Chances are you have already been solicited to see a timeshare presentation. It’s also possible you have already been to one and may have already sworn off of timeshares from having a bad timeshare sales experience. Don’t let a bad experience ruin timeshare presentations for you. I honestly love them. It’s leisurely, you get some nice free snacks, and more often than not you get a nice gift for your time. What helps is that I am fairly fluent in sales tactics so I can see them for what they are which helps me „survive“.

What exactly is a timeshare presentation?

Down to the nuts and bolts: It is nothing but a sales pitch by the timeshare companies to entice people into buying their timeshares. It begins with an invitation offering you an expensive free gift in return of attending the presentation. Now you go to the presentation thinking that there is no harm in attending and you get a free gift also in return, but you then realize that you may have made a huge mistake when you need to sit through an uncomfortable sales meeting.

I have probably been in six presentations personally. I believe we purchased one on the fifth. And I do not regret making that purchase at all. In fact I am very happy we did. I am saying that because I want to set the context of these survival tips.

1) Be rational

Any kind of sales that depends on emotion has a high likelihood for buyer’s remorse. If the sales plays on your emotion you may buy then and regret it later. Which of course means you will unfairly look down on timeshares when it was you that had given in in the first place. Know exactly what you are getting, know how much it costs, and then you can figure out if it is appropriate for you. Once you decide „no“, be business-like about it. Many times they will ask „Well, how much can you afford?“. You do not have to answer and simply say „Right now owning a timeshare is not in our plans. Maybe in the future, but not now so I would have to say we can’t afford it at all.“ It may be easy to get emotional about it as they start to „waste your time“. Just remember you agreed to a free gift and in return you owe them some time. Be polite and business like and grateful for the „free“ gift.

2) Be confident in yourself and your decision

If they start to sense you are wavering, they will keep you their longer and things may get more uncomfortable. Our third timeshare presentation we went to we already knew we were not going to buy. We honestly had no intention of buying and just wanted the $75 gift cards for a 60 minute presentation. I know that many people probably go in thinking this way and salespeople can „break that resistance down“. Be steadfast. When it came to the one-on-one sales, we were honest with the salesperson saying that we had no intention of buying. He still gave us his spiel but as we remained steadfast he could see that any time spent on us was wasted time and quickly got us our gift cards.

3) Keep an open mind

Do not go in with resistance. Have an open mind. Because maybe a timeshare purchase is the right thing for you, but having a closed mind already will be frustrating to you when the salesperson makes their pitch, and it will be frustrating to the salesperson as well because he will feel he did not even get a chance to make a pitch. Prepare for your presentation and go in knowing what you are looking for.

For the purchase we made in Hawaii, my wife and I had already discussed beforehand the merits of owning a timeshare. We realized we love Hawaii, we loved traveling, we could see ourselves going to Hawaii at least every other year, and with this in mind we just had to see if it made financial sense.

Even the presentation I mentioned before with the $75 gift card we entered with an open mind. We knew what our goals were and that a timeshare was not involved, but we still wanted to be fair and listened with an open mind. It was clear quickly that we would not be interested, but having an open mind was the fair thing to do and set a good habit because sometimes opportunities will come along that you will miss if you have a closed mind, such as a nice Hawaii timeshare which fit in perfectly with our life plans.

Keeping an open mind will help everyone be at ease, and help you make the decision rationally and logically. Don’t worry, it’s okay to be undecided with an open mind because eventually there will be a point in the sales presentation where you will have enough facts to make your decision of „Yes, it fits in with what we want“, or „No, not at this time“. Having this open minded logical decision will help you remain steadfast and confident particularly when the decision is „No“ and more sales tactics are thrown at you.

In conclusion, think of buying an automobile. Some salespeople are intimidating and nasty, some salespeople are pleasant and courteous. Would you let a bad sales experience influence what you think of cars? Of course not! Cars are helpful for those who need them. Timeshares are the same: they can be a blessing for those that would benefit from owning one. So do your best to learn about timeshares prior to your meeting and how they could fit in your life. And to survive the timeshare presentation, just keep these tips in mind: be logical, be confident, and remain open minded. You will find the experience much more pleasant this way, and you may also find that owning a timeshare is for you.

Want to find out more about how to buy or sell a timeshare, then visit Emil Yau’s site to learn more about selling timeshares and other timeshare information.