According to conventional wisdom, fractional ownership or private residence club vacation homes are much too “complicated” to sell in less than 90 minutes. There’s too much purchaser “education” to do, too many “issues” requiring lengthy explanations, too many “gray areas” needing clarification.

To that, I respectfully reply, “Poppycock!”

A case in point:   One morning, I arrived early—it was about 8:45 a.m.—at my office in Franz Klammer Lodge, in Telluride, Colorado. I saw two people, who looked to be in their late 40s and married, zipped into ski suits, trudging along in ski boots and carrying what seemed to be a big, bulky package of ownership documents. I checked with Greg, the only Membership Executive who was in that early, and sure enough, he told me, barely hiding his smug self-satisfaction, that the people had arrived around 8:05 a.m. and now the sale was wrapped up—just in time for our future Owner-Members to catch the first chair.

To be sure, 40-minute sales didn’t happen very often then, and probably don’t happen very often now. And, Greg was exceptionally well-trained.

Nevertheless, I think it important to know that with appropriate training, selling a fractional ownership or private residence club vacation home in less than 90 minutes is within the realm of possibility. I believe that this is achievable, even today, when qualified prospective purchasers are said to be cautious, mistrustful and unwilling to make commitments.

In fact, I believe that it may be necessary to present and close in less than 90 minutes because today’s qualified purchasers are often high-energy, high-functioning, super achievers. This affluent clientele doesn’t normally have the time, the patience and the “sitzfleisch” (your German-speaking friends understand) to spend much more than 60 minutes at a time of their precious vacation listening to a sales executive earnestly drone on and on about “everything you wanted to know about fractional ownership or private residence club vacation homes—whether you asked or not.”

This three-part article presents some of the challenging Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that must be handled skillfully and without wandering off point lest customers become bored and leave before sales executives have the chance to pose any “closing questions.”

This series of articles offers examples of how a sales “train of thought” can easily be derailed well before arriving at its destination. Then, Model Scripts suggest how sales executives can keep the train steadily chugging toward a fractional ownership or private residence club vacation home sale, instead of being sidetracked—or even derailed—by issues better dealt with later on—or not at all.

FAQ #1

(From a walk-in guest): “Is this a timeshare?” (Said with fear, skepticism or disapproval)

Or, (worse) from a savvy customer, “How is this different from timeshare?

Or, (worst) “It’s just a timeshare with lipstick.” (I have literally read this in a fairly recent press article!)

These questions may be less common now, than they used to be. Yet, customers still ask them—especially since nowadays most fractional ownership and even private residence club vacation homes have evolved into permitting rentals and taking part in external or internal exchange programs. So, how can the crucial difference from timeshare be communicated to potential purchasers who are legitimately confused?

Here are some ways that sales executives may go off track in answering this question:

Sales Executive Response #1A:

“No, it’s not a timeshare. It’s different.”

First of all, we all know that legally, in most places, fractional ownership and private residence club vacation homes fall under the same “shared ownership” laws as timeshare. So, this response, however well-intentioned, is misleading.

Moreover, is hiding one’s true legal ownership structure a good way to build a trusting business relationship? (Especially when marketing materials and legal documents are probably required to carry “timeshare” or “fractional” or “residential interest” disclaimers)

The word “different” in the answer pushes the dialogue way off track into a comparison of fractional or private residence club ownership vs. timeshare—which is well beside the point because the purpose of the discussion is not to discuss timeshare.

Besides, any such comparison is subjective and open to dispute. This not only wastes more time, but can come off as “snooty”—rather than as a forthright, honest answer to a basic and legitimate business question: What is it that you’re offering for sale?” (Also, it’s a bit harsh to say a flat out, “no” to a customer.)

Sales Executive Response #1B:

“Well, let’s think of it this way. A Day’s Inn and a Ritz-Carleton Hotel both provide you with a place to sleep, but the guest experience in each is quite different.”

While this response offers the virtues of reframing the question and offering an answer that comes closer to the truth, it too, needlessly complicates matters, by confusing the subject property with two nationally branded hotels that are irrelevant here.

And, yes, this answer, too, misses the point of the question as to what a purchaser of a fractional ownership or private residence club vacation home actually owns. Also, it wastes precious minutes and may put off some people by appearing elitist.

Sales Executive Response #1C:

“That’s a great question! I’m glad you asked it. What do you know about timeshare?” (Or, a worse response) “What if it were a timeshare?” (Or, the worst response) “Have you had a negative experience with timeshare?”

Here, the sales executive does well to compliment the question and the customer and to involve the customer in the sales dialogue by asking a question in return.

But, if a sales executive responds with any of the above questions, he/she is accepting the customer’s label of “timeshare” along with whatever (undetermined and unknown) associations (both positive and negative) that the customer makes with that label.

From a marketing and sales point of view, it is not a best practice to go into the legal classification of the property’s ownership so early in the meeting when relating to a customer, discovering needs and presenting the vacation experience are of primary importance. Moreover, customers should not be the ones to frame the discussion. That’s the role of the sales executive. The engineer’s job is to drive the train; the passenger’s job is to enjoy the ride.

