Staff Writer- The Timeshare Beat
August 23, 2002
LAS VEGAS, NV -- Look, up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's SuperSpif!
What improves morale faster than a speeding bullet, builds team unity more powerful than a locomotive and is
capable of surpassing all previous sales records in a single bound? That's right folks, it's the once popular and
highly sought after SPIF (Special performance incentive fund).
Thanks to the Developers of Diamond Resorts International, Inc. (Stephen J. Cloobeck and Robert C. Wengel) and
their Sales Team (led by Jerry Murphy)-- including the entire marketing and administrative staff for DRI-- the
SPIF is not only alive and doing well, DRI's most recent SPIF is, in all likelihood, an all-time industry record.
It all went like this. After hitting $5 million in sales a couple of months in 2002 for Villas at Polo Towers in
Las Vegas, a bet was placed between the Developers and the Sales Team. This bet was centered over the idea of whether
or not the Sales Team could ever achieve $6 million in net processable business in a calendar month.
The Sales Team said that they could do it. The Developers said that if they did, they would fly the entire Sales
Team to San Francisco for dinner and the bet was on. In May, the Sales Team achieved a net processable sales volume
of $5,930,000, a phenomenal month, but not enough to win the bet!
Always striving for new heights and being so close, yet so far away, in June Murphy again approached the developers
and posed the following proposition, "What if we were to achieve $2 million in net processable business in
a given week?" Cloobeck and Wengel pondered the idea and said "If you can achieve $2 million a week,
you are still on!", and the bet continued.
The entire sales, marketing and administrative staff poured their hearts and souls into the challenge and the team
set new records almost every single week thereafter. First $1.6 million, then $1.75 million, and then $1.89 million.
Still not enough to win the bet, so the relentless Murphy and company again approached Cloobeck and Wengel and
said, "What if we do $2 million of net processable business in any seven (7) straight calendar days and not
just a funding week?" The developers told Jerry, "If you can achieve your goal that way, you're still
on!"
The very next week, the Sales Team broke the $2 million weekly barrier and went on to break the all-time record
month in net processable sales volume with a $7.1 million month for July, 2002 and achieved the single highest
sales day in the company's history at $425,000 on July 31, 2002.
The SPIF: Cloobeck and Wengel have chartered two Boeing 737s and on September 18, 2002, approximately 160
of the industry's finest are jetting off for dinner in San Francisco at the world renowned Crab House at Pier 39
restaurant (which DRI, Inc. leased for the gala event) at Fisherman's Wharf.
Upon arrival in the Bay Area, the entire staff will be whisked away via 4 chartered motor coaches and after dinner
they will be spending the rest of the evening (before they fly back to Las Vegas) exploring all that Fisherman's
Wharf has to offer.
And if that isn't enough, the very next morning, back at work in Las Vegas, Cloobeck and Wengel will be "...putting
up humongus spifs for those who write a deal that day..."
SUPER KUDOS to the developers of Diamond Resorts International for reminding us all that even though the 'biz'
has a bottom line, part of that bottom line is harmony, goals, objectives and working together at all levels. Also,
SUPER KUDOS to Jerry and the entire staff of DRI, Inc. for never giving up, constantly improving your techniques
and having the insight and willpower to meet new challenges and surpassing your previous successes.
Whoever said this business isn't fun any longer is probably working at the wrong place!
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