2009-03-08T11:53:00.002+01:00

It is of utmost importance to try to gather as much information about your clients before you meet them for the first time. If you have some idea of the type of person you’re going to be dealing with it will help you pre-plan your presentation and final closing strategy.

This is fairly easy if you’re dealing with a business, you can just do some research on the internet about company background etc. If you do house calls then you can check out the neighbourhood, type of house, what car is parked outside, how neat the garden is etc. All these things will give you some idea of your client’s character and how to deal with them. But what if you’re a Timeshare rep on the cold line? You never know who’s going to be sat in front of you until they arrive in reception and your names called to go and meet them.

Right?

WRONG!

Let’s look a bit deeper into the type of person who attends a timeshare presentation. The way they’re brought into the resort can tell you a lot about what type of person they are long before you meet them.

Here’s an example:

Imagine for one moment your on holiday with your wife / husband its Sunday morning the first day of your holiday you’ve missed breakfast because you arrived late last night and overslept so you’re just stepping out of your hotel to find a little bar serving English breakfast when suddenly out of nowhere a young lad or girl appears and once they’ve established your on holiday and recommended a good bar down the road they suddenly produce this handful of scratch cards from which you pull the star prize! Now to claim this prize you have to get straight into their car or taxi and go to the resort immediately as there’s only one star prize issued everyday and you wouldn’t want someone else to get it would you?

Now bearing in mind you’re in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language and you haven’t found your way around yet because you’ve just arrived. Would you get in the car of a complete stranger on the spur of the moment not knowing where they’re really going to take you just to pick up a star prize?

How many of you said “No way”? It doesn’t make logical sense does it? And yet every day, somewhere in a holiday resort around the world hundreds of holiday makers do exactly what they’re Mums told them never to do.

Why?

The excitement of winning something (The star Prize),

Greed (getting something for nothing)

Fear of loss (If we don’t go now, someone else might get our prize).

Those three emotions were stronger than the fear of getting in a strangers car in a foreign country where they don’t speak the language.

You have to hand it to the OPC’s (Off Premises Canvassers) they are the best closers in the world.

So what does that tell you about the person you’re going to be dealing with today?

Firstly they can definitely use what you’re going to show them today. They’re on holiday and all you’re going to show them is a better way of taking those holidays. Unless they are on a free holiday they can afford what you’re going to show them. You just have to show them how to re-direct their holiday budget. So as long as you can get them excited enough about owning your product, create the greed factor by offering more than they expected and finally install the fear of loss emotion buy letting them know about the one off special deal that they won’t be getting if they don’t join you today, you’ve got a new owner haven’t you.

It still amazes me how many Timeshare reps accept the “We never make a decision on the day” excuse.

All you have to do to squash that objection is gently remind your clients of the fact that it’s not a decision it’s a simple choice and they chose to get in a car or taxi and come down to the presentation today in a matter of minutes because they obviously felt that the benefits outweighed the disadvantages. “So what you’re really saying to me John and Mary is that I haven’t shown you enough of the benefits of owning my product for you to make an educated choice yet?” and then get straight back into what part of the product they need more information about and isolate it down to the genuine objection. Easy isn’t it!

See you all next week.

Alan has just released his first E-Book "The Five Simple But Essential Steps To Getting The Sale!" For more information and to download instantly visit Lulu.com

Five Tips For Making A Good First Impression!

2008-12-27T23:59:00.000+01:00

I mention in my book “The Five Simple but Essential Steps to Getting the Sale” that you will never get a second chance to make a good first impression.

This fact is even more evident when placing your client in a cold direct sales situation.

When you consider that the average person when placed in new or unfamiliar surroundings will take in up to 70% of his initial information visually, the remaining 30% being divided between the auditory and kinetic senses, and a first impression will be made in a matter of seconds, you’d better make sure that they like the look of you or your presentations going to be all uphill!

Let’s look at a simple example to demonstrate this fact.

Think back to the last time you were on holiday in a strange country. Remember the first night when you went down to the sea front looking for a nice bar to have a drink in. As you walk along the promenade you’re visually scanning all the bars until one catches your eye correct? When one does catch your eye you’ll cross the road and go in, once inside you visually scan the décor and decide in a split second whether or not you like the look of the other customers sitting at the bar and more importantly, the bar staff.

Now all that information you’ve just taken in visually. Assuming you like everything you see, your next sense the auditory sense kicks in and you start to analyze the sounds, i.e. do you like the music that’s playing?, does the conversation at the bar sound friendly?, have you been greeted with a big smile and a welcoming opening line from the bar staff?. This is when your kinetic sense kicks in and tells you if you feel comfortable or not. If you feel comfortable you order a drink and stay. If you don’t feel comfortable you turn around, walk out and start the process all over again at the next bar.

That is exactly the same process we use to gather our information when we meet someone for the first time and that is exactly the process your clients will use when they meet you for the first time.

If you don’t make a good visual impression and greet your clients in an open and friendly way their kinetic sense will tell them they don’t feel comfortable with you and if they don’t feel comfortable with you they certainly won’t trust you enough to buy your product at the end of your presentation no matter how good it is!

So how do you make a good first impression every time?

Here are five tips that might help you:

1. Make sure your sales material is clean, complete, and presentable and you have at least two pens on your person in case one runs out. That way you can concentrate on making a good impression without worrying about your sales material.

2. Go to the toilet. Nothing saps your concentration like a full bladder! Besides once you are with your clients you don’t want to leave them again till the deal is done.

3. While you’re in the toilet check yourself in the mirror and make sure you are clean and presentable. If you smoke, clean your teeth and wash your hands. Nothing is more off putting to a non-smoker or even worse an ex-smoker than shaking hands with someone who stinks of stale tobacco.

4. Now spend at least five minutes on your own away from any other reps filling your mind with positive thoughts. If you’re giving off loads of positive vibrations when you meet your clients they will also feel positive about you and are far more likely to feel comfortable during your sales presentation.

5. Lastly put yourself in their shoes. Try to imagine how you would feel meeting yourself for the first time? What impression would you make on yourself? Is there anything you would change? And remember; always treat your clients exactly the way you would like to be treated whether they buy from you or not. The person they talk to after their presentation with you today, might be your clients tomorrow!

Wishing you all a very prosperous 2009

See you all in the New Year

How A Change In Your Thinking Can Double Your Income!

2008-12-17T23:49:00.000+01:00

I cannot stress enough, the power of your mind and how it affects your sales presentations. You will have heard over and over again about the power of a positive mental attitude. P.M.A. But a negative mental attitude is just as powerful if not more powerful than a positive mental attitude.
Your mental attitude and how well you prepare yourself before your sales presentation is the foundation to getting the sale or not.

How many times have you been told that the top reps are regularly closing over 20% because of their attitude and enthusiasm? If you are already closing over 20% ask yourself are you satisfied with that. And if you are satisfied with that then why are you reading this?

Why aren’t you closing at 100%?

Because someone told you it can’t be done and you believed them? Someone told you that two out of ten is good enough and you accepted it!

I remember when I first started in direct sales, I was told we give you ten clients every week, as long as one buys you’ll make a decent living. If two or three buy you’ll be a super star! Can you imagine a Doctor straight out of university and the hospital tells him in his interview, “We give you ten patients to operate on every week, as long as you can keep two of them alive you’ll be one of our top surgeons!”

Maybe a bit extreme but you see where I’m coming from. I have never believed in the numbers game and I never accepted that eight out of ten people won’t buy.

I have worked with one lady for a long time now who wins all the sales competitions year after year. She’s in the lead again for this year and her year to date closing percentage fluctuates between 65-70% what makes her so good?

Her attitude!

An average sales rep believes their job is to present the product every day and hope that one or two clients will buy it by the end of the week. That’s called playing the numbers game. This lady believes her job is to get a sale every day, and every day she goes to work to do just that. You see nobody told her it was a numbers game!

So how do you stay positive all week?

A simple change in the way you think.

Here’s how to turn the numbers game into a money game. Stop concentrating on the two deals that earn you your commissions. If those two deals happen to be on the last two presentations you do this week, you’re going to get pretty low in your positive mental attitude by presentation number seven and eight and you’ve probably started analyzing your pitch, looking for where your going wrong and deciding what you can change tomorrow to get a deal. Sounds familiar doesn’t it.

Now let’s look at it from a different angle: let’s say each sale is worth $500 so two sales a week earns you $1,000. If you have to see ten clients to get two sales then each client is worth $100 whether they buy or not, right? So every day you go to work and do two presentations you earn $200 a day. Now that sounds much more fun doesn’t it?

Instead of going home at the end of the day feeling like you worked for nothing because you didn’t get a sale. You go to work thinking no matter what happens today, by the end of the day I’ll be $200 better off! Of course you still have to put 100% effort into every presentation you do, but it’s a lot easier to do when you know that you’re building up your commission statement even when they say no, Isn’t It.

Before you know it your new positive mental attitude means you're getting twice as many deals a week so now each presentation is worth $200 two presentations a day equals............................

Improve Your Selling Skills & Close More Deals!

2008-11-28T23:45:00.000+01:00

In over 18 years experience of promoting and selling timeshare on the Costa del Sol, the last 8 of which have been dedicated to the recruitment and training of direct sales professionals for several Resort Marketers around the world, it has always amazed me how difficult everyone makes it!

The sales process can be as easy, or as hard as you want it to be!

The only hard part about selling is learning how to make it easy.

The first and most important thing you need to take on board is that sales isn’t about how good your product is, or how big and well established the company you work for is, or that “special offer” you have “just for today.” It’s all about the person in front of you,

THE CUSTOMER!

In an essence if they like you and you can find out exactly what your client is looking for and provide it within the price range they’re willing to pay for it, then why wouldn’t they buy off you right there and then? It really is that simple!

Of course you have to learn how to get to that point with every client you sit in front of and that’s where the hard work comes in. But once you’ve learnt some of my “Simple Selling Skills”, you’ll be amazed how easy it all becomes and you’ll wonder why you’ve struggled for so long before?

Week by week we will be looking at some “Simple Selling Skills” that have made me a very comfortable living over the past few years and if you put them into practice can earn you a very comfortable living as well. Yes I know there are millions of sales books and internet sites out there all promising to turn you into a super selling machine, so what makes me any different?

I’m not, I have built up a library of sales books over the years and they are all very similar in there teachings and thought patterns, but I always found one thing that was unique in every book and when I added that one thing to my sales presentations, I made more sales. So if you only learn one more thing from me that makes you one more sale per week, then my time and effort has been worth it. Hasn’t it?

The good news for you is its completely free!

No Donations, No Monthly Subscriptions, Just down to earth straightforward advice that you can refer to over and over just by dropping by this site whenever you feel the need for some inspiration and want to boost your sales figures

See you next week.

Tips For OPC's

2008-11-09T23:37:00.002+01:00

This week’s article is in answer to an e-mail I received from Anthony who has just started working as an O.P.C. in Mexico and was looking for some pointers.

I wrote an article a while back entitled: “O.P.C’s - You Either Love Them Or Hate Them” To read it just follow the link. I hope it helps you and anyone else starting a new career in Timeshare as an O.P.C.

The Unfair Commercial Practises Directive brought out around the end of last year and finally enforced throughout Spain and the Canary Islands as of the end of March this year is an attempt to clean up the entire Timeshare Industry in Europe and give it a much more professional image. This has meant that the use of OPC’s on the streets has become virtually a thing of the past here on the Costa del Sol.

In a nutshell the Directive bans all forms of what they class as aggressive marketing tactics and makes the use of scratch card marketing illegal.

This means that the genuine and legal Timeshare Companies have had to revert to the old methods of marketing like fly buy programmes and inspection visits, or find new methods of getting people to look at their resorts and products without the use of OPC’s.

The illegal Timeshare Marketers and Telesales Companies will slowly be forced out of business which I personally don’t think is a bad thing and I’m all for any moves that improve the image of Timeshare in Europe and make the entire industry more regulated and professional.

What do you think?

Stereotype Timeshare Reps!

2008-10-17T23:31:00.000+02:00

We called into our local bar on our way home tonight which luckily for us is just down our lane but unluckily for us, we have to pass on the way home and that is normally where the problem is.

We always have trouble passing it!

It also just happens to be across the road from a well known and popular Timeshare Resort here on the Costa del Sol and has become the watering hole for the reps and managers there and they’ll quite often drop in after work and discuss the “days deals” and more often the “almost deals!”

Anyway we were sat in our normal table in the corner of the terrace with our twin daughters and got chatting to another couple on the next table who where out on holiday and staying over the road on their week of timeshare.

The conversation was the normal one we tend to have regarding the ups and downs of parenting twins, when two of the reps that were drinking inside came out quite drunk and whilst crossing the terrace to the car park to get into their cars were still boasting quite loudly about how one of them had made their clients feel really stupid for not buying.
(It hadn’t made the client change his mind and buy, but it made the rep feel much better for winning the argument!)

As they got into their cars and drove off, the lady we were talking to said with a rather disapproving look on her face, “They’re reps at our place, they’ve been trying to get us to buy more timeshare all week but we’re not going to.”

