8 surefire ways to help you turn down a timeshare sales pitch
- Abigail Gaston
- Feb 5, 2019
- 8 min read
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Jeff and I have sat through 4 separate timeshare presentations over the past 3 years. We were able to escape one of them and get back to our fun in the sun in under 1.5 hours (Cancun). Two took us about 2 hours to say, "No, but thanks!" to (Cabo San Lucas and Montego Bay). The last one, Hilton Grand Vacations in Orlando, Florida, took us a whopping 2.5 hours to get out of; they certainly are good! Now, this is not a piece on what it is like to sit through a timeshare presentation; however, I may need to creatively craft one here soon!
Despite the last statement, I would like to briefly tell you that neither of the 4 timeshare presentations my boyfriend and I attended were boring, ready to fall asleep in my chair, power point presentations. Quite the contrary, actually. They were pretty entertaining and food and drink was included, and at our BookVIP scheduled presentations, alcoholic beverages were include.
Timeshare companies know what they are doing when they hire their sales staff, which is why during each presentation, we laughed a lot and felt comfortable during the presentation piece of the pie. One of our sales persons even tried to butter up Jeff by telling him that he looks like Christian Bale.
Point - They know how to mix and mingle with people. It is their go to move to get you sucked in. First, they get you to like them, then they use this 'connection' to persuade you to buy. I have read that many times individuals who were on the fence, actually bite at the sale simply because "they had a special bond with the sales person." Sure, this tactic helps time fly by because you are not bored whatsoever; however, as much as you want to think you are the exception, that you just found your second you in this sales person, you are not and did not. They treat every single sales opportunity the same. Oh, did I mention that is what you are? You are a sales opportunity, so remember that, because I can almost guarantee that as hard as you try, your sales person will appeal to your good side.
That is where understanding the proper answers and reasons to provide to the property you are attending a timeshare at, will help you get out of the timeshare presentation quicker. This means more of that fun in the sun, or whatever climate you are in, referred to above!
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Reason 1: Yearly Association Dues
If I can recall correctly, each time we sat through a timeshare presentation, there was one very similar unknown. Neither sales team could tell us for certain, exactly what the association dues would be year to year. Now, I cannot take all the credit for this little trick. My cousin actually sold timeshare presentations through a company that shall remain nameless; however, she provided me this little insight and it actually worked!
Each presenter informed us that it should not differ too much from the year prior, but there is still the unknown as to how much we would be charged in association dues each time the calendar year rolled over. Sure, there are many timeshare shoppers out there that do not mind this feature; however, we did not care for it and it helped us to say, "Thank you but no thanks!"
Reason 2: The interest rates are far too high!
3 out of the 4 timeshare companies we allowed to give us a presentation informed us that they would not have to run our credit report to qualify us for financing. In fact, if interested, the only thing we would have had to provide in order to receive financing is our state identification and complete a credit application. This sounded crazy to me and likely sounds insane to you too; however, it is all they needed to qualify us. The kicker, however, is that the interest rate on this timeshare loan was like 25 to 30%! This right there was reason for us to give a super strong "NO!"
Now, these sales teams are tough; they will try to push past this. They will likely ask if you have a low interest credit card to add the down payment on (more on this later), which lowers the financing amount. They may also suggest you finance with them initially, but upon arriving home, check with your mortgage company about adding it on or taking a home equity loan out that has a far lower interest rate. There are other options they will present, but a "reason 2.1" could be that going through this is just too much work post-signing work.
Reason 3: Too large of a down payment
OK, the amount of the down payment depends on the package you purchase. If your package is $60,000 (this is like the creme de la creme top-tier package), you will likely be required to put 10% down that day. This means that you will owe $6,000 before it is all sign, sealed, and delivered.
The highest form of payment typically is credit card (doubles consumers paper trail; receipt of payment and credit card bill). So, there are 2 ways you could go about declining, actually. First, tell them very firmly that you will not be making a down payment of that magnitude, or any amount, today. Second, tell them you do not have a credit card with you with that high of a credit limit.
