Free Vacations

Could free vacations be a good way to get new customers?

I use them to get new visitors to my web site.

Give me some ideas, I want to see if I can help some
floundering realtor friends in my home town. -Karen Sargent

Do you have an example of how this would be used? -AZBroker

Well I was hoping to brainstorm with some of you realtors but here's how
I and others use them in other industries.

Since 80% of my marketing is done on my web site (the other 20% is done
over the telephone) I want people to look at my web site so I offer them a
free vacation for taking a tour. (I know when they have after they fill
in the "Get More Info" page). Car salesmen have used the free gift incentive to get sales by a certain date - A locally owned furniture store gave away one free vacation every hour on Grand Opening day.

I have not discussed the possibilities with realtors yet but as I am typing
this, I'm thinking maybe a similar campaign could be used during Open House.

Or in your personal advertising state that you're the realtor that sends your customers on vacation. "You get a free vacation when you list with me" "Free Vacation when you let me show you a home"

It's so inexpensive to offer, you can give them away to everyone who looks at a house. People love free offers.

The realtors in the office may want to go in on a package.

I would appreciate your comments about the specific advertising needs for
realtors.

I hope I stirred your creativity. -Karen Sargent

I'm curious to find out how a free vacation can be inexpensive. Realtors must show at least ten houses a week... How can you afford to give away vacations to everyone who you show a house. Also, I imagine there are many people who would look at a home even though they're not interested in buying just to get a free vacation. That works fine for a timeshare seller, because they force the people to sit through a two-hour sales pitch, AND the vacation is on their property, so there are very few hard costs.

But I'm still curious to know what type of vacation you can give away to someone just for showing them a house. -Coda1108

I'm curious too. What kind of vacations and what would be the costs? -AZBroker

Coda and AZ Broker,

Firstly let me emphasize that this is NOT Timeshare.

The vacations are for popular hotel stays in places like Gatlinburg, TN
Las Vegas, NV, Orlando, FL. etc.

My company markets wholesale travel packages. When you purchase a
travel package, you have access to unlimited vouchers for 3 day, 2 night
get away vacations at a variety of hotels and resorts. These are transferable to anyone you want to give them to.

The hotels, resorts and cruise ships that contract with our company
to offer these deals, do so to help keep their occupancy up and keep good
word of mouth advertising going around through satisfied visitors.

There's alot more to write in answer to your questions but I'm trying to be
very careful not to write an advertisement and get in trouble with Jeff :-)

You can find out more on my web site.

Coda, I think the numbers of people who will spend the time to look at a
house just to get a free vacation will be very few - I think most people are too busy. But I do think it could be an effective way to get someone to choose you instead of the other 200+ realtors in your town.

What do you think?

Thanks for the great questions!!!

Karen -Karen Sargent

I think you're right about the value as an incentive. FYI, many States have rules and regulations about the use of "incentives" in the business of real estate. -AZBroker

I'm glad to know that, I'll investigate that further before
I recommend this idea to my friends here in Florida.

Happy, Happy Wednesday;yho -Karen Sargent

Karen can you post some examples of packages and prices? -AZBroker

AZBroker,

I think that could be a violation of forum policies to list it
all here but I would love for you to vistit my web site for that information.
(See signature below - once you're there, click on "FunTravel")

If you will send me an email from my site after you've toured
it, I will send your coupon to get your Free Get-way Vacation;sm

I was chatting with a WAHM Realtor yesterday about this and
we came up with the idea that all the folks in her office could
buy a package together then everyone would have access to
the unlimited Get-Away Vacations.

There is so much information because there is so much
value in the packages and I want you to see all the possibilities
so please don't hesitate to call or email me your questions.

Happy, Happy Thursday!
Karen -Karen Sargent

Karen I looked briefly at your website and it looks like you pay for a package + port fees + taxes. Is that right? -AZBroker

A one-time package purchase, for life, for unlimited cruises (Level II package) that are transferrable then the user pays port fees and taxes only. Sweet! Huh? -Karen Sargent

What's the catch Karen? Is this like a timeshare where the buyers rarely use the system or what because the cruise companies can't be making a profit selling unlimited cruises for life for a couple thousand dollars... can they? -AZBroker

I can understand your skepticism but what I have come to learn is that this arrangement between Coastal Vacations and the cruise companies, Timeshare resorts, hotels etc. actually makes them money they otherwise would not get. Here's how it's explained in our company Profile:


There are many companies out there such as



-Karen Sargent

Thank you for posting that Karen. I am going to pass your information along to an associate who goes on cruises all the time. -AZBroker

;tks And I Thank YOU AZBroker! -Karen Sargent

Karen,
This thread is very interesting! My mentor when I still worked in the corporate world is a self-professed "Cruise-a-holic."

I'll send your website to her next week.

Thanks for sharing all the information.

Also... yes, indeed this is a valuable incentive to show houses. Great strategy! -Coda1108

Coda1108,

You'll do your friend a great favor telling her about Coastal
Vacations and I'll be sort of happy with you too if she becomes my
customer :thu

You might want to tell her about it asap because she could
have alot of fun giving away cruises as Christmas or Hanukkah
presents and I would want to get her the full instructions on how
to get those extra vouchers in time.