After fishing a bit deeper, it turns out that this couple had brought one week in a two bed duplex over twenty years ago when the family where young and had never upgraded or purchased a second week even though they attended their in-house presentation every year!

What amazed me even more was that they always had a two week holiday but chose to rent the second week privately in a complex down the road and pay more than the maintenance would be on a second week at the resort!

Add to this the fact that this particular Timeshare Company has a sister resort right on the beach and a fantastic versatile product to offer it just didn’t make sense.

When I finally asked why they hadn’t brought a second week, the lady answered, “Did you see those two? When we brought our week we had a lovely rep called John but when we were thinking of buying a second week he wasn’t there any more and we’ve never liked the any of the new reps since”.

I had to agree that I wouldn’t have brought of either of the two reps who had just driven off in there flashy rented cars. They were you’re typical suited and booted, slick talking, big headed, stereo type timeshare reps that unfortunately have given the industry a bad name.

So this week’s lesson is. Be very careful when you’re having a drink after work, either on site or off site. The people on the other table who are listening to you boast about how you dealt with you’re clients today, just might be your clients tomorrow and you’ve lost another deal before you even say hello!

See you next week.

Selling Timeshare In The Recession

2008-09-28T23:29:00.000+02:00

I had an email the other day asking:

“How do I as a timeshare sales person sell timeshare during a recession?” All the reasons for not buying are related to "the bad economy".

As it’s a question that I get quite regularly at the moment I thought we could address the problem here in “Sales Talk” and hopefully find some answers for everyone.

Firstly I have to say that your failure or success as a sales person relies largely on your personal attitude and how you deal the negatives. So if you go around saying to yourself, “I’m never going to sell anything, there’s a recession on and nobodies got any money” I guarantee you will be 100% right!

You won’t sell anything but you can always blame it on the bad economy and make yourself feel better.

I’m not sure your bank manager will be quite as understanding when it comes to paying your mortgage?

The professional sales person will always look for solutions to the problems and find ways of turning negatives into positives, so let’s look at the positives and how we can use them in our pitch.

It’s a fact that most people even during a recession will still find money for three things.

Smoking, Drinking and Holidays!

The type of holidays might change; they might look for cheaper deals, shorter breaks, or wait for the last minute deals. But the average working class family will still try to fit in at least one holiday in a year. And let’s face it. They’ve worked hard all year and they need and deserve a holiday. So use that in your pitch.

Fact find!

Ask your clients if they have had to take just one holiday this year because money is tight or maybe they are thinking they might have to do without a holiday next year. Have they lowered their standards from what they are used to?

Ask them if they are happy having less or no holidays or lower quality holidays?

Once they agree with you show them how owning timeshare on your resort will cap future inflation, guarantee that they will never have to lower the standard of their holiday accommodation again. Or even worse go without a holiday!

Surely if you have done your presentation right and sold the benefits of owning timeshare and built the desire of guaranteed quality and great facilities, and more importantly you’ve made them actually want to own at your resort. Then it should always come down to the money at the end!

So don’t let them use “The bad economy” as a weak excuse. If someone really wants something bad enough, they will always find the money to buy it!

See you next week.

The Alternative Choice Close

2008-09-21T23:24:00.000+02:00

Firstly a big thank you for all the positive feedback and e-mails I have been receiving about the new site. Keep them coming we all need a pat on the back sometimes!

Apart from a couple of minor changes to the shop still to be done this week to make it easier for you to purchase and download the books and videos, I can finally say that the site in general is finished at last!

That means I can concentrate once again on answering all your email queries and return to our weekly articles.

This week I want to look at one of the all time classic closes and a definite favourite of mine that has earned me a lot of money selling Timeshare on the Costa del Sol.

The Alternative Choice Close

The thing I like most about the alternative choice close is that you can start using it straight away. From the minute you pick up your clients in reception and take them through to the warm up area you can start getting them used to making simple choices like:

“Would you like to sit in the sun or the shade?”

“Would you like a warm drink or a cold one?”

“Would you prefer Orange or Lemon?”

The idea of the alternative choice close is that you get your clients used to making simple choices rather than decisions. Anybody will make a simple choice on the spur of the moment, but making a decision takes a little more thinking about and that’s the last thing you want when you want to get the deal on the day.

More importantly if you narrow down the options you give your clients to just two; the quicker and easier your clients will make their choice without getting confused and need to think about it.

This is where you can get really clever and control the answer the clients give you by using a little bit of sales psychology.

It’s a known fact in sales psychology that when you give someone an alternative choice they will tend to favour the second choice over the first choice as the last part of the sentence will always be fresher in their mind. Even more so if you have used a little voice inflection to slightly emphasise the second choice and made it sound more attractive.

For example, if you want your clients to sit in the shade rather than the sun, just word the alternative choice close: “Would you like to sit in the sun or the shade where it’s much cooler?” and make sitting in the shade sound much more attractive than sitting in the sun.

If throughout your entire sales presentation your clients have got used to making simple choices. When it comes to the final close don’t ask them to buy, assume that they will buy and don’t give them the opportunity to say yes or no. Just ask them if they preferred the one bedroom apartment overlooking the pool, or the two bedroom apartment with the beautiful sea views.

Get the idea?

As always, practise your alternative choice closing on your friends and partner until it flows naturally and doesn’t sound like a canned timeshare sales pitch before you start using it on a real client or they’ll see right through you and you’ll have lost a sale.

See you next week.

Paying Attention To The Small Details Will Guarantee You Get Paid The Big Cheques!

2008-08-16T23:20:00.001+02:00

Last week we looked at the importance of how you introduce yourselves on the first cold call.

This week I want to look at the importance of taking notes during that first contact to use on your call back.

Quite often telemarketing takes a minimum of two calls to close the deal. This can be for a number of reasons but the most common ones when you are telemarketing for Timeshare fly buy’s is that it’s difficult to tie them down to a date when your clients can take a holiday if you are calling during the day and only one of the couple is available to make a decision. The wife or husband will normally have to consult their partner later that evening or during the weekend so a second call will be needed to close the deal.

It is very important to take as many notes as possible on this first call to use in your introduction and mini warm up on the second call.

Taking notes will serve two purposes.

The first and most obvious is that if you are calling hundreds of numbers a day, taking notes of each call you make contact with not only helps to build a small picture of who you are talking to it will also give you essential reminders of when to call back, what time is best to catch them in, etc.

The second and most important for me, is the information that can be used in the first five seconds of conversation to instantly break the ice and warm up on that second call.

In a lot of cases the clients will have asked you to call another time because they have family staying, are going on holiday, have a hospital appointment, etc.

I always open up on the second call with:

“Hello Mrs Smith/Jane,” (If you got onto first name terms in the first call, use their first name on second call) “It’s Alan from ABC,” “how was your holiday in Greece?”

Remember these people will probably get calls from countless different companies every week all with a very similar pitch to yours so Imagine how you would feel if one of the callers remembered that you where waiting for news on a hip operation, or you had just come back from a cruise?

The whole key to closing more deals in any sales situation is paying attention to the small details that make your client feel that little bit special.

People like to receive that personal touch. Make sure you’re the one giving all your clients that little bit extra and you’ll also be the one picking up the bigger cheques!

See you next week.

If there is a particular subject or an objection you are personally having trouble over coming, leave me a comment or send me an e-mail and I will cover it in a future article.

Remember. “There is no such thing as a foolish question; it’s the fool who doesn’t ask questions.”

And don’t forget that my first book; Simple Sales Volume 1 “The Five Simple but Essential Steps to Getting the Sale” is available to download right now for the introductory price of only $9.99

Telesales Tips – Opening Statements That Immediately Connect With Your Clients

2008-08-10T23:17:00.000+02:00

In this the first article on telesales tips I want to look at the importance of your introduction to the clients.

I mentioned last week that the hardest part of telemarketing is to get the clients to give you the opportunity to deliver your pitch.

Let’s just recall that unlike face to face sales, when you are cold calling on the phone, you are in fact entering your clients home or office, completely uninvited and according to the clients at the worst possible time!

That is why the most important part of tele-selling is your opening line when the clients answer the phone.

You will all have been given the standard telesales scripts that start with:

“Is that Mrs Smith?” “Hello Mrs Smith, my name is Alan and I’m calling from the ABC group.”

STOP!

That opening statement is just so old hat these days and screams, “I’m yet another telesales person trying to sell you something over the phone, just like the other four hundred calls you’ve probably had this week and will result in the person on the other end of the line thinking of the quickest way to get rid of you or just hang up on you if they’re not that polite!

Now I want you to think about how you would introduce yourself if it was a call back and you had already spoken to this client before.

I bet your opening line would go something like:

“Hello Mrs Smith, its Alan calling again from the ABC group.”

Do you see the difference?

On your second call the client is thinking, “Alan, ABC group, Oh yes I remember.”

So if we just drop the “calling again” part and use. “Hello Mrs Smith, its Alan from the ABC group.” Mrs Smith will now be psychologically thinking that you have spoken before and will be too tied up concentrating on when you last spoke and what about, to cut you off. This will give you the time you need to drop in a few grabber statements and gain enough interest to allow you to proceed with your pitch.

It might seem a little un-natural at first but I promise you if you practise it and get it to flow, you’ll soon be talking to more people and getting more deals with less calls.

See you next week.

If there is a particular subject or an objection you are personally having trouble over coming, leave me a comment or send me an e-mail and I will cover it in a future article.

Remember. “There is no such thing as a foolish question; it’s the fool who doesn’t ask questions.”

Tips For Telesales

2008-08-04T23:11:00.000+02:00

Hi to you all.

This week I want to introduce the forthcoming series of tips for telemarketing.

An old friend of mine commented that most of the sales training sites and blogs that he had come across were dedicated to face to face and direct sales techniques and that there wasn’t enough written about sales tips and closing techniques for the people who worked in telesales and telemarketing.

I had to agree with him and immediately started a section on telesales tips that I am now going to continue here.

As an introduction to the section today, I just want to take a brief look at the difference between closing people face to face, and closing people over the phone.

In a face to face direct sales situation, apart from having the three major senses, Visual, Auditory, and Kinetic at your disposal, your clients will normally have accepted an invitation to take a tour at your resort and know exactly what to expect in the first place.

When cold calling clients on the phone. It’s a completely different kettle of fish.

To start with you have no visual connection so you have to rely purely on the auditory and kinetic senses of your client to try to build a nice image of yourself in there minds in about five seconds flat!

Also you have invaded their privacy, entered their homes completely uninvited and normally at the worst possible time according to them!

That is why in telesales your introduction to your clients is so important and something we will be looking at next week.

I will also be producing some training videos on telesales techniques in my sales training video section very soon.

For those of you that can’t wait till then, check out next weeks article “Introductions That Immediately Connect with Your Clients” here on this blog.

And don’t forget that my first book, “The Five Simple but Essential Steps to Getting the Sale” is available to download right now for the special introductory price of only €9.99

See you all next week.

The Assumptive Close And When You Should Use It.

2008-07-23T23:05:00.000+02:00

I have been working for the last two weeks with a very good and long established Telemarketing team listening to them pitch and looking at different ways we can fine tune things to improve their conversion rate even more.

I was very surprised to listen to one lady who has been with the team a long time, has years of experience, is always in the top five in all the sales competitions ending what is a very good pitch with a weak open ended question.

The team are cold calling clients on the phone and asking them if they would like to attend an appointment at a local office close by with a view of getting rid of their Timeshare Weeks or Points Clubs.

Not too difficult when you know the clients you are calling have already registered with a Timeshare Resale Company before to try to sell their Timeshare in the first place.

This particular lady has a near perfect pitch, until the final close.

She immediately connects with the clients, has a very calming way on the phone, gains the clients interest and always gets through the entire pitch until she gets to the final part when she asks:

“So would you like to make an appointment then?”

That question, worded that way will normally always be answered with a “No”, “I need to speak to my partner first” or “Not yet but call me again in three weeks time when I’m back from my holidays” etc etc.

I know it’s an alternative choice question and the client can only answer “Yes” or “No” but it’s the wrong one to use here.

What I suggested to this lady was to change the “Alternative Choice Question” for an “Assumptive Close Question”.

Assume the client is going to book an appointment anyway and instead of asking: “So would you like to make an appointment then?” finish your pitch with: “So when would you like to go and see them?” “Can you make it on a weekday or would it need to be a weekend?”

What we have achieved here is to move the clients thoughts from, “Do I want to make an appointment?” to, “When would I like to make an appointment?”

In just one week, by changing that one thing in her pitch this lady has moved from a 20% conversion rate to a 40% conversion rate.

So the old saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” certainly isn’t true in sales!

I’ll 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 a particular objection that you are personally having a problem overcoming, leave 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.

Negative Reverse Selling or The Take Away Close

2008-07-15T22:56:00.003+02:00

Welcome back to what promises to be a long series of articles and Blog posts on Sales Tips, Closing Techniques and Marketing Solutions.