Now, keep in mind that the above is the top of the pyramid in terms of timeshare packages. Many packages are half that price and even less than half. This means that your deposit would be far less too. That said, I say stick to your guns; you are not putting a down payment on anything today and you did not bring a credit card with you that is over a $1000 credit limit.
Reason 4: We do not vacation enough to make it worth our while
This is probably the easiest for timeshare sales teams to throw a rebuttal in. Timeshare packages can be customized to different lifestyles. Whether your lifestyle affords you 1 week or 4 weeks of vacation time, they can make a package work for you. If this is a reason you choose to not move forward with the timeshare, you have to be extremely firm in that you do not see the value in it for your lifestyle and make it known as often as you can. Honestly, you will be passed through 3 or more individuals, likely, and even the sales shark will finally get annoyed with hearing this statement and send you on your way.
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Reason 5: School them with all your budget travel knowledge
As you can probably imagine, this is my absolute favorite thing to do during timeshare presentations! Being a budget travel expert, it gives me a chance to toot my own horn a bit; I love to totally brag about all the super cheap trips I have pulled together! I have even had sales persons ask me if I can pretend I am a regular traveler for a moment. Meaning, can you put your budget hat aside and pretend that you do not know much about finding travel deals?
A few budget travel facts you can use, even if you have not utilized these budget travel options before, are Groupon Getaways and credit card points programs. Both have allowed me to travel for super cheap in the past and will do so again in the future. Need additional tips before you go; leave a message below or send me a message on my website.
Reason 6: You flat out cannot afford it
My experience has been that when you continuously tell a timeshare company that you cannot afford what they are offering, the price skyrockets down!
A little example for you...
During our Cancun timeshare presentation; the package started off at nearly $40,000. By the time we were just about to part ways; the package was all the way down to $2,000! Talk about a major difference.
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Reason 7: Tell them you make decisions based on feelings and your gut is telling you no
Again, this is another reason for not joining that the sales team, especially 'the shark,' will try to come up with numerous reasons to sway you. However, stick to your guns and tell them, "I trust my gut and my gut is saying no; there is nothing you can say to make me disagree with my gut feeling." Be stern, they are sales people and they are good, but even they will get tired of hearing that statement and want to move onto the next possible sale.
If they continue to be persistent, turn the tables on them and ask them if they did not feel something was right for them, would they want someone telling them to go against their gut feeling? Do not be afraid to use strong words either; you can say things like "I feel you are being too forceful and I feel uncomfortable." Chances are, these are not your true feelings; I have not felt this way once in a timeshare sales situation; however, it is a statement that is sure to help you to exit the sales presentation.
Reason 8: You do not want your credit ran at this time
As stated above, I have not sat through a BookVIP timeshare presentation that has a financing package where your credit needs to be ran. With that said, I have sat through a Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare presentation and they do run your credit for financing. I am unsure as to who the lender is and/or what the interest rate is on financing; however, I do know that they for sure run a report. If you happen to be entertaining a timeshare sales pitch, ask about financing and if they pull your credit report. If they do, tell them you absolutely will not be authorizing this, so it does not look like it is a good fit.
The sales team will try numerous things to get you to reconsider; including, telling you that it is a soft inquiry, that it falls off your credit report in 30 days, and so on. Be firm and, again, inform them that you will not be changing your mind. If they again persist, flat out tell them that you know you will not be approved so everyone is wasting there time. This may not be true; however, if you are okay with this tiny white lie to get out of the presentation, go ahead and use it!
Conclusion:
The greatest advice I can give you is to not lead them on/act interested, unless you truly are. If you give them even the slightest opening, they will run away with it. If you go in it with a disinterested mindset, and appear closed off to the idea, it is the best chance you will have to get out of the presentation in record time.
This does not mean you have to be rude; there are still ways to appear incurious /unexcited, while still being polite. Just remember that if you are acting as a person with curiosity about the packages and showing intent to purchase, these two features will only fuel the sales persons to keep pitching. Acting interested because you do not want to hurt their feelings will only waste their time and hold you up longer.
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