This discussion has really helped me to formulate a promotion
to realtors. I'm going to suggest that they offer a free vacation after viewing 3 houses (because you can't make a decision after seeing just one - and this option should cut down on the freeloaders too) and a cruise for a new listing.

What do you think about that AZBroker?

Coda1108 - are you retired now or just out of the corporate
world and into reality again?;bg

Thanks for your participation in this discussion.

Karen -Karen Sargent

I prefer the idea of giving away a free vacation at successful close of escrow over giving away a free vacation after showing three homes. -AZBroker

Karen,

Look you need to toughen up, your not in the business of giving things away, which can become a slippery road, stop and think, get yourself OUTSIDE meeting and asking people questions, such as "Are you moving, selling, getting ready to fly away", No, fine, ""Well then who do you know who's thinking of moving and selling" etc, get that eager to please look on your face as in Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. Get yourself a table top and put it up in your local shopping mall with a sign that says
Karen says Your Home, Our Future
Karen says We'll have a Welcome waiting. Karen knows there's A Lovely Key Waiting For Every Lock
Karens Noted for: Service You Deserve. Someone You Can Trust
In other words your going to become a canvasser. To fox your own pysche tell yourself your running for Office, the Office of the Best Real Estate Sales Person in town. Repeat after me You are the best sales person in town.



Giveaways: Make it personal. Mr Mrs Great Joy to All, I have really enjoyed dealing with you, I'm honoured you granted me your business, as you can appreciate Real Estate can be difficult, it can be soul destroying, but THANKS TO YOU, I earned my BROWNIE BADGE THIS WEEK, thanks to you I showed them at the Office, [including the Wicked Witch of the West] so, I've bought you this little THOUGHFUL GIFT as a token of my GRATITUDE, and give it to them, If you give them an holiday the ungrateful swines say; Well, she could afford it, just think HOW MUCH SHE MADE OUT OF US???? You see you exposed your veins [by giving them a gift] for a knife-thrust to the ribs.
My regards Incidentally. -Incidentally

Incidentally,

Thank you for your thoughful post. I feel your energy!

My product is wholesale vacations and many business
professionals use them as sales incentives.

I love your idea about giving a gift to thank them for their business.

As for a vacation or cruise giveaway making the customer bitter - quite the contrary. This gift typically builds a confidence that the
agent is so good at what they do that they have the success to offer such a gift.

Welcome to the forum;wlcm

Karen -Karen Sargent

Karen,

Looked in on your website, sorry, but something smells, I'm sceptical, in life you have winners and losers, you don't have Golden Opportunitys for average Joes, women earning big bucks with jobs that allow them to stay home and mind the children.
Even worse your firm says you can earn $1000 to $9000 on just one deal, so you must be selling lifetime memberships at a juicy [high] price.

I know your lovely, I know your genuine, you pray daily, worship others, take a shower even if you don't need one, but you've missed out the nitty-gritty, the who wins and who loses bit, and as PROFESSIONAL salesmen we don't want to know.
Or lets put it another way, include me out. Poor deals get us all a bad name. -Incidentally

Sorry you feel that way but you state as fact something that
I can easily prove to be the contrary.

You need more information before you make such broad assumptions and accusations but I appreciate your wisdom to
be skeptical. Sounds like you could use a break in life!!! Couldn't we all.

Best Regards,
Karen -Karen Sargent

Not retired, Karen. Just decided a little over 5 years ago to leave the corporate politics behind and start up my own venture. It's been quite an experience, both good and bad, but one I wouldn't trade for anything.

- Coda -Coda1108

Thank You Karen for your kind comments and spirited defence of your Free Holiday Promotion. Obviously I have heard of corporate gifts and promotions, but have not heard of companies "recruiting staff to offer and sell these items". Could it be that these MARKS* are being offered your goods in order to entice them into buying a Timeshare Offeror, or a "You can have this cruise cabin for 2 weeks each year, for Life", promotion. In other words your freebie is a loss leader to "get them to a timeshare develpment, and unwittingly into a CAPTIVE AUDIENCE, sales pitch?

Years ago I once had the idea that car showrooms / dealerships, should have a glass case stuffied with freebies, which was used as a closing tool along the lines of; "O I forgot to mention it, have you any children? [Ans 2 - Reply: good] I tell you why I ask we recently did a promotion with United Campsites and were giving away some quite nice family size tents and camping gear to every one who bought a Ford Primera, we still have some left? [now close them] I never went ahead with this and forgot all about it.

You'll notice I introduce it as "an afterthought", when its obvious its a planned promtion or scheme, clients minds go into a calculating and tabulating mode; Just remember clients can be quite cute, clever, calculating and LIARS. So the O I forget to mention it phrase goes down quite well. If you study clients many want something for nothing thrown in, so keep a few HIDDEN BONES in your sales cupboard.
*I hate this expression MARKS. But it does have a long history, and it does convey what we do for a living, we look for a mark, and sign him up. Con men are known for seeking a mark. See the biography of Yellow Kid Weill, Chicago, probably the worlds best ever con-man. -Incidentally

Incidentally,

None of the above applies to this thread.

Karen -Karen Sargent