This week I want to look at a Closing Technique I was asked about in an e-mail a few weeks ago on my old Blog: “Timeshare Sales and Marketing Techniques”

The technique is called “Negative Reverse Selling” or “The Take Away” as we know it in Europe.

The Take Away is a very powerful closing tool when used correctly and in exactly the right place during your presentation.

It’s a very subtle form of reverse psychology and is best illustrated by using the analogy of offering a young child an ice cream and just when he or she is really excited and almost has the ice cream in their hands you take it away and tell them they can’t have it!

Imagine the screaming and tantrums that follows!

It’s human nature to want what you can’t have. The forbidden fruit is always sweeter.

Now this closing technique will only work if you have built enough desire in your product and made your clients really want it in the first place.

When selling Timeshare, it’s best used at the back end when showing your clients around the show apartment or villa and they are sat on the balcony looking out over the pool or beach, imagining themselves staying there on holiday next year, and you subtlety throw in:

“Please don’t get too attached to this apartment I think all the weeks are sold in here!” “I think we might have a few weeks left in the apartments over the other side, but they obviously don’t have this view.” “I’ll have to check with my manager when we get back”

You now have the perfect hand over for your manager and he can use the old, “I think I might have a repossessed week available, I’ll go and check but if you really want it, you’ll have to give me holding deposit today as you can imagine those apartments sell very quickly……”

The take away close can be adapted to any product you sell, but it has to be used very carefully and not too often during your presentation or your clients will see right through you and know what your up to and you’ve blown your deal.

As always, practise makes perfect. Don’t use it till it flows naturally and you feel comfortable enough to deliver it properly.

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 a particular objection that you are personally having a problem overcoming, leave 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.

Simple Sales and Marketing Solutions Returns

2008-07-12T13:11:00.000+02:00

After many sleepless nights and a considerable amount of hair loss I have decided to continue to publish my sales training articles on this blog: “Simple Sales and Marketing Solutions” instead of my new blog “The Simple Sales Training Blog”

Why my old Blogger Blog and not my new Wordpress blog on my Website?

A friend asked me a long time ago why I chose to start a Sales Training Blog instead of a Sales Training Website and the answer was simple.

I felt a Blog would be far more personal in the sense that you can interact with me, post questions in the comments section or e-mail me with specific details of a particular area of the sales process you might personally be having a problem overcoming. That way we can hold debates, answer specific questions and discuss certain topics in more detail. I would be interested in your feedback and opinion on this decision.

Why have I chosen to revert back to my old Blogger blog after using my new Wordpress blog on my website?

I personally am not a Webmaster nor do I have the time or skills to be able to maintain a proper website and I found that although Wordpress is a very powerful blogging script, it was far to complicated for me to use when all I want to do is simply post weekly articles on direct sales skills and answer your questions on closing techniques.

I also found that waiting on someone else to do any changes or updates to my Wordpress blog became very frustrating as I’m used to doing things myself on the day and in the moment.

Blogger offers me everything I need to be able to pass on my knowledge to anybody searching for the answers and on top is free to use and now quite comprehensive with many more gadgets and widgets available than when I first started using it.

And so “Simple Sales And Marketing Solutions” has been stripped down and will be completely re-built week by week with new articles and some of the old articles re-written.

As always we live in a fluid world and I’m sure the blog will grow and change over time but that’s just another reason for using a Blog and not a Website!

See you all 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 a comment below or drop me an e-mail to: simplesalesandmarketing@gmail.com

Remember: there is no such thing as a foolish question, only a fool who doesn’t ask questions.

At Last, Just Released, The Long Awaited Downloadable Sales Training E-Book!

2008-06-26T22:51:00.001+02:00

News Flash!!!!

At Last!!!!

Available Now!!!!

The Long Awaited!!!!

Downloadable Sales Training E-Book

The “Timeshare Sales Techniques” five week mini series is on hold for this week.

Why?

Due to the overwhelming response and daily e-mails I receive, I have been working very hard on producing a full version of the five week Timeshare Sales Techniques mini series in a downloadable ebook version along with other sales training articles including CD's and Video's that I always get regular requests for.

Follow the link above to get your copy now!

I am also looking at a completely new format for this sales training site in the future that will make it easier to search and find the exact answers to your sales problems and articles with the solutions you are looking for.

There is also the possibility of a completely new updated look to the site with a move to a new location that will also hopefully make your reader experience that much better.

I hope the changes will be met with all of your approval and always welcome your feedback as to what you would like to be included in this site and any changes you think would improve it.

Please be patient as there are always teething problems with any changes and new ventures that you plan especially when you’re dealing with the internet!

Keep dropping in on a weekly basis as I will be keeping every one updated on a regular basis on how the e-books and website changes are progressing.

In the meantime, keep sending in your e-mails and leaving your comments on any sales and marketing subjects you would like me to cover in the future.

See you next week……

Timeshare Sales Techniques – Five Week Mini Series – Meet And Greet

2008-06-18T22:49:00.000+02:00

Last week we looked at the importance of self preparation.

This week I want to look at the initial introduction to your clients commonly known as “Meet & Greet”

There are three main things you need to take into consideration when you’re preparing yourself to meet and greet your clients and these are best illustrated buy understanding what’s going through your clients mind in the first few seconds when they meet you.

The average human being takes in their information through three main sources:

Visual (Sight)

Audible (Hearing)

Kinetic (Feelings)

As an example let’s imagine you’re on holiday in a new resort and venturing out of the hotel for the first time to have a nice cold beer.

As you walk along the sea front looking for a nice bar to have your cold beer in you will first be attracted by how the bar looks. Does it appeal visually to you? Do you like the look of it? (Visual)

Your next reaction will be to the sounds coming out of the bar (Audible) is the music laid back or upbeat? What’s the conversation like? Does it sound like a friendly fun place? Did the staff greet you in a friendly, pleasant manner?

You will then decide how you feel (Kinetic) about the whole situation based on the first two factors and how you feel will decide whether you stop and order your cold beer or carry on to the next bar where you will repeat the whole process over and over again until you find a bar you do feel comfortable in.

Now although this process only takes a split second, it is the exact same process that your clients will use when you first introduce yourself to them.

They will first decide if they like the look of you? (Visual)

Then they will react to how you introduce yourself? (Audible) Did the rep greet me in a friendly, pleasant manner?

The Kinetic senses will then kick in and they will decide if they feel comfortable about being in your company.

If they don’t feel comfortable in the first few seconds, then your presentation is going to be all uphill and you will have to work extra hard at winning your clients over in the warm up stage before you can even attempt to do any fact finding.

This week, I’d like you to take more notice of how people react to you when they first meet you.

Is there anything you should change about the way you look?

How you speak or introduce yourself?

What would make your clients feel more at ease in your company?

Next week we’ll look at the difference between a “bus stop” warm up and a “proper” warm up.

See you all then.

Clearer Rules for Selling Timeshare Gives European Families More Protection

2008-06-04T22:43:00.000+02:00

The Timeshare Holiday Rights of some 1.5 million European families will soon be better protected.

A draft EU directive, unanimously approved by the EU internal market committee updates rules that are 14 years old so as to address consumer concerns and revitalise a business that is still performing well below its potential.

Timeshare deals, which allow buyers to occupy holiday accommodation for specific periods in alternation with others, have won millions of takers worldwide since the 1970s. They are often sold as a cost-effective alternative to privately rented apartments, hotels or a second home.

According to data from the Organisation for Timeshare in Europe (OTE), in 2001 there were 1.452 million holiday centres in 25 European countries, 1.4 million families using this kind of accommodation and 200,000 Europeans employed within this still fast growing holiday sector, with annual sales totalling €2.3 billion.

Since 1994, an EU directive has helped to harmonise Timeshare rules across the EU, but litigation between operators and holidaymakers is still a frequent occurrence, notably about conditions and quality of service.

Furthermore, new holiday products and services, similar to Timeshare but not covered by the directive, have emerged. These include new types of holiday clubs giving holidaymakers reductions in the cost of their stays if they take out a subscription. Some of these new contracts clearly circumvent consumer protection rules.

The revised draft directive, which supplements the general rules introduced by the recent directive on unfair commercial practices, will cover both Timeshare packages and all the new holiday products that have so far have escaped any previous legislation.

Consumers will be better protected by rules that clearly state their rights, and will find it easier to go to court and the honest operators will no longer have to face unfair competition from fraudsters.

The proposal aims to enhance consumer confidence and legal clarity, which are essential to the growth of this promising sector, via simplified EU-wide rules.

Most Timeshare holidaymakers are from Germany or the UK, where most of the agencies are located, whereas most of the holiday centres are located in Spain, Italy, France and Portugal.

Timeshare Sales Techniques - Five Week Mini Series - Intro

2008-05-29T22:38:00.000+02:00

I wrote an article last year entitled: “The Five Simple but Essential Steps to Getting the Sale”

I’ve had so many positive comments and e-mails on the article I thought it would be good for everyone if I re-wrote the article taking each step as a separate article and turning it into a sort of mini five week series.

As a quick reminder the five simple steps are:

1. Meet and greet. (First impressions)

2. Warm Up. (Making a friend)

3. Fact finding. (Looking for problems to solve)

4. Product presentation. (Solving the problem)

5. Close the deal! (Fit it into a comfortable budget and close the deal on the day!)

You can read the original article as a refresher course by clicking on the link above.

Next week we will be starting the “Five week mini series” with step one “Meet and Greet” and we will look at more depth into the importance of first impressions and how the first five seconds of initially meeting your clients and how you introduce yourself can either make or break your sale.

The phrase, “you only get one chance to make a good first impression” is never truer than in direct sales. So if you’re only getting one chance, you had better make sure you give it your best shot!

The sale can be lost in the first five seconds if you’re not mentally and physically prepared to meet your clients.

I’ll be looking at self preparation in depth in next weeks article.

This simple five step formula if followed by the book is guaranteed to improve your closing percentage, get you more deals and top up your bank account so don’t miss it.

Look out for next weeks first part and be sure to call by each week so that you get the full series.

Please feel free to print each week off and keep them as a reference book to return to and refresh your enthusiasm when you hit your next slump.

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.

See you next week.

Overcoming Objections - “We Always Book Our Holidays On The Internet”

2008-05-22T22:35:00.000+02:00

More and more these days with internet in nearly everyone’s homes, Timeshare Sales Consultants are telling me they are coming up against the objection:

“We always book all of our holidays on the internet these days, it’s so easy and we always get a very cheap deal”

As with all objections that keep regularly appearing in our presentations we should find a way to dispel the objection before it has a chance to be brought in at the end of your presentation and kill your sale!

Look for things on the internet that can be used to burn the travel agents and online flight companies and find a way to include it into your presentation in a way as to not seem like your knocking the opposition but rather asking your clients if they have had experience in being ripped off in the past.

As an example you might say something during your warm up period like:

“My friend tried booking one of those cheap flight deals that you see advertised on the internet the other day and there were so many hidden charges in there that he ended up going back to his usual travel agent to book it for him”

Then shut up and let them tell you if they have had the same experience or not.

I wrote an article on my other site “In Between The Tapas And Tantrums” entitled:

Buying Flights Online Can Be Confusing, Misleading Or a Complete Rip Off!

Both Airlines and Independent Travel firms that sell airline tickets online are said to be using “misleading advertising,” “unfair Practises,” “abusive clauses” and “non-existent discounts.”

58% of the sites investigated showed misleading price indications, 49% were found to have irregular clauses in ticket sales conditions and 15% were problems with the advertising.

The final price to pay when actually booking the flight tickets is generally higher due to a series of added charges that can vary from so-called airport charges to handling fees, booking fees or priority booking, luggage, fuel etc. that are related to credit card payments.

The full article can be read by clicking on the title of the article. Please feel free to use it in your future presentations.

As always, don’t just sit around the pit waiting for your next up to arrive. Use the time constructively to find new ways to overcome any new objections that you find regularly popping up in your presentations.

Remember just as we continue to find new ways to sell our products. The public are finding new ways to avoid buying them!

Always stay one step ahead.

See you next week.

Apologies To All My Regular Readers

2008-05-15T22:33:00.000+02:00

Apologies to all my regular readers and especially to Robert Latta who took the time to e-mail me and give me a quick reminder that I haven’t updated the site for over a month now.

I have been very heavily involved in setting up a new call centre and telesales marketing department for a fairly large and well established sales and marketing company here in Europe and just haven’t had the time needed to dedicate to the site.

Anyway enough of the excuses, I’m back on a regular weekly basis and would welcome your input on any subjects that you would like me to cover in the future.

My regular readers will also notice that I’ve gone from the blogspot domain: simplesalesandmarketing.blogspot.com to my own custom domain: www.simplesalesandmarketing.com

When I started this blog just over a year ago it was really just a way of writing a Sales Training Manual that could be available and accessed by anybody in the world.

I have been blogging for just over a year now so I’m still very new at it and have read countless arguments for and against buying your own custom domain including the main one:

“Nobody takes your blog seriously if you’re still using a blogspot domain.”

