Timeshares Part 2: Getting Through The Sales Pitch

The following is for informational purposes only and not meant to be investment, legal, or tax advice.

You get an awesome offer for a vacation from a timeshare company (Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Wyndham etc.) that only costs $399 for a vacation which would normally cost $1,200, but the catch is you have to listen to a 90-minute timeshare presentation. Both you and your husband/wife grimace as a pitch with highly aggressive timeshare salespeople sounds about as fun as a root canal without Novocain. Not only do you have to waste time in the middle of your vacation, but you have to constantly say no to a salesperson who won’t take no for an answer on a “investment” you know from reading Timeshares Part 1: The Terrible Math Behind Timeshares is a horrible idea. Lucky for you, you read this article and know exactly the game they are playing so you sit back grin and get ready to have some fun during the 90-minute presentation.

General Guidelines

Be calm, nice, and polite. Many salespeople and particularly managers will get aggressive with you. If you are like me your initial inclination will be to get angry and respond in kind. Avoid getting angry. If they get aggressive with you, take a deep breath and remain calm. Trying to get a reaction from you and fatiguing you into making a purchase is part of their game. It is also much harder for the salesperson to continue being aggressive if you remain calm and polite.

Avoid details. If you go into detail on why you won’t buy a timeshare or your vacation interests expect it to be used against you.

Say no repeatedly. No one can force you to buy a timeshare, say no repeatedly. Nothing a salesperson can say should change your mind.

Before the pitch

Requirements

There are usually three requirements for a timeshare promotion you have to meet:

• Income is above a certain level
  • There is often a minimum income requirement. I have seen $100k+ and $150k+ minimums, but they can vary between companies.
• Own a home
  • I have done timeshare offers that did not have this requirement when I lived in an apartment, but many do.
• Have not done a similar promotion from the same company over a certain period of time, usually 12 or 24 months.
  • Companies want to prevent people from gaming their system (wink wink) with a 12 to 24 month waiting period. It’s easy enough to rotate into different companies, which could in theory allow you to do 3-4 a year.

Although they are unlikely to check the requirements, not meeting them could result in you forfeiting the promotional rate on your room. However, it’s up to you and your risk tolerance on whether you want to tempt the fates.

Who has to attend

You must bring your spouse. Every timeshare pitch I have ever seen requires that your spouse also be present. Your children do not have to attend the pitch, but they should for reasons discussed later in the article.

What to bring

If you received a promotion via a mailer, bring it and make a backup copy on your phone. If a promotion was emailed, forward yourself a copy so it’s at the top of your inbox.

Starting the clock

Once the salesperson opens their mouth to speak with you, the presentation timer starts. You can literally put an alarm on for however long the promotion requires you listen to the pitch, usually 90 minutes or 2 hours. Once you hit one minute over the required period notify your salesperson that you have met the obligation in the promotion, are not interested in making a purchase, and would like to finish the presentation. If they persist after another 5 minutes, remind them again and ask for a manager if they continue at that point.

Mentally prepare yourself

Take a deep breath and enter your happy place. Expect that you will be lied to and given a pressure sale. Like at the car dealership, if a timeshare salesperson’s lips are moving, they are lying. If they get aggressive or insult you, don’t take it personally. The aggressive sale is all an act. They will magically be calmer in one minute after the pitch.  Know that there is nothing they can do to force you to sign and all their tactics mean nothing in the face of you saying no.

Spouses

Usually one of the two people in a relationship are more skittish and prone to emotion than the other. One partner may also be more susceptible to persuasion than the other. Before you go to a timeshare pitch, you and your partner should sit down and discuss how you are going to go through the pitch. You should also both promise one another that no matter what is said or how much pressure you feel, that you will not under any circumstances buy a timeshare. One person should do most of the talking. If the salesperson attempts to target the person not talking, they should answer politely, but always steer the conversation back to saying no.

Anatomy of a timeshare pitch

(Note: I use the term “they” instead of “he or she” when referring to a salesperson even though its grammatically incorrect, because it can often be two salespeople and writing he or she over and over again is tedious)

Step 1: Get you in the room

The whole point of the cheap vacation or in some cases a free round of golf/activity (if this is all you are getting you shouldn’t do it) is to get you in front of a salesperson that can pitch you. The very fact that they can still make money after giving you a highly subsidized vacation speaks to the markup they are making.

Step 2: Registration

Usually you have to register at a front desk who then escorts you to a salesperson’s office/desk. Sometimes you have to wait a few minutes. This time doesn’t count toward the pitch period. They often have free coffee and snacks so if you are hungry or thirsty avail yourself of free stuff!

Step 3: The nice guy routine

Any good salesperson knows not to start their pitch right off the bat. Instead, they will ask you about your family, profession, where you are from, and what kind of vacations you like to go on. This is partially a fishing expedition to get information to use in their pitch later. “Hey, you said you love ski vacations, we have a property in Park City.”

Step 4: A tour and selling the “dream”

The salesperson will usually, but not always, take you around the property to sell you the “dream” of owning a timeshare. In some cases where the office is away from the property, they may skip this step. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of confidence by how nice they are during this period and how beautiful the property looks. You can always stay at the property or one extremely similar for a lot less money per night.

