My Early Days

I first discovered the power of these principles as a young man, when I went to work in Tenerife selling Timeshare.

I remember the BBC consumer coverage, particularly That’s Life!, presented by Esther Rantzen (may she rest in peace), helping to shape the public’s negative view of timeshare. These views were further reinforced by an onboard warning from the cabin crew, given about thirty minutes before arrival ~ before they had even landed on the island!

The cabin crew would announce that they were approaching the timeshare capital of the world and continue by warning passengers how they were likely to be approached, what they might be told and, importantly, what not to do. Their strongest warning was not to take a credit or debit card into the timeshare resort.

By the time those tourists stepped off the aircraft, many had already forged a negative opinion about the people who were going to approach them.

(Much as Antony faced a crowd already persuaded by Brutus, I was facing people whose opinions had been shaped before we had even met!)

With that level of negativity already firmly planted in the mind of a prospective customer, the job of a timeshare salesman was exceptionally difficult.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of salespeople lasted only two or three weeks on site.

When my own three-week point arrived, I had spoken to more than 40 couples without making a single sale.