I never realised that this site would grow as popular as it has and so after over 12 months of deliberation and resisting going “professional” in the eyes of all the other “Professional Bloggers” I have finally succumbed to buying my own custom domain to protect the site and so that I can continue to grow the readership and possibly turn the whole thing into the “Timeshare Sales And Marketing Techniques” book at a later date. And so for the pricey investment of $10.00 “simplesalesandmarketing.blogspot.com” has become “simplesalesandmarketing.com”

For anyone thinking of buying a custom domain name for whatever reason I brought mine through Google and found the process completely painless and very simple.

I just logged into my Blogger account. From the dashboard I clicked settings and under publishing went to the domain page and followed Google’s very straight forward step by step instructions on buying a custom domain name.

Blogger do have their own help page which also explains the process in a step by step easy to follow idiot proof guide for non computer literate people like me.

The other benefit I found from doing the whole thing through Blogger and Google is that it was all configured for me and set up in a matter of minutes with all my old links still working perfectly and automatically redirected to my new URL.

So to close, Hats off to Google and thanks for the continued brilliant service.

See you all 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.

Buying A Custom Domain Name

2008-04-28T15:00:00.002+02:00

Those of you who are regular readers of this Blog will have noticed my move last week from the blogspot.com domain to my personal simplesalesandmarketing.com custom domain.

I have been blogging for just over a year now so I’m still very new at it and have read countless arguments for and against buying your own custom domain including the main ones:

“Custom domains are a priority if you want to make money blogging.”

“Nobody takes your blog seriously if you’re still using a blogspot domain.”

So after over 12 months of deliberation and resisting going “professional” in the eyes of all the other “Professional Bloggers” I have finally succumbed to buying my own custom domain but for very different reasons than what I read other people have for not using a Blogger Blogspot free domain.

And so for the pricey investment of $10.00 “simplesalesandmarketing.blogspot.com” has become “simplesalesandmarketing.com”

For anyone thinking of buying a custom domain name for whatever reason I brought mine through Google and found the process completely painless and very simple.

I just logged into my Blogger account. From the dashboard I clicked settings and under publishing went to the domain page and followed Google’s very straight forward step by step instructions on buying a custom domain name.

Blogger do have their own help page which also explains the process in a step by step easy to follow idiot proof guide for non computer literate people like me.

The other benefit I found from doing the whole thing through Blogger and Google is that it was all configured for me and set up in a matter of minutes with all my old links still working perfectly and automatically redirected to my new URL

So to close, Hats off to Google and thanks for the continued brilliant service. I should find that any loss in readership caused by the change will return over the next couple of weeks so I’m off on Wednesday for a quick 4 day break and I’ll be back next week with another New Resort review.

See you all then….

Interval International Introduces Dream Vacation Week To Provide Incentive Tool For Resort Developers

2008-04-27T22:30:00.000+02:00

Interval International, through its affiliate Worldwide Vacation & Travel, Inc., recently introduced the Dream Vacation Week certificate program, a high-quality incentive that resort developers can utilize to assist in generating tours of their resorts or to enhance the value proposition of their non-buyer programs.

The low-cost, high-impact marketing premium allows consumers to experience a seven-night stay at more than 50 destinations worldwide at very attractive rates.

In addition to resort developers, businesses outside the vacation ownership industry, including Lending Tree, are using Dream Vacation Week certificates as incentives and loyalty solutions.

The program provides an excellent way to reward and recognize employees, increase competitive advantage, and stimulate higher customer retention levels by providing access to cost effective vacations.

“Dream Vacation Week complements our developer clients’ sales efforts by bringing tour prospects to their properties,” said Michelle DuChamp, assistant vice president of sales – business development at Interval International.

“By offering this program to our member resorts and other large corporations, Interval International is providing a vehicle that introduces consumers firsthand to the many benefits of vacation ownership.”
Recipients can redeem their vacation certificates easily online.

Their user-friendly Web site allows customers to validate their certificate number and security code and process a vacation reservation, with no pre-registration requirement.

A helpful grid aids in selecting an available destination and month of travel.

Alternatively, the certificate can be redeemed by calling a toll-free number.

Interval’s resort developer clients have embraced the program and also have used Dream Vacation Week certificates in conjunction with Leisure Time Passport,® another point-of-sale package offered by Interval that provides comprehensive year-round travel, leisure, and lifestyle benefits designed to support exit sale/trial ownership programs.

Interval International is a leading provider of exchange, travel, and leisure services to resort developers and vacationers worldwide. Based in Miami, Florida, the company has been a pioneer and innovator in serving the vacation ownership market for more than 30 years.

Today, Interval has a network of over 2,300 resorts in excess of 75 countries and offers its clients and nearly 2 million member families high-quality products and programs through its 28 offices in 17 countries.

See you next week with some more of the latest Timeshare news and updates.

Top Earners At Orange Lake Resorts Celebrate Their Annual Sales Awards

2008-03-10T22:26:00.000+01:00

The Family of Orange Lake Resorts is proud to announce its top sales executives and sales consultants from 2007, honored this week at The House of Blues® at Downtown Disney® West Side, as part of its annual sales awards celebration.

Honorees who exceeded sales of more than 8 million dollars include Bill Charriez, Erika Kessler and Sammy Tamannai; Lake Geneva Sales Consultant of the Year Patricia Koehler, British Line Sales Consultant of the Year Alice Green, British Line First Runner-up Sales Consultant of the Year Carla Galvin, Latitudes Sales Consultant of the Year Billy Martin and Quality Assurance Officer of the Year Barbara Christian.

“We are thrilled with the exceptional sales and marketing professionals we have and their record results of $175 million gross sales year in 2007,” said Bob Albertson, Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing for The Family of Orange Lake Resorts.

“We had five sales professionals who went platinum with more than $1.5 million in net volume for action line sales and more than $1.6 million in net volume for owner line sales. “Albertson also paid tribute to Senior Vice President of Sales, John Sutherland for being one of the best sales innovators in the industry and being a driving force behind Orange Lake’s sales success.

Sutherland, a 2007 Silver ARDA Award winner, thanked individuals throughout the resort for their contributions. “Orange Lake’s sales success doesn’t happen without the support of other teams,” he said, as he thanked individuals throughout the resort.

Sutherland also presented fellow ARDA Silver Award winners, Elmira Leon and Mike Blank with Sales Consultant of the Year Awards for action line sales and front line sales, respectively.Contributing to the record-setting sales year was the grand opening of Orange Lake’s Founder’s Club in 2007. The 3,000-square foot area allows owners to upgrade their vacation through a Points-based member exchange program, GlobalAccess™.

The new facility is able to host the now doubled volume of tours. As a result of this new center, owner sales upgrades now account for 35% of the resort’s total timeshare revenue, an increase of 15% from 2006.

This two-year old initiative is over 16,000 members strong—largely a result of The Founder’s Club.The Family of Orange Lake Resorts has evolved from a best-kept secret as the world’s largest single-site timeshare resort to a multi-site resort with a growing network.

New resort additions in Wisconsin, Vermont and Florida were carefully selected and tailored for their owners, resulting in the creation of a brand new member exchange program, GlobalAccess, to facilitate reservations within the resort network.

Orange Lake’s flagship location in Orlando was established in 1982 by Holiday Inn® Founder, Kemmons Wilson.

The company plans to continue the expansion of their resort network and is actively seeking more growth opportunities to continue being the “home-away-from-home” to more than 110,000 owners from all 50 U.S. states and more than 120 countries.

For more information about The Family of Orange Lake Resorts, go to http://www.orangelake.com/ or contact Stacey Sutherland at 407.905.1914.

A Career In Timeshare – Is It A Good Time To Start?

2008-03-03T22:23:00.001+01:00

I regularly get e-mails these days asking me if I think it’s a good time to start a career in Timeshare and whether I think the slump in the Real estate Industry will affect the Timeshare and Holiday Club Market so I thought it would be good to address the situation this week and ask you all for your feed back through the comments section as I can only really speak about how things are in Europe and I’m sure there are a lot of people out there asking the same questions and would value all the feedback.

Below is the latest e-mail I received and Pete kindly gave me permission to include it in the debate this week

Dear Alan,

My name is Pete, I live in NY. Next week I am moving to Las Vegas. I was offered a job as OPC greeter for Tahiti Village. My background in NY has been commission sales of Home Improvements for the last 10 years. My question, if you would be so kind to answer was, I know I am a great salesman and love people but will I be able to earn an income in the industry with current state of things in the Real Estate market? Is the Timeshare Industry affected by the Real Estate market? I know when I started out in Home Improvement sales things were really tight in the beginning until you built your funnel. Moving to a new city I don’t want to end up on the street.

Thank you in advance

PKC

My brief answer to him was as follows:

Dear Pete,

Thanks for your e-mail, it's always encouraging to get feed back and know that people are reading my articles and getting something out of them.

In answer to your question, I don't think that Timeshare sales will be too affected by the slump in the Real Estate Industry as traditionally (at least here in Europe) even in past recession times people have still taken holidays.

Whilst real estate companies are closing down on a weekly basis, Timeshare developers are on the rise and investing vast sums of money into what has always been and will continue to be one of the fastest growth industries throughout the world

Of course all business suffers peaks and troughs and it will really depend on how much time and money the company you are going to work for is willing or able to put into their marketing programmes during the slumps.

I hope this has helped a little bit. I would like to do an article on my site regarding this issue and ask your permission to put your e-mail (Not your address just what you wrote) on my site with my answer as there are a lot of other people out there asking the same questions at this moment in time and I feel they could all be helped by featuring your e-mail on my site and let other people give us their feed back as well.

So let’s hear all your views on the subject, good or bad and especially any personal experiences of the ups and downs and effects of other industries affecting Timeshare sales.

Please feel free to leave any comments below or e-mail me with permission to post your e-mail on this site.

OPC's - You Either Love Them Or Hate Them

2008-02-12T22:21:00.001+01:00

If you have ever worked or are still working as a sales rep in Timeshare you will either love or hate the OPC’s (Off Premises Canvassers) or (Outside People Catchers) as I like to call them.

Either way, whether you like it or not they have always been and still remain a fundamental part to your marketing strategy when running a Timeshare cold line.

Without the OPC’s getting clients to attend a presentation on your resort you wouldn’t have any body to sell to, so before you start moaning about the latest blag or quality of the UP you have just had to tour and try to get a deal out of, lets take a closer look at the role the OPC’s play in marketing Timeshare and the qualities they possess to be able to do what they do.

Let’s look first at how the OPC’s work and the things they have to put up with on a daily basis:

It helps to be young and fairly good looking but it’s not essential. A chirpy happy go lucky attitude and the ability to accept rejection without it getting you down are far more important.

Once you have found your patch or stand you must be prepared to approach every couple that passes you by and in a split second make an instant friend. You need to be able to qualify that your clients fall into certain brackets i.e.: are they married, do they own their home or rent it and is one of them in full time employment. There will be other qualifications like ages and income brackets etc, but these you can start to get out once you have created some sort of rapport with your couple.

You are now going to talk this couple into getting into a strangers car or taxi in a foreign country where they probably don’t speak the language, not knowing where you are taking them on the promise of some sort of free gift or duty free pack in return for attending a short presentation on your resort.

And all in the matter of around five minutes!

Now forgive me for saying, but what the OPC’s manage to achieve in such a short time just doesn’t make logical sense to me.

They really have to be the best closers in the world!

They have managed to: Meet and greet, warm up, make a friend, fact find, sell the dream and create enough fear of loss to close this couple into doing whatever they want the couple to do, even down to lying about their ages if necessary, “just to get the poor kid on the street paid.”

I repeat……

They have to be the best closers in the world!

So next time you want to moan about the “Bag of Sh…t” the OPC just sent in, just stop and think about how many “No’s” the OPC had to get through to get that couple to say yes. And remember what they achieved in five minutes, you now have at least an hour and a half to achieve the same results with the help of a beautiful resort and all the company credibility to help you sell the dream and close the deal!

Next week I want to continue with some tips for OPC’s. 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.

See you next week.

The Desert Rose Resort, Las Vegas - Honored With Shell Vacations Hospitality’s Management Team Appreciation Award

2008-02-05T22:18:00.000+01:00

Shell Vacations Hospitality recently named the winner of its annual competition for the top management team within its company.

Under the leadership of Chris Breed, CHA, RRP and General Manager, the Desert Rose Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, was honored with Shell Vacations Hospitality’s Management Team Appreciation Award, the most prestigious recognition given to any of the management teams at the 19 resorts managed by the leading management organization.

According to Susan C. Kelley, CHA and President of Shell Vacations Hospitality, “In 2007, the Desert Rose Resort ended the year close to a million dollars over budgeted rental revenue! The resort’s overall improvement in every aspect of its operation - to include levels of cleanliness and customer service - has been nothing short of phenomenal, even though they were in the midst of construction for most of the year! Chris Breed has done an amazing job of selecting the right managers for each department, which has had an impact on all criteria used to judge for this award.”

The winning management team is chosen based on internal comment card scores, exchange company ratings, results from employee surveys, and compliance with internal Shell Vacations Hospitality standards. The Desert Rose Resort is a RCI Gold Crown property and was honored with an award from ARDA for its conversion work in transforming an existing hotel property to vacation ownership units.