Step 5: The high and fast pitch + artificial scarcity

Once you have done the tour and the nice guy routine has run its course, the actual pitch will start. The salesperson will start making a case using the false math outlined in Timeshares Part 1. In addition to baloney math, they will also talk about the breadth of their network of properties, the amazing amenities, and the faux luxurious lifestyle that a timeshare will give you. The first pitch will be the highest cost timeshare. They do this so that every other timeshare they present to you seems like a deal compared with the initial pitch. This is a behavioral bias they are exploiting called “anchoring”.

After their initial pitch they will likely claim that the deal they have just put before you is only available today or prices are going to go up soon. Of course they are lying. There is no shortage of timeshares in the world and even a highly sought after property can be obtained through cheaply via other means we will discuss in the part 3 of the timeshare series.

Step 6: The bad cop enters

Of course you say no to the intentionally preposterously expensive deal. The salesperson then calls in the big guns and gets a manager to come pitch you. This second salesperson will offer you a smaller package that now looks cheaper in comparison to the first deal and will often be way more aggressive. They will also often attempt to use (expensive) financing as a way to decrease the monthly payments in an effort to make the deal cheaper.

Step 7: The final pitch

You say no again. The manager may then try a third final deal or harangue you on why you are not saying yes to this deal.

Step 9: Conclusion

The salesperson will eventually give up and end the presentation. They will either walk you to another desk or give you a paper you have to submit to the front desk. The front desk will then give you a paper showing you completed the timeshare presentation and give you the points or a voucher if one was promised in the promotion. Do not forget to get the paper showing you completed the pitch as it is your proof you completed the promotion and you don’t want them claiming that you didn’t show.

How to say no: “the repetitive no strategy”

Think of a timeshare pitch as a deposition where you keep invoking your 5^th amendment right. The key to saying no is to be polite, vague, but definitive. If you are angry or defensive they will likely become more aggressive and it could make you or your spouse crack just to get them to back down. You don’t want to give a specific reason because they will be prepared with the comments below. By keeping it vague you avoid having to answer an endless set of prefabricated follow-up questions. Being definitive is crucial. If they think the no is conditional or that you are shaky, they may continue to pursue a yes. Eventually the timeshare salesperson will tire out and end the pitch. Repetition is your friend.  The more repetitive and unequivocal your no, the faster they will end the pitch.

I have tried specific strategies that deviated from repeating no. The result was getting into drawn out arguments, me getting angry, and an angry salesperson insulting me. I specifically questioned the financial logic and what I said were distorted financial statistics. In one case this resulted in the salesperson say I was calling them a liar and in the other my comments made them get really angry and say I have no clue what I am saying. Avoid this situation by sticking to the repetitive no strategy or the advanced strategies articulated below.  

The salespeople have been trained on how to respond to any of the common objections which I have laid out below.

• I think the deal is too expensive.
  • Salesperson’s response: What monthly payment will work for you or we have packages for $X that will better fit your budget.
• I need time to think before making a large commitment
  • Salesperson’s response: What else do you need to think about? What concerns can I address for you?
• Now is not the time.
  • Salesperson’s response: When is the time? Hotels are only getting more expensive, why not lock in rates now?
• This isn’t a good deal.
  • Salesperson’s response: What specifically isn’t a good deal? If you don’t like that deal we have deal XYZ that is better tailored to your needs.

Instead of the responses below use one of the following and repeat it:

• I will not be purchasing anything, but I will complete the required presentation.
• I appreciate your efforts, but I won’t be purchasing anything.

If they ask why you will not be making a purchase

• I have reasons why I won’t be purchasing anything, but I am not obligated to provide them and I won’t.

If they get really aggressive try the following. Remember that they aren’t really angry its all, its an act intended to cow you into signing:

• I won’t be making a purchase today and I am not obligated to. I will complete all the requirements of the offer I received.
• I am simply not interested in making a purchase.

In the event they insult you (which has happened to me twice):

• I do not appreciate being insulted and it isn’t going to make me want to buy anything from you. I won’t be making a purchase today and I am not obligated to. I will complete all the requirements of the offer I received, but I would ask that you refrain from insulting me or my spouse.

Advanced tactics

Following the repetitive no strategy will work every time, but the strategies below can further hasten the pitch and potentially lead to less headaches.

Kids. I love my kids, but they can be a pain sometimes. Use this to your advantage. Bring them along to every timeshare pitch. They will likely complain, distract from the conversation, and probably annoy the salespeople. Extra points if they spill crummy food all over the carpet like my kids did at one point. The salesperson has a whole litany of prepared responses, but there isn’t anything they can do about your kids. If they yell at your kids, you have immediate grounds to say I am not buying anything from you or your organization. Again, keep as calm as you can. At the very least the kids throw the salesperson off their routine and prevent them from bringing their most aggressive pitch out.

You are a credit card points expert. Another strategy I have employed is to tout my credit card knowledge. I simply state that I have no need for a timeshare because I am an expert on credit card points and travel for free anyway. Why would I pay for anything when I can get it for free?  Whether you are or not doesn’t matter, they have no way of knowing. What matters is that there is nothing in their handbook on how to respond to this claim. They may try saying if that is the case why are you doing the pitch and the answer is simple, you like everyone else love a good deal!

Conclusion

The strategies outlined above should get you through any timeshare pitch. The most important thing is to keep saying no as politely, calmly, and consistently as possible. Remember that no one can force you to sign anything and that no timeshare sold at a pitch is worth buying.