How a Vacation Can Show You the Keys to Business Success

I spent this past week in Orlando with my family. If you've never been there before, you need to go. You can go 100 times over and still never experience all there is to experience.

Even through all the fun we had, I couldn't help but notice some things that have HUGE business applications. Actually, I didn't just observe them, I experienced them.

What are two important keys to having HUGE sales and thus making more money? You need to create value AND you need to have good systems.

Story number 1.

It was our first night in Orlando and we were deciding where to eat dinner. We chose a restaurant that we had heard about, but had never been to (I'll leave them unnamed).

It wasn't super expensive, but it wasn't cheap either. Dinner consisted of a salad bar where you could have only 1 visit. There was also a buffet with a very small selection that really consisted of chili and ice cream.

I like chili. I like ice cream. It was actually pretty good. Was that bowl of chili worth the $25 I paid for it? I don't think so. I can get the same thing for less money at a fast food restaurant.

I actually left the restaurant hungry, wondering what's for dinner. So much for value. I doubt I will spend money there ever again. Just how much money are they going to lose from my lack of repeat business?

Story number 2.

We own several time shares with multiple companies at locations around the United States. One of the ones we own in Orlando is a perfect example of what systems can do for your business.

This particular timeshare company is, by far, the most inferior of the ones we own. They have few resorts to choose from, and quality of your stay is nothing to write home about when compared to others (yet still better than a hotel).

Nevertheless, this particular company sells more product (timeshares) that any other timeshare company. Why is that? Because of the system.

This company, while having an inferior product and few resorts, has a marketing system unlike any other I have seen. It is complete from lead generation to the actual sale.

It starts with lead generation. All over the city you will find them finding people. They don't advertise the timeshare. Instead, they advertise some sort of an "ethical bribe."

From free dinner theater tickets to reduced price theme park tickets to straight cash, they use that to get people in the door. The only thing they ask of you to get the