Breed, who has been with the Desert Rose Resort since 2005, previously served as General Manager for five years at the Holua Resort at Mauna Loa Village on the Big Island of Hawaii s. She has been with Shell Vacations for 20 years and represents her property with the Nevada Hotel & Lodging Association. Breed manages a team of nearly 100 full and part-time resort professionals at the property, located on Duke Ellington Way in Las Vegas.

Added Breed, “It was extremely challenging to run a hospitality property undergoing renovation. That makes us even more proud to have been recognized with this award. Everyone working together made this happen. One of the things I most enjoy about working with Shell Vacations Hospitality is that it is truly a team environment. When we opened this resort, we had a lot of support from our sister properties. If we need any kind of help or advice, we have the staff of 19 properties who are always glad to come and assist us.”

Breed’s management team includes: Greg Torres, Assistant General Manager; Viki Van Guilder, Controller; Denise Polsfut, Director of Sales; Sarah Marie Vergara, Sales Manager; Nema Vibbard, Human Resources Manager; Tom Price, Guest Services Manager; James Platt, Chief Engineer; Kelly Gilchrist, Revenue Manager; and Tricia Fears, Owner Services and Revenue Manager, New members to the team include Esther Hayes, Executive Housekeeper and Quintin Ward, Director of Safety and Security.

Michael Miller, Regional VP of Shell Vacations Hospitality added more praise. “This is a resort team with real heart. They are a group of caring, committed, dedicated professional hoteliers who strive for success everyday and care deeply about every employee and resort guest.”
Known as the Hawthorn Suites when Shell Vacations initially acquired the hotel in 2004, the three-story property contained hotel rooms in four buildings.

In January 2005, Shell Vacations Hospitality took over the management and renovations to the first building were completed that June. By the end of 2007, the final building had been totally renovated, resulting in 284 one- and two-bedroom luxury suites with full kitchens, plus a total lobby renovation, a new state-of-the-art fitness center and a new pool area. Supported by more than 1,600 hospitality professionals and consistently rated in the nation’s Top 50 Management companies, Shell Vacations Hospitality is the management arm for Shell Vacations and handles all resort management responsibilities.

The company has been recognized in the resort and hotel industry as a premier hospitality organization. http://www.shellvacationshospitality.com/

You may view the latest post at http://www.thetimeshareblog.com/2008/02/04/shell-vacations-hospitality-selects-las-vegas-property-for-companys-top-resort-management-team-award/

Timeshare Jobs – In-House Rep Vs Cold Line Rep

2008-01-24T22:15:00.000+01:00

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.

How “Active Listening” leads to “Effective Communication”

2008-01-11T22:12:00.000+01:00

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

2008-01-08T22:09:00.000+01:00

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

2008-01-02T22:07:00.000+01:00

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.

The Importance of Goal Setting

2007-12-18T22:03:00.001+01:00

With Christmas and the New Year just around the corner and as this article will probably be the last one for this year, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the past twelve months and as is traditional at this time of year look at what we’ve achieved and also look forward to what we want to achieve in the following twelve months.

I started this site earlier this year as a loose mixture of Timeshare News, Resort Reviews, Industry Updates and some Sales Training, People Skills and Marketing Tips.

As you can see it has now developed by public demand into a full on Sales Training site dedicated to Timeshare Professionals and the Timeshare Industry as a whole, with a few bits of industry news and updates thrown in for good measure.

I have even changed the original name of the site from “Simple Sales And Marketing Solutions” to: “Timeshare Sales And Marketing Techniques” as I felt it summed up far more what the site is really about and allows me to dedicate the coming year to concentrating far more on the Timeshare sales training articles.

I will be taking some of my holiday time on planning and setting out my next twelve months strategies for continuing to expand this site and hopefully gaining a larger and more loyal reader base.

This is commonly known in the Timeshare industry as “Goal Setting”

I cannot stress enough the importance of goal setting in sales.

If you don’t set yourself goals, how can you measure your success?

How can you tell if you are having a good year or not if you don’t have some sort of idea of what you need to achieve to be successful?

This is what goal setting is all about.

You need to know what it is you want to achieve over a certain period of time, so that you can develop a plan to achieve it.

Have you reached the goals you set yourself last January? If not why not and what could you have done to change the outcome?

What goals are you going to set yourself for next year and how do you plan on achieving them?

Here are some tips on “Goal Setting”

Firstly set yourself realistic short term goals that are easily achievable. That will motivate you far more to reach your larger mid term and longer term goals.

When setting goals, be specific. If you want a new car, don’t just say, “In the next twelve months, I’ll buy a new car”. Specify the make, model, and even the colour! Find a picture of it and put the picture somewhere that you’ll see it every day, then work out how many extra sales you need to buy it and mark off on a daily basis how many sales are left to get it. You’ll be amazed how motivating it is to daily monitor how close you are to achieving your goals.

And lastly, don’t be too rigid in setting your long term goals. Remember, as I have personally experienced. Sometimes we need to make small adjustments to our original plans because our dreams change and our long term goals need to be changed accordingly.

I’d like to finish this week by wishing you all a very happy Christmas and a more than prosperous New Year and thanking you all for your loyal support and positive feedback.

Don't forget, 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 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.

See you in January.......

“If You’re Trying To Sell Me Timeshare, I’m Not Interested!”

2007-12-11T12:24:00.000+01:00

I mentioned last week how it still amuses me when a new Timeshare rep asks me what to say if their clients ask if they’re trying to sell them Timeshare.

Timeshare in Europe, unlike America still has a fairly bad name as far as Joe public is concerned and this certainly isn’t helped by the national press trying to print anything slightly connected or similar to “Timeshare” or the Timeshare industry as a whole, under the banner of:

“Yet Another Innocent Victim Falls Prey To The Latest Timeshare Scam!”

So it’s of no surprise to me when a new rep is afraid to even whisper the word “Timeshare” in front of his clients and will spend more time denying that what he is selling is actually Timeshare (Regardless of what we are calling it this week) rather than just overcoming the objection of buying Timeshare just as he would any other objection and then closing the deal.

Nowadays Timeshare in Europe is gaining in popularity with the European public as an alternative holiday system and still remains one of the biggest growth sectors within the leisure and holiday industry throughout the world.

This has been helped with household names like Butlins entering into the Timeshare industry this year with their BlueSkies vacation club project at Minehead and some of the major players like Club La Costa continuing to invest in new projects like their luxury yacht club, their Real Estate Sector and continued investment in additional Hotels and resorts around Europe.

This still doesn’t stop new reps from being afraid to mention the word “Timeshare”.

After all, in training we tell them not to call it Timeshare. It’s called:

“Holiday Ownership”, “Vacation Time”, “Holiday Points”, “The You Can Go Anywhere Holiday Club”, “Martini Time”, but never ever “Timeshare”.

If I was ever asked, “Is This Timeshare” my answer would always be. “If it was would you buy it?”

Nine times out of ten I would get the answer “No!” which would allow me to reply “Why?” then shut up and let the client dig himself a hole and finally admit that its because of all the bad press he’s read about Timeshare being a rip off or scam and that he doesn’t really know anything about Timeshare other than what he’s read in the newspapers or on the internet.

Now, rather than deny that I sell Timeshare I just gently point out that Timeshare has come a long way since the early days and just like any company continues to develop and improve their products to suit public demand, Timeshare has also been developed and improved over the years and there have been strict laws and selling guide lines set into place by the governing bodies to protect the consumer.

Then just to add some humour, I point out that if I was trying to sell him one of the original Ford Cortina’s I would understand him not wanting to look at it. But if I was showing him the latest Ford Mondeo to roll of the production line then I’m sure he would be interested enough to at least have a look at it and see how it compares to the car he’s driving around at the moment. This will normally be met with a laugh when the client realises how closed minded and uninformed his original statement was and the acceptance to at least have a look at it, way up the pros and cons, and at the end of my presentation give me a straight forward yes or no.

So don’t be afraid to mention the word “Timeshare” its unprofessional salesmanship that has brought the industry all the bad press it gets and not the product.

Always be honest with your clients. Not only will you gain their respect, you will also gain their business!

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 a comment below or drop me an e-mail to: simplesalesandmarketing@gmail.com

Remember: there is no such thing as a foolish question, only a fool who doesn’t ask questions.

See you next week.

Some Words You Should Avoid When Selling Timeshare

2007-12-03T21:58:00.000+01:00

As in all direct sales situations, there are certain words or phrases you should never use if you want to be successful selling Timeshare and I don’t mean the word “Timeshare”.

It still amuses me how many Timeshare reps are afraid of the word “Timeshare” and will waste more time and effort denying that they sell Timeshare and trying to convince the clients that they are not on a “Timeshare presentation” than actually presenting the product and closing deals but that’s another subject I will be covering in the New Year.

For this week I want to look at how fine tuning your conversational skills and changing one simple word in your daily vocabulary, will not only improve your sales figures but will also help you avoid verbal confrontations in your everyday life and personal relationships outside of work.

Just as body language will reveal what a person is really saying or trying to conceal, there is a meta-language that we all use subconsciously to disguise what we really mean without being too abrupt or hurting the other person’s feelings.

In sales there is nothing wrong with making things sound more attractive to gain the clients interest otherwise we would never get a deal. But there are certain words that should be avoided at all costs.

Never say “Believe me” i.e.: “Believe me this is the best deal you’ll get” You’ve just told the clients not to believe you and that if they hold out a bit longer the deal will get better.

Never ever say “I’ll be honest with you…..” That just implies that you haven’t been honest up until now and there is no reason that you’re going to be honest in the future. In fact because you’ve just said your going to be honest is even more reason not to believe you in the first place and normally produces the gut feeling that the biggest lie of all is just about to fall out of your mouth.

The word I want you to concentrate on changing this week is the word “But”.

“Yes but!.....” “I know but........!” “You have a good point but..........!”

The word “But” is very argumentative. It screams “I disagree with you!” and I’m going to give you my point of view regardless, which will normally be met with a brick wall as your client starts to dig his heels in to protect his own point of view.

Now if we change the word “But” for “And” we have a completely different angle on things:

“Yes, and........” “I know, and..........” “You have a very valid point, and..........”

Do you see the difference? You have agreed with them, stroked their ego and now you’re adding your point of view and complementing their original statement.

Nobody can argue with someone who is agreeing with them and out of politeness they will have to listen to your point of view and agree with you as you are really only adding value to their point of view.

If they disagree with you now they are actually disagreeing with themselves and their original statement.

As always you will need to practice replacing “But” with “And” as it doesn’t come naturally at first, but once you have mastered it, not only will you see your sales figures increase, you’ll also find you’re getting into less arguments and confrontations in your private life as well.

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 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 Rep or Timeshare Professional - Which One Are You?

2007-11-24T20:15:00.000+01:00

After all my years of selling Timeshare and training new and experienced Timeshare sales consultants for resort marketers all over the world, it still never ceases to amaze me the sheer lack of initial and ongoing sales training that the Timeshare industry offers to what I would class as the backbone of the entire industry.

Its Sales People.

The Timeshare industry has got to be the only industry in the world where you can earn more than the average surgeon and yet you only need to attend a one or two week basic sales and product training course before you are classed as a professional sales consultant and let loose on the public.

Your average Doctor on the other hand has to spend years studying and pass numerous stringent examinations, before he is let loose to practise his skills on the public.

So what has happened to the word professional in the Timeshare industry?

To learn any profession takes years of studying.

It doesn’t happen over night.

Don’t think that a career selling Timeshare is any different.

Yes you can gain basic product knowledge on a one or two week sales training course and have an idea of how to present your product to the public. But if you really want to become a professional sales person and make a lifetime career out of selling Timeshare, you need to continually study every aspect of the sales process and keep up to date with the latest closing techniques, people skills and ever changing holiday products that the Timeshare industry has to offer these days.

Even your local Doctor after passing through college and obtaining his degrees, will still attend regular seminars throughout the year to keep up to date with the latest medicines and surgical techniques that are regularly developing,

So why do I meet so many so called Professional sales people who think they already know everything, can’t be bothered to attend the latest sales techniques training seminar that their company has set up for their benefit but would rather sit in the pit and play cards!

They are always the ones who live on they’re past sales and are normally asking for a draw at the end of the month so they can pay they’re rent.

Don’t fall into that trap. Get smart, get professional and learn your trade just like any other professional would.

Don’t treat Timeshare as a summer job or a get rich quick scheme.

Treat it as a long term career, study regularly and seek to constantly improve your sales skills, and I guarantee you Timeshare will give you a very good living for as long as you want it to. And remember. The first thing a true professional learns is that you can never stop learning!

Anyway that’s me getting a pet hate of mine off my chest. Go on if you have something about the Timeshare industry that winds you up and you want to get it of your chest, leave a comment below.

We might not be able to change the industry overnight but at least you’ll feel better for voicing your opinions in public and getting them of your chest just as I have this week.

Next week I’m going to look at some skills to improve your In-house sales.

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 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.

See you next week.

