Archived Articles & Resources

Towards a 21st Century Exchange
Part 1: What the Past Can Teach Us

The year was 1999 and it was all the buzz. It spread quickly, from universities and colleges to desktops across America. It was “techie.” It was cool. And it . . . would set the music industry on its heels, launch a potent social movement, and empower people in a bold, new way.
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Towards a 21st Century Exchange
Part 2: Set My Timeshare Free

In the second installment in our series we’ll look at the events that gave rise to our current exchange systems—what’s good about them, what’s not, and what could be done better.
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Towards a 21st Century Exchange
Part 3: Hotel Proprietary

On August 25, 1991, a profound event occurred, but if not for the techno-geeks among us it might have passed unnoticed. And while seemingly insignificant at the time, it set in motion newfound forces that have since transformed the way we live in and share the world.
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Towards a 21st Century Exchange
Part 4: Timeshare-Industrial Complex

Most timeshare owners would be shocked to learn they are not clients of the exchange company to which they belong—at least not the most important client.
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Do Top Closers Think Like Chess Masters?
A Recent Study Reveals How Experts Think.

The world of chess is proving to be an important laboratory for advancing cognitive science. Research in the past on intelligence and human thought lacked demonstrable results and statistical validation, leaving it theoretical in nature. Scientists needed a consistent and measurable baseline group for comparison between individuals within a study group or across vocational lines. That was until they stumbled upon the world of chess and its highly disciplined and regimented hierarchy of players, from novice to expert, to master, and grand master. Because skill at chess can be easily measured and subjected to laboratory experiments, it has become an important test bed for theories in cognitive science.
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Evangelists, Apostles and Profits

A couple years back, Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba proclaimed that customers could be the best sales force a company could ever have, a dedicated and for-free sales force.  They wrote a best selling book about it, Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force. They pointed to companies like Southwest Airlines, Krispy Kreme, Build-A-Bear Workshops, and IBM as companies enjoying just such customer loyalty. So loyal, in fact, customers go out of their way to spread the word.
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What's Your Persona?

Sounding more like a bad pick up line than an important sales tool, personas are the imaginary representations of similar types of customer groups you encounter in your sales room. Each persona differs in their life stage and their readiness to buy. Click Here to Learn More >>

Science Uncovers Persuasive Sales Secrets

With the average age of timeshare owners in their mid-fifties, tour qualifications into their sixties, and 40 being the “new 30,” our sales rooms are filled with all ages, from newlyweds to older adults. And for the most part we present the identical message day in and day out, from morning to night, regardless of age. That may be about to change. Click Here to Learn More >>

Improve your Sales Process and Earn More Money With This Proven Method!

The next 1200 words describe the essential concepts and practice of a powerful and proven method for effecting change and improvement. Click Here to Learn More >>

"AIDA"’ – Teaching New Dogs Old Tricks And the science behind it!

While “AIDA” is not a trick, but rather an acronym representing a cognitive hierarchical template of buyer motivation, and the dogs are, in fact, the legions of empathetic and sincere sales and marketing people that serve the timeshare industry. Click Here to Learn More >>

The Boomers Are Coming!

It should come as no surprise: the Baby Boom Generation has arrived. So what’s the big deal? Who are they really? And economically speaking, what have they done for me lately? Perhaps most important, what will the maturing of the largest generation in history mean to the vacation industry? Click Here to Learn More >>