A comparison early on of fractional ownership or private residence club vacation homes with timeshare frames the dialogue poorly. It can lead to a sales executive’s long-winded, complex and dreary soliloquy on how fractional ownership is and is not the same as timeshare along with a dissertation on the legal vs. experiential ramifications and repercussions thereof and thereunder—by which time the customers are either nodding off or heading out the door to engage in an activity—any activity—that’s a tad more fun. (Okay, a bit of hyperbole, but only to make a point.)

This response misses the express track toward creating a good relationship with the customer, uncovering vacation needs and showing how the property can fulfill these needs. This is not even the local track. This sidetrack can even be a pre-cursor to derailment.

The customers are on holiday, after all. Why not cut them a break? They asked a simple question on what fractional or private residence club vacation home ownership is. Don’t they deserve a simple answer? Why not offer one that’s understandable, engaging and even truthful? (Perhaps a customer’s idle curiosity can turn into a sale.)

Model Script: #1:

Sales Executive: “That’s a great question! [supporting] I can understand your   asking it. [supporting] Many people we meet with here also believe what you suggest. [supporting]

SE: (said pleasantly, with genuine curiosity) Are you interested in the potential   resale value of your investment?” [exploring, sharp-angle turn, reframing,    assumptive, trial ownership question based on a secondary issue—resale value]

Customer: “Of course.” (The very early assumptive “trial ownership question” is unexpected, especially after the support, and there     shouldn’t be resistance to it. (See: ABCs of Sales—Always Be Closing)

SE: Then you’ll be pleased to know that what we offer is fractional /private residence club ownership of your vacation home.   Your fractional/private residence club deed works like the deed to your home and can be resold by real estate agents. It’s not like the title to a new car that loses value the minute you drive it out of the showroom.” [reframing, assuming, informing]

SE: “Have I answered your question satisfactorily?” [verifying] (question optional)

SE: (said pleasantly, with genuine curiosity) “Is this the sort of real estate you’re looking for?” (question required) [exploring, assumptive]

A technical analysis of what Model Script #1 aims to do reveals a number of goals.

• By complimenting the customer, the sales executive starts to create a relationship of trust in which it is “okay” to ask questions or raise objections. This is the foundation of the back and forth dialogue essential to closing a sale.

• The sales executive further supports the customer by saying that other people come to the office (there’s traffic), and the customer is not the only one to believe what he/she suggests. The word “timeshare” is never used.

• Instead, the customer’s attention is turned sharply away from timeshare and toward the potential resale value of the fractional ownership or private residence club vacation home.

• The support that the sales executive offers the customers relaxes them and helps makes them less fearful and less resistant to the shift in focus to the potential resale value of what has now become their “investment.”

• Fractional ownership and private residence club vacation homes are defined by the non-judgmental, easily understandable and refreshingly truthful and accurate essential difference from timeshare properties—the resale value of owning the deed to one’s home vs. owning the title to a new car.

• On this solid foundation of real estate ownership, the sales executive can build even more value by describing or demonstrating the property’s amenities, services and benefits—most not usually available in a primary home. No time or energy is expended on discussing the “inconvenient truth” of fractional ownership and private residence club vacation homes falling, in most locales, under the same legal definition and rules and regulations as timeshare.

• After giving information, the sales executive seeks to get information about the customer’s interests and vacation needs, thus regaining control of the dialogue.

• The sales executive verifies that the customers have understood the answer and are satisfied with it. (This step is optional, if customers seem to “get it.”)

• Explanation of fractional or private residence club vacation home ownership is followed by a trial ownership question as to the customer’s motivations or needs. “Is this the sort of real estate you’re looking for?” positions fractional ownership and private residence club vacation homes securely under the very desirable umbrella of real estate ownership.

• The sales executive retakes the throttle from the customers and drives the train forward on the express track to ownership by asking an “assumptive” trial ownership question that assumes a) the customers own their own home; b) they are looking to purchase real estate; and c) this is the sort of property they have in mind. (Assumptiveness is used here not to “close the sale,” but to “discover what the customers want/need.”)

• The Model Script gently allows the “Look-ie Lou’s” to disqualify themselves.

So, the fractional ownership train may be rumbling out of the station, but the engineer is far from being out of the woods and back on track.

If not handled properly, the train could lose speed being sidetracked by premature and “untimely” questions, such as: “What’s the fraction?” “How many weeks do we get?” and “How does the reservation system work?” These questions may cause significant unscheduled delays that make for an unpleasant, uncomfortable and ultimately unproductive journey.

And, there’s still a minefield of questions remaining that could easily derail the train, not the least of which is a question that customers rarely articulate, but one that is almost always foremost in their mind: “Is this a good investment?”

These questions will be treated in Parts 2 and 3 of, “A Fractional Ownership or Private Residence Club Vacation Home Sale in Less Than 90 Minutes? You Must Be Kidding!”

This article is adapted from The Fractional Ownership and Private Residence Club Sales Training System: Powerful Techniques to Skyrocket Your Vacation Home Sales^© by David M. Disick, Esq. to be released in 2010.

David M. Disick led the development team of Franz Klammer Lodge in Telluride, Colorado, the award-winning property that coined and first marketed the tagline, “Private Residence Club.” The property is now managed by the five-star Fairmont Hotels. He may be contacted on LinkedIn or at Esta dirección de correo electrónico está protegida contra robots de spam. Necesita activar JavaScript para poder verla .