TeleSales Tips – Connecting With Your Clients

2007-11-18T15:20:00.000+01:00

There are many types of Telemarketing jobs available in the Timeshare industry from, data capturing with telephone surveys to qualifying and producing fly buy leads for the in-house sales team to sell either as first time buyers or existing owner upgrades.

One of the hardest Timeshare Telemarketing jobs in my opinion has got to be upgrading existing owners over the phone. To upgrade an existing Timeshare owner you really have to do some very effective fact finding to be able to point out to them that they really need to purchase another week or more holiday points etc, to get the most out of their vacation ownership.

If you are in a face to face sales situation and know you have your client’s attention for at least an hour or two, then happy days. They are on your resort enjoying their holiday and you only have to show them the latest deluxe apartments, the new facilities that are being added next year and remind them of how fortunate they were to have invested into Holiday Ownership when they did, then offer that special deal for existing members and you will normally have your upgrade.

But how do you do that when you are ringing your client over the phone, in the comfort of their own home and probably a planes journey away from your luxury resort?

You have to immediately gain their attention and permission to do a little fact finding to find out whether they are in a position to upgrade in the first place. This will save you countless time wasted on pitching to the wrong people and just ending up with excuses and neg-ing yourself out.

When they answer the phone forget introducing yourself with the old outdated: “Good morning/afternoon my name is ………. And I’m calling from the ABC Timeshare marketing company”

That sort of introduction just screams I’m a Timeshare telesales person and I want to sell you some more Timeshare and is normally the quickest way these days to end up with:

"I don’t have the time right now"
"I own to much timeshare already"
"It's not in the budget right now"
"I will buy when I am ready to buy"

You see you will have put your clients on a defensive right from the start with your opening statement and instead of gaining their attention and being able to start fact finding, they will be concentrating on working out the quickest way to get rid of you.

Those statements aren’t objections they are excuses to end the conversation as quickly as possible.

Instead try opening with: “Is that Mrs Smith?” “Hi it’s Alan from ABC how are you?” The key is to make it sound like you’ve already spoken two or three times before. Your client will be far more open to a light conversation with someone who appears to know them personally and will now be concentrating more on trying to remember where they know you from, rather than getting rid of you. This will buy you the time you need to start gentle fact finding and asking if they’ve booked they’re holiday for this/next year yet. Are they coming back to their resort or using the exchange system? Have they used all their holiday points for this year and will they be borrowing any from next year? If there where any improvements they would personally make to the resort or the holiday points system, what would they be etc?

You can now start to gently let them admit they would like more holidays or a larger unit or enjoy the better quality units and then offer the solution by getting them a really good deal on a second week or some more points……

You’ve now become the good old friend who helped them out once again instead of just another telesales rep and you can start asking them for referrals and stop your cold calling.

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 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.

Are You Closing Deals, Or Closing Doors?

2007-11-12T13:29:00.000+01:00

This week I would like to start by thanking Tina and Alice for their e-mails last week. It’s always good to get feed back from you the reader.

I sometimes sit at my laptop till two or three in the morning writing these sales training tips and quite often wonder if anybody really reads them, so when I do get some feedback it inspires me to continue each week in the believe that, if each of you can learn just one more sales skill reading this site. And that helps you to close one more deal and achieve one more sale this month. Then the whole reason for me writing this Sales Training Blog will have all been worth it.

Last week I had the privilege of training a new sales team for a resort marketer that is opening up a brand new cold line this week.

The sales team consisted of a mixture of experienced sales reps and non experienced sales reps.

Some had already been selling timeshare for many years, some were moving from telemarketing over to direct face to face sales for the first time and some had virtually no sales experience at all.

A fairly mixed bunch to say the least.

Whilst planning the weeks training I was reminded of a few things.

The longer you are in sales, the more knowledge you will gain, the harder you make the job!

Sometimes you can read so many sales books on the art of closing deals and overcoming objections that it becomes a battle of wills and the ultimate goal of the salesperson is to force his opponent (the client) into a corner where he has no other option but to buy your product, or run out of the door screaming that he felt too pressurised and needed more time to think about it.

It doesn’t matter as long as you can boast to your fellow sales reps afterwards how you won the battle and forced your client to make a decision on the day even if it was “No!”

I remember way back in my early days being told once to imagine the sales process as like walking your clients down a long corridor. The corridor is full of doors that your clients will try to escape through and it was my job to close all the doors along the way so that the only door left open for the client to walk through was the buying door.

I never realised how wrong that analogy was back then and thought like most new people that the sales profession was a hard job and only the tough survived and made any real money.

What a relief it was when I discovered that the key to achieving more sales wasn’t about forcing your clients to do something they didn’t really want to do. It was all about helping your clients to get what they really wanted. I discovered that all I needed to do was find out through some very thorough fact finding what it was my clients really wanted, provide it within the price range they were willing to pay for it and hey presto, I had another deal.

I stopped working hard at closing my clients into making a decision on the day and started listening to what they wanted instead and guess what? My sales doubled, my closing percentage was higher than it had ever been and I was earning twice the commissions for half the work.

So the moral of this week’s lesson is: Work smart not hard. Get back to basics and start listening to what the clients want to buy instead of trying to close them into buying what you want them to buy and I promise you you’ll start closing more deals with only half the effort. Who knows you might even start to enjoy the job again.

If you 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.

See you next week.

How To Spot The Decision Maker

2007-11-02T12:21:00.000+01:00

There is always one person in a marriage or partnership that is the dominant partner and normally will also control the finances. If you can work out which one of your clients is the decision maker you can be pretty sure that one also controls the finances and can then make sure you are directing all your important closing questions towards the person that will give you the final yes or no at the end of your sales presentation.

As a professional closer, you have to be able to establish early on in your sales presentation which is the decision maker in the husband wife team or you will have wasted your time and lost the respect of both your clients by directing the presentation towards the wrong person.

There are several ways you can spot who the decision maker is.

Here are a few basic guidelines:

As a general rule, the person who does the most talking asks the most questions and shows the most interest in your product will be the dominant partner although this is not always true. Remember you could be presenting your product to a family where an older son might be trying to impress his father and show his intelligence by asking lots of questions about the product, company etc.

In this situation you need to be far more aware of how the rest of the family are reacting and who they all look at the most. The sub-dominant members of the family including the over verbal son will consciously and subconsciously look to the leader for guidance and reassurance.

There are also a couple of tricks you can use to get your customers to identify the leader for you.

Direct all your important closing questions towards one member of the partnership or group. If that person is the decision maker, then he or she will answer you directly and with confidence. If that person isn’t the decision maker, they will feel uncomfortable answering you and will look toward the stronger partner for them to answer you. From that point on you will know who will give you the final buying decision.

When you are presenting your product to more than one couple or larger groups it can be a bit more difficult to work out who is the leader. You can jokingly ask them,

“Okay I give up, which one of you is the boss here”

It might sound silly but believe me, for a split second everyone will look at the leader of the group to see if he or she reveals themselves. (There is always a leader) You have to pay special attention at this point and be extra careful to watch all their eyes or you might miss the clue.

Once you have established who the decision maker is and who controls the finances, go to work and start closing them. The sub-dominant partner will follow the leader and not want to disagree with them at the end when they decide to buy.

On a final note. I’m the boss in my house and I have my wife’s permission to say that!

See you next week.

What Makes a Good Man Manager?

2007-10-28T13:26:00.000+01:00

This week I thought we could take a brief look at what skills are needed to be an efficient Man Manager and get the best out of your sales team.

Good Man Management requires a completely different set of skills and character traits than just being a good sales person. I’ve seen on countless occasions where a company has given the top sales person a management position through natural internal promotion, only to find they failed in their new position and eventually returned back to the sales floor because they could make more money as a sales rep.

The top sales people don’t necessarily always make the best managers. The top sales reps tend to be self centred, cold calculators who are full of their own self importance and only interested in their next commission cheque.

Those characteristics are great if you just want to be a successful sales rep for the rest of your sales career.

When you move into management you need a completely different set of skills. Of course it helps to have been fairly good as a sales rep before you move into management so you can pass on your selling skills to your new reps, but what’s more important is to know how to manage.

So what makes a good Man Manager?

Good Man Management means being a good leader. To lead means to go in front and show the way.

A favourite saying of mine is the one that goes: If a man is starving and you give him a fish, he will eat for one day. But if you take that same starving man and teach him how to fish, he will be able to feed himself and his family for the rest of his life.

Good Man Management is exactly that. Teach your sales team how to sell and they will feed themselves, their families and you for the rest of their lives.

Educate and Motivate daily, not just when sales are slipping. (Prevention is better than cure.)

Never blame the person, Blame the action and outcome. (People can be taught good habits and actions can be changed thus producing the desired outcome. If a person is not performing is it their fault, or is it yours for not teaching them properly?)

Never ask anyone to do anything you’re not prepared to do yourself. (Respect is something you have to earn. It doesn’t come automatically with the title.)

If you have to pull someone to one side make sure you do just that and pull them to one side. Never make an example of them in front of the rest of the sales team and always find something to praise them about straight after the reprimand. Everybody performs better with a pat on the back and some praise.

And lastly, remember that you were new once. The only reason you’re now where you are is that someone took the time to manage you properly when you first started your sales career.

If you there’s a particular sales subject that you would like me to cover in future articles, please leave me a comment below or drop me an e-mail and I will answer them in the forth coming weeks.

See you next week.

Opening Statements And Introductions That Create Immediate Interest

2007-10-21T13:23:00.000+02:00

Last week in our “Tips for Telesales” we looked at the importance of pre-call planning, knowing what you want to achieve with your call and setting out your objectives to achieve these goals with a good solid game plan and script to work from.

This week I want us to look at your opening statements and some introductions that will create immediate interest and make the listener want to hear more, rather than start the getting-rid-of-you process.

Remember when you are cold calling clients on the phone, it's very easy for them to just say “No thanks, I’m not interested” and hang up!

This is even more likely when they suddenly realise you’re calling regarding selling their Timeshare, or offering yet another R.C.I. bonus week.

So when you work in the Telemarketing Department for a Timeshare Company you really have to grab the listener’s interest in the first five seconds of your call or you will lose them every time. Don’t use the old corny positive tie-downs in your opening statements like: “If I could show you how to………….. You would wouldn’t you?” They will have heard that over and over again and probably have fell for it a couple of times already. It’s a sure fire way of getting them to think your just another one of the million Timeshare Resale Companies out there looking for yet another registration fee and hang up on you.

Also when cold calling in telesales don’t start with “I was just calling people in your area” People don’t like being just part of a telemarketing database that you’ve compiled out of a telephone directory in their area. They want to feel special and you need to make them think it is a personal call just for them.

It is always good to open with a question that will make them think before they answer. And remember to shut up and let them answer; don’t be tempted to carry on talking just to fill in the empty space. The silence will be worse for them and they could just be thinking about the answer to your question which is what you wanted to achieve in the first place.

Here are a couple of examples of good opening statements you could try after you’ve introduced yourself:

“I’m just updating your details and I need to know if you’ve sold your Timeshare yet?”

“I called a few months ago but it wasn’t convenient for you to take advantage of our offer at the time and I was wondering if your circumstances had changed?”

“You asked me to call you back regarding our…………”

Those opening statements are designed to get the client curious enough to ask you more questions giving you the opportunity to get down to the real reason of your call.

You will also notice that those opening statements give the impression that you’ve spoken before and that this call is just a follow up call and not a cold call. People are always willing to listen to someone they’ve spoken to before.

Now put yourself in your clients’ shoes and think what opening statements would make you curious enough to listen to the caller and ask for more information, then adapt them into your own telesales pitch and try them out on your next call.

Next week I’m going to cover Man Management and how to get the best out of your sales team. If you there’s a particular subject that you would like me to cover in the forth coming weeks, please fell free to leave me a comment or drop me an e-mail.

See you next week.

Tips For Telesales – Pre-Call Planning

2007-10-14T13:21:00.000+02:00

I mentioned last week in the introduction to this section that a pleasant voice and a good telephone manner will help enormously in your successful telesales career, but there are telephone skills that can be learned and put into practise to improve your telephone closing percentages.

As this section unfolds and begins to grow we will look at the art of closing over the phone step by step.

This week in the first part of our Tips for Telesales series I want to look at Pre-Call Planning.

Some of us have been born with a natural ability to ad-lib or think on our feet and some of the best closers in the world are really just actors playing out their role. But I guarantee you one thing. Actors or closers, they all started with a script that was pre-planned and they rehearsed it over and over again until they didn’t need it written down any more and could go from the opening scene to the final curtain with their eyes closed.

In face to face sales you can get away without knowing your script word for word by also using your visual props to keep you clients interested.

In telesales you don’t have any visual props unless you have used a brochure mail shot before your call. That is why it is so important to have a pre-call plan and know exactly what the reaction of your clients will be when they answer the phone and you introduce yourself.

You have to first decide what your objective is. What do you want your client to do as a direct result of your call? What are you trying to achieve from your call? Will it take one call, two calls or maybe more?

Are you going to need a second call to talk to the decision maker or get the final answer?

If that’s the case you need to build into your first call plan, some sort of urgency or special offer that will make sure that they talk to their partner that night, and give you a definite answer the following night when you call them back.

Once you have worked out what you want the end result to be, you can start to work out how you are going to get there and you’ll be able to prepare your questions accordingly.

Remember telesales isn’t all about you doing the talking. Just as in all sales situations your questions should be designed to get the client to do the talking. People will always believe their own statements and ideas more than yours

Your primary objective should be to get the person on the other end of the phone not to hang up in the first five minutes, so your opening line should be based around an open ended question that will make your client think about something before they respond. You have to get their attention straight away and gently continue down the path you have already planned to finally get your client to take action.

So to re-cap on your pre-call plan:

Work out what you want to achieve with your call and prepare a plan to achieve it.

Open with a question that causes your client to think before they answer and gets them involved straight away.

And if you’re new to telesales, set your self mini objectives like for example: “I’ll get everyone to at least agree to a second call”. That way you won’t become too disillusioned in the early stages. Telesales is not easy. If it was everybody would do it wouldn’t they? It takes a special type of person to be able to get someone to take action over the phone by only using your voice and some carefully planned words. So feel good about yourself and be proud to be special. Many people before you have tried and failed.

See you next week.

Tips for Telesales - Introduction

2007-10-08T13:13:00.000+02:00

It was pointed out to me the other day by my good friend Dean (“Hi Dean”) that my sales training section only deals with face to face sales, so as I promised last week I’m starting a section dedicated to telesales and improving your telephone closing skills.

When you’re selling Timeshare face to face on a working resort you have quite a few advantages over someone who works in the Timeshare Telemarketing department.

Firstly your client has been invited into the resort. They should have a brief idea that they are going to attend a Timeshare sales presentation. Or at least know that you will be showing them around the resort and the clients will have agreed to give you at least an hour of their time in return for some sort of gift or free lunch.

They are also on holiday and normally quite relaxed with nothing really special to do other than enjoy themselves.

Telesales is completely different.

You’re going in completely cold.
You’re invading your client’s privacy.
Unless you deal business to business you are entering their homes uninvited.

You have no way of telling if it’s a good time to call or not until you call and they will always be too busy or have something more important to do than listen to you.

They will have been bombarded by telesales people on a daily basis trying to sell them the latest money saving telephone plan. Or the new gas or electric company that promises to save them thousands on they’re future utility bills and the bank is always trying to sell them more finance. I even had a call the other day from my electric company offering me life insurance!

The poor woman failed immediately because she had called my wife’s mobile which is the number we had put on the electric contract, and then insisted on talking to the person on the title of the contract which is me. She would not discuss the purpose of the call with my wife.

Had she taken the time to ask a few questions first she would have found out that my wife’s number was on the contract because she deals with all the household finances, including our life insurance policies.

When my wife finally handed the phone to me in despair after trying to explain that the poor woman was better off talking to her, I promptly told her she was talking to the wrong person and cut her off!

The moral to this story is: It is very easy to say “no thanks” and hang up when someone calls you on the phone so your opening line and introduction in the first few seconds is crucial in telesales.

It goes without saying that a pleasant voice and a good phone manner will help enormously in your telesales career, but there are other skills that can be learned and put into practise to improve your telephone closing percentages.

We’ll be looking deeper at those telephone skills over the next few weeks in my new section “Tips for Telesales”

So see you next week for the first part of “Tips for Telesales” that will be dedicated to opening lines and introductions that will make sure they don’t hang up on you.

Butlins BlueSkies Vacation Club – How Does It Work?

2007-09-30T13:08:00.000+02:00

I was asked this week by a good friend of mine to write a section on Telesales and how it differs to face to face sales techniques so I will be including some tips on closing over the phone in future articles.

For this week though as promised a continuation from last weeks article on how Butlins BlueSkies Vacation club works and exactly what do we get for our £6,000?

BlueSkies is a Vacation Club, similar to Clubs operated by Disney and Marriott that have grown rapidly over the last decade to around 400,000 members worldwide, including many in the UK.

Unlike traditional Timeshare where you purchase a week or more in a set size of unit i.e.: 1 bed or 2 beds and at an allocated time of year. BlueSkies Vacation Club works on a points system that lasts you for thirty years and has the flexibility of being able to take your holiday when you want and in the size of accommodation that suits you at the time.

You purchase the amount of points you need for your holiday depending on the size of accommodation and time of year you would normally holiday for, and just like in Monopoly when you pass go and collect £200, each year your point’s allocation is renewed.

The number of BlueSkies Points used for each break is determined by where, when and how long you choose to holiday. You use more BlueSkies Points during Bank Holidays and peak season and less during the less busy times of year. You also use more BlueSkies Points for the larger, 3 bedroom apartments and less for the 1 bedroom apartments. And obviously you use more BlueSkies Points the longer you holiday.

If you don’t use all your points one year they will carry over and be added to next year’s allocation giving you more holidays the following year, but they aren’t very clear as to how many years you can carry forward before you lose them, or if you can borrow points from next year as is normal with other holiday points clubs.

Butlins has also teamed up with R.C.I. giving you access to all the other R.C.I. resorts around the world so you don’t have to holiday in Butlins every year but that does mean an additional annual cost when you have to re-new your complimentary R.C.I. membership when it runs out. (Normally after three years) It does make me wonder if BlueSkies Points are really R.C.I. points in disguise.

One thing to consider if you are thinking of buying into BlueSkies Vacation Club is that holiday points clubs still come with the annual maintenance cost of a traditional Timeshare. (Often more expensive) The amount you pay will be governed by the amount of points you own. And just like normal, the maintenance will go up each year.

And another thing to take into consideration is that points can turn out to be a constant upgrade as you have no control over who decides what a point is worth. You could find yourself caught in the trap of having to buy more points every year just to be able to maintain the amount of holidays you take or the size of accommodation that you want.

I still haven’t found out how many points you get for £6,000 or what the annual maintenance cost per point is, or what the BlueSkies points calendar looks like regarding seasons and sizes. When I get more info I’ll let you know, unless you already know then leave a comment.

Next week we’ll look at selling over the telephone. See you then.

Butlins BlueSkies Vacation Club – The Story So Far

2007-09-23T13:04:00.000+02:00

July the fourth saw the launch of Butlins Timeshare project “BlueSkies Vacation Club” and around one hundred people including guest of honour, GMTV presenter Lorraine Kelly attended the party.

The BlueSkies Vacation Club is an integral part of the development project that has already enjoyed the launch of the Shoreline Hotel at the Bognor Regis Resort way back in 2005 with talk of another two hotels planned for the future, one for Bognor Regis and the other in Skegness.

Mike Crowther, Project Director at Butlins said, “Butlins is one of the UK’s most popular and best-trusted holiday brands and by introducing BlueSkies we’re creating a development that is luxurious, flexible, offers great value and guarantees a first rate family holiday.”

Although Butlins loyal guests have always loved the activities and live entertainment that the resort had to offer, they wanted more luxurious accommodation that took advantage of the beautiful sea views, so having already spent £40m in the past three years upgrading the accommodation and facilities, the BlueSkies Vacation Club was the next logical step.

The art deco building, set slightly apart from the main Resort, stands directly on the sea-front and overlooks the golf course to the right, Minehead bay to the left, and offers the guest the most amazing sunsets from their private balconies.

Costing £4.5m to build, BlueSkies is Butlins most stylish accommodation ever to be offered and consists of spacious, modern holiday apartments, featuring floor to ceiling windows in the lounges, bathrooms with both bath and a separate shower and a fully fitted kitchen with all modern appliances including dishwashers, freezers and microwaves.

More than one hundred families have so far paid in the region of £6,000 to be spoilt with a concierge service, pre-arrival fridge filling service, wi-fi access, flat screen TV’s, free DVD’s and video games.

I personally can't help thinking of Butlins with their Red Coat "Hi de hi" image and wondering if they really can enter the luxury Timeshare market.

What do you think?

Next week I’ll be looking deeper into how the BlueSkies Vacation Club works and finding out exactly what you get for your £6,000.

See you then.

How To Overcome The Objection: “If We Weren’t Having An Extension Built”

2007-08-26T12:27:00.000+02:00

The other evening whilst having a quick beer after work with a good friend of mine, also called Alan. He mentioned that he’d been reading my sales training tips on this site and asked if I could cover the old classic sales objection:

“If it wasn’t for the new extension/kitchen/bathroom” etc. etc.

So firstly a big thanks to “DVD Alan” for reading my ramblings and more importantly giving me this week’s subject. Hope this helps mate.

I remember way back when I was a new and eager sales rep learning my trade, I worked out very quickly that the more sales presentations I did the more often the same old objections would crop up again and again, so I made it a personal mission of mine and lost endless nights of sleep working out ways of getting rid of all the most common objections in the early part of my presentation during the statement of intent and fact finding period so that they wouldn’t crop up at the end when I was going for the final close.

For now let’s say you’ve done a perfect text book sales presentation and you’re sure you have a deal when right at the final close, out pops “It’s absolutely fantastic Alan and if it wasn’t for the new extension we’re having built when we get home, we would definitely join your holiday club today”.

How do you get round that one?

Well firstly give yourself a pat on the back because this type of objection is money related. Extensions don’t come cheap so you’ve obviously built some value into your product and price conditioned them at the same level as a new extension/bathroom or kitchen costs.

When you’ve finished patting yourself on the back, you need to work out if this is a genuine objection or just a weak excuse.

Remember A.C.O. (Agree, Confirm, Overcome.)

Agree with them: “I fully understand John and Mary, Extensions don’t come cheap these days, what is the average price of an extension in England/Yorkshire/London now?” If they are genuinely having an extension built they should be able to answer, “Well ours is going to cost us ………… If they struggle to give you a price, then they are lying and it’s just a weak excuse meaning you haven’t really sold them yet!

Either way, once you have a cost, continue with “And how long did it take you to save up for that?”

What you are achieving here is you are going to trap your clients into closing themselves into the “other than the money” corner again.

If they give a time factor like twelve or eighteen months of saving for example. Simply point out that they still had three holidays during that period and managed to save up for the extension so now you know they can afford to join your holiday club. You just redirect the moneys saved for the extension into joining your club and you’re going to save money on your future holidays as well. That would make perfect sense wouldn’t it?

The only other answer they can give you is that they are going to finance it in which case we look at getting a larger loan or re-mortgage over a longer period to include the cost of membership as well and make the payments even lower using the equity in their house.

What have you just done here?

You’ve turned what looked like a no close objection, into a financial “other than the money” objection again.

“So as long as I can show you how to have your extension built, join my holiday club and save you money as well, you’d be fools not to join me today wouldn’t you?.............

I hope that has given you some ideas to play with for now.

Next week I’m going to look at how to get rid of objections before they’re even brought up.

See you then.

Timeshare Sales Techniques – The Statement Of Intent

2007-08-24T12:02:00.000+02:00

The statement of intent is an excellent sales tool for establishing a number of things right at the beginning of your sales presentation. Firstly and most importantly it is used to calm your clients down and make them feel more comfortable about being on a Timeshare or Holiday Club presentation.

Once you have collected your clients from the reception, have them seated correctly in the warm up area and ordered their drinks, you should give them what is known in the Timeshare Industry as “The Statement of Intent”. Or “Breaking of the pact”

Your clients are probably very nervous, either because of a past personal experience on a Timeshare presentation, or because of all the bad press and warnings they have read or heard about what happens when you attend a Timeshare sales presentation. The easiest way to alleviate their fears is let them know exactly what is going to happen during their presentation. People only fear the unknown. So if you let them know what to expect and in what order. They will normally calm down immediately.

A good statement of intent should go something like this:

“Ok John and Mary, while we’re waiting for our drinks to arrive let me tell you exactly what’s going to happen while you’re with me here today”. “Firstly I’m going to ask you to help me with a brief holiday survey about where you’ve been in the past, where you would like to go in the future, and what you’ve liked or disliked about some of the holidays you’ve taken in the past. It’s a very important part of my job as the information people like you give us, help my company to keep up to date with the ever changing holiday trends and stay ahead of the competition, then I’m going to show you around the resort and you will see why we now have so many members in my holiday club and you’ll realise the benefits that my members get from being part of such a large and well established holiday company, at the end of my presentation you will be given the option of either saying no thanks, in which case I will make sure you get any gifts you have been promised and a taxi back to your hotel, or you can choose to join the other thousands of families who said yes and are now enjoying the many benefits of being part of my club and I will make sure my manager is available to sort out the best possible deal at the best possible price, either way the choice will be yours.” “All I ask is that you allow me to do a full presentation and answer all your questions before you make your choice.” “Is that fair enough”

Now get all parties to agree and shake all their hands. At this point you must confirm that they are ok for time, that they’re not rushing of to meet any one in half an hour and they haven’t left Grandma alone on the beach in full sunshine.

Apart from relaxing your clients and making them more open minded, you will have also got rid of the time problem. If they start pushing you to speed things up you can just remind them that they agreed to allow you to do a full presentation and you shook hands on it.

Your clients have agreed to give you at least ninety minutes. It’s up to you to turn that ninety minutes into a three hour presentation that ends in a deal!

They won’t even notice the time if you, entertain them, win them over, and close them using the “Simple Selling Skills” you’ll be learning when you keep dropping by my site on a weekly basis.

See you next week.

Using Tie-Downs - A Very Powerful Closing Tools When Used Correctly

2007-08-17T11:54:00.002+02:00

Tie-Downs are a form of turning a statement into a question that force either a “yes” or “no” answer. The more little yes’s you can get during your sales presentation the easier it will be to get the big yes at the end!

The use of “Tie-Downs” in your sales presentations can be a very powerful closing tool when used correctly and in the right places. “Tie-Downs” come in four main forms: standard, inverted, internal, and tag-on, and need to be mixed correctly to gain the maximum effect when leading your clients into the final close.

I have stated many times before in previous sales training articles of mine that nowadays we are dealing with a much more educated sales prospect. I don’t mean educated as in, they all went to university. I mean educated in the normal old school, hard close sales techniques, so you will need to practise mixing the four types of Tie-Downs until they flow into your normal conversation to avoid it sounding like an old stereotype slick sales pitch.

So let’s look at a few examples of using Tie-Downs:

The Standard Tie-Down: (At the end of the statement)

“You can see the benefit of using tie-downs in your sales presentation, can’t you?”

The Inverted Tie-Down: (At the beginning of the statement)

“Doesn’t it make sense to include as many Tie-Downs into your sales presentations as possible?”

The Internal Tie-Down: (A little more difficult has to be placed within the statement)

“If you could master the art of using tie-downs, wouldn’t it improve your sales figures?”

The Tag On Tie-Down: (Tagged on to the end of your clients’ statement)

Client: “learning to use Tie-Downs was easy” You: “Wasn’t it?”

Did you find yourself answering yes to all those statements? There is also a way of using a negative tie-down to overcome objections, but that is a whole article in itself and I want to leave that for another day.

Here are a few examples of common tie-downs

Aren't they?
Aren't you?
Can't you?
Couldn't it?
Doesn't it?
Don't you agree?
Don't we?
Shouldn't it?
Wouldn't it?
Haven't they?
Hasn't he?
Hasn't she?
Isn't it?
Isn't that right?
Didn't it?
Wasn't it?
Won't they?
Won't you?

As always, go and practise using Tie-Downs on your friends, partner, the guy in the pub and any one else who will listen to you until it becomes a natural part of your conversation. Then when you’re ready, include them into your sales presentations and watch your sales figures double over night!

See you next week…..

Increase Your Sales Figures with Tie-Downs – A Powerful Closing Tool When Used Correctly

2007-08-17T11:54:00.000+02:00

So let’s look at a few examples of using Tie-Downs:

The Standard Tie-Down: (At the end of the statement)

“You can see the benefit of using tie-downs in your sales presentation, can’t you?”

The Inverted Tie-Down: (At the beginning of the statement)

“Doesn’t it make sense to include as many Tie-Downs into your sales presentations as possible?”

The Internal Tie-Down: (A little more difficult has to be placed within the statement)

“If you could master the art of using tie-downs, wouldn’t it improve your sales figures?”

The Tag On Tie-Down: (Tagged on to the end of your clients’ statement)

Client: “learning to use Tie-Downs was easy” You: “Wasn’t it?”

Here are a few examples of common tie-downs

Aren't they?
Aren't you?
Can't you?
Couldn't it?
Doesn't it?
Don't you agree?
Don't we?
Shouldn't it?
Wouldn't it?
Haven't they?
Hasn't he?
Hasn't she?
Isn't it?
Isn't that right?
Didn't it?
Wasn't it?
Won't they?
Won't you?

See you next week…..

How To Overcome The Objection: “I Want To Think About It”

2007-08-10T11:49:00.000+02:00

I guarantee one of your worst feared objections is “I want to think about it” isn’t it?

Why do all sales people fear the “I want to think about it” objection?

Because it isn’t really an objection is it? Or is it? They haven’t really said “No” have they? They haven’t really said “Yes” either have they? So the weak sales rep can breathe a sigh of relief and believe the client will definitely get back to them with a yes tomorrow and the so called experienced rep will make the excuse that it wasn’t really an objection so there was nothing they could have done to overcome it. While the Professional Closer goes to work and starts to find out exactly what it is the clients want to think about. Which ever one you are, let’s look at this “objection” in the latter tense, as Professional Closers; after all if you didn’t want to become a Professional Closer you wouldn’t be reading this would you? So what can you do in this situation?

Firstly we have to look at the reasons why people say “We want to think about it”

The first and most common reason you will get the: “I want to think about it” objection is that you gave them too much information to think about! Check out my article on the importance of good fact finding. An old sales trainer and excellent motivator of mine was always saying “If the cow doesn’t moo, don’t feed it” What he was saying in an essence was, only give them the information they ask for. There is no point in telling them how efficient the air conditioning is on this particular model of car if they live somewhere where it snows for 6 month a year. They will be more sold on the amazing traction the electronic 4X4 system gives them when driving on snow and the fact that by pointing the key through the kitchen window and pressing a button while they’re finishing their morning coffee, the seats heat up and the all windows de-mist automatically.

Do you get the idea? You can always add the air conditioning in as an additional benefit for when they drive down south for their summer holidays while they’re signing the purchase agreement.
The other main and obvious reason you will get “I want to think about it” is you haven’t sold them yet.

At this point you need to revert to A.C.O. (See: The tried and tested three step formula for overcoming all objections) Agree with them: “I fully understand John and Mary, if I was in your shoes I’d want to think about the payment options and whether I could afford the additional monthly outgoing.” Confirm: “Is that what you want to think about?” If that is not their reason you need to keep asking with one option at a time until you have isolated it down to the real objection.

Now you just get back into Overcoming the real objection and closing the deal!

So to recap:“I want to think about it” really means, you’ve given me too much information and I’m confused. Or, I don’t have enough of the relevant information so I’m not sold yet.

By keeping it simple and only feeding the cow when it moo’s, you will always be dealing with: “I don’t have enough information yet” It’s always easier to add the benefits of your product bit by bit than take something away once you’ve given them everything up front.

The lesson this week is: “Don’t feed the cow till it moos!”

See you all next week……….

Butlins Joins Luxury Timeshare Developers

2007-07-11T10:40:00.001+02:00

I was pleased to read this article on the Daily Mail's web site the other day:

Holiday company Butlins is to introduce a timeshare-style scheme called BlueSkies, it was announced today. The scheme will enable holidaymakers to have an annual break at Butlins for the next 30 years. The company is developing luxury timeshare apartments at its holiday centre at Minehead in Somerset, with building work set for completion in March next year.

For £6,000, owners will be able to purchase 30 years of holidays based, for example, on taking a family away for around a week in May annually.

For their money, owners will get what Butlins describes as "a spacious, modern holiday apartment set slightly apart from the main Butlins resort (at Minehead), full of contemporary design features, positioned right on the edge of the sea and close to the stunning scenery of Exmoor".

Mike Crowther from Butlins, who is leading the BlueSkies development, said: "BlueSkies is holiday heaven for the growing number of people who enjoy the fun and convenience of a UK family break."Second homes and holiday apartments are an unattainable dream for many people as they can be expensive to buy, maintain and manage."We're aiming to create a development that is luxurious, flexible, great value and guarantees a first rate family holiday."

I will freely admit to being for Timeshare in all it's varying guises. I don't always agree with the way it gets marketed by some unscrupulous companies but that's an argument we'll leave for another day, the fact that houshold names like Butlins are now joining the likes of Disney, Marriott's, Hilton and Airtours to name just a few can only add to raising the credibility and professionalism of what, despite all the bad press it still receives, remains to be one of the fastest growing leisure industries in the world.

I believe Timeshare will eventually be accepted in Europe in the same way as it is in the States.I would be interested in hearing your opinions on the subject.

Please leave a comment, or drop me an e-mail with your views.

The Birth Of Timeshare - A Marketing Genius

2007-07-08T11:57:00.001+02:00

Which ever way you look at it Timeshare was and still is one of the marketing geniuses of our time.

Way back in the early sixties a hotelier in the French Alps started marketing his hotel with the slogan “Why rent a room when you can own the hotel. It’s cheaper” and that was it the birth of a concept that rocked the holiday industry.

The concept was brilliant. Each buyer would own a share in the hotel (Shares were divided into weeks of accommodation throughout the year) each owner would contribute a yearly amount towards the maintenance of the hotel and hey presto there you had it, deeded fixed timeshare. The hotel was sold and the Hotelier had a guaranteed clientele with all his overheads and up keep paid in advance. The only downside was finding enough people who wanted to holiday in the same place every year.

A Swiss company called Hapimag took the concept a step further selling shares on a right to use basis as apposed to deeded ownership, but added the benefit of being able to use your week or weeks in their other resorts in Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Offering a more flexible product and giving the Hapimag members a choice of destinations.

Hapimag is still a successful company today, and has remained independent from the larger exchange companies.

Timeshare reached the United States around 1969 in a place called Kauai Kailani where it was sold on a 40-year leasehold basis and it is said the first points system was introduced here offering the members even greater flexibility.

The owners were still demanding more flexibility and more choice of destinations. In 1974 RCI (Resort Condominiums International) was formed and provide the missing link that the members were looking for. They could now bank their weeks with RCI and exchange them between different resorts dotted around the globe.

It was in the eighties that the timeshare concept really spread across Europe making a significant impression in Spain and Portugal and by the 1990’s there were some 2,357 timeshare developments worldwide with well over four million timeshare owners enjoying this still fairly new kind of holiday concept.

By now a firmly established, multi-billion dollar timeshare industry was attracting some of the bigger names in the leisure industry such as: Hilton, Sheraton, Disney World Resorts, Four Seasons, Hyatt and Radisson bringing with them the much needed credibility that timeshare was lacking in Europe.

Today, timeshares boasts over 5,400 resorts in more than 100 countries worldwide and is better organised and regulated with trade bodies such as ARDA (American Resort Development Association) and the OTE (Organisation for Timeshare in Europe) helping to protect the rights of potential purchasers and policing the use of high-pressure sales tactics.

So there you have it. A marketing genius that not only has stood the test of time but still remains one of the fastest growing sectors in the leisure and hospitality industry and as Butlins now joins in with their first timeshare development “Blueskies” based in Minehead, England who knows what or where the next development will be?

How To Double Your Pay Cheque With A Simple Change in Your Thinking

2007-06-03T12:10:00.002+02:00

I cannot stress enough, the power of your mind and how it affects your sales presentations. You will have heard over and over again about the power of a positive mental attitude. P.M.A. But a negative mental attitude is just as powerful if not more powerful than a positive mental attitude.

Your mental attitude and how well you prepare yourself before your sales presentation is the foundation to getting the sale or not. How many times have you been told that the top reps are regularly closing over 20% because of their attitude and enthusiasm? If you’re already closing over 20% ask yourself are you satisfied with that. And if you are satisfied then why are you reading this? Why aren’t you closing at 100%? Because someone told you it can’t be done and you believed them? Someone told you that two out of ten is good enough and you accepted it! I remember when I first started in direct sales, I was told we give you ten clients every week, as long as one buys you’ll make a decent living. If two or three buy you’ll be a super star! Can you imagine a Doctor straight out of university and the hospital tells him in his interview, “We give you ten patients to operate on every week, as long as you can keep two of them alive you’ll be one of our top surgeons!”

Maybe a bit extreme but you see where I’m coming from. I have never believed in the numbers game and I never accepted that eight out of ten people won’t buy. I have worked with one lady for a long time now who wins all the sales competitions year after year. She’s in the lead again for this year and her year to date closing percentage fluctuates between 65-70% what makes her so good? Her attitude! An average sales rep believes there job is to present the product every day and hope that someone will buy it by the end of the week. That’s called playing the numbers game. This lady believes her job is to get a sale every day, and every day she comes to work to do just that. You see nobody told her it was a numbers game!

So how do you stay positive all week? A simple change in the way you think. Here’s how to turn the numbers game into a money game. Stop concentrating on the two deals that earn you the commissions. If those two deals happen to be on the last two presentations you do this week, you’re going to get pretty low in your positive mental attitude by presentation number seven and eight and you’ve probably started analyzing your pitch, looking for where your going wrong and deciding what you can change tomorrow to get a deal. Sounds familiar doesn’t it.

Now let’s look at it from a different angle: let’s say each sale is worth €500 so two sales a week earns you €1,000. If you have to see ten clients to get two sales then each client is worth €100 whether they buy or not, right? So every day you go to work and do two presentations you earn €200 a day. Now that sounds much more fun doesn’t it? Instead of going home at the end of the day feeling like you worked for nothing because you didn’t get a sale. You go to work thinking no matter what happens by the end of the day I’ll be €200 better off! Of course you still have to put 100% effort into every presentation but it’s a lot easier to do when you know that you’re building up your commission statement even when they say no, Isn’t It?