Everything about Advertising -- in no particular order

Time for a Review -- by Lisa Ann Schreier Today in Advertising 101 we come to the subject that you have been waiting for. Yes, today is a review day-- so relax, get a Diet Coke and put your feet up. We've covered a variety of media so far and have a few more to go. Can anyone tell me what has been the one over-riding feature of everything that we've discussed? That's right--- TRUTH! As a salesperson there are three (at least) things about this business that I truly despise: Guests Who Lie---"I never go on vacation." "I would rather rent than own." "No, I've never been on a timeshare presentation before." Salespeople Who Lie---"After this is paid for, you'll vacation for free the rest of your life." "This is nicer than any hotel in the world." "You'll never be able to trade unless you own here." Management Who Lie---"Nothing has changed with the marketing." "You'll get all of your reserves." "You have nothing to worry about." In other words…NOT THE TRUTH. When anyone lies it is because they are scared of losing power. Real power, however, is attained only through honesty. Think about it in your personal and business life and you'll agree. When we lie we demean and diminish ourselves and in the case of our business, our product. Then, we are caught in a vicious and never-ending cycle. We lie or at the very least don't disclose all that we should. This in turn comes back to bite us when we as an industry are seen as sleaze-merchants. Let me stop here and make a few things absolutely crystal clear: I DO NOT THINK THAT WE ARE ALL SLEAZE-MERCHANTS I TRULY BELIEVE IN THE PRODUCT I TRULY BELIEVE THAT OUR INDUSTRY IS POPULATED BY GOOD, SOLID, UPSTANDING BUSINESS PEOPLE WHOSE ONLY FAULT IS THAT THEY ARE THE SILENT MAJORITY And that's the problem. If the majority remains silent and in my opinion fearful of change, things will not change and we will be known as an industry not to be trusted, selling a bad or at the very least, waste of good money product. This conception of our industry starts with advertising, which is how the vast majority of consumers get their first taste of timesharing. And if that first taste is poison, we lose. And we perpetuate an atmosphere of distrust. Look at it from the consumers' perspective. On Saturday I received yet another offer in the mail. Two nights in Orlando, a cruise to Nassau, three nights in South Florida, a rental car for seven days and, if I acted within 72 hours, four days/three nights in Las Vegas and four days/three nights in Cancun. And all "my specially selected family" had to do was fill out a one-page questionnaire. And this was all made possible by means of some "special funding" that the company worked out. Not only was this piece of mail a waste because: I work in the industry I write for The Timeshare Beat on advertising My "specially selected family" consists of me and my cat Julian (or better yet, a timeshare salesman friend of mine) There is no way I am wasting a salesperson's time by sitting through a presentation But more importantly, it seriously undermines and devalues our product. Can you imagine if any other product was marketed like this??? Would you buy anything under these conditions: You are offered gifts to come in and look at it You know nothing about the product before coming in You are told that the presentation will take 90 minutes… but you are only told this AFTER you have signed up for the gifts Your 90 minutes turns into 2 or 3 hours Isn't there a possibility that you would think that you were being scammed? Isn't there a possibility that you would lie to your salesperson just to get out? We've created our own problem here people. I am only one person. I do not own or manage a resort. I cannot single-handedly change this problem. The only way we as an industry can change this monster that we created is for someone, anyone in power to do something different. Yes, it will be scary. No, nothing is guaranteed---but my prior experience and the combined advertising experience of every other industry tells me that we need to change. Join with me and CHANGE THE THINGS YOU CAN P.S. For my readers in Chicago, yes, that was a cool segue into our next topic "Radio Advertising". Thanks to my friends at XRT for the slogan!

Lisa Ann Schreier is a dynamic, outspoken, devout believer in the power of advertising done correctly. Lisa brings a wealth of advertising, marketing and promotional knowledge to her many business interests. She is the director of her own marketing/advertising agency, a full-time timeshare salesperson, a contributing writer and a part time Cast Member of the Walt Disney World Resort. After one too many long cold winters in Chicago, she now happily lives in the Orlando area where she is known for her consumer insights and "back to basics" style of business. When she is not working, sharing insights with the best bartender on Disney property (you'll be famous soon!) or learning the hard way that the sun really is much stronger in Orlando than it ever was up north, she occasionally runs back to Chicago to catch up on the best radio station in the world and see some incredible concerts. Lisa can be reached at GRQ1@aol.com. Check out her business ad here. Archive | Home To report broken links or other problems with this site please contact: webmaster@thetimesharebeat.com © The Timeshare Beat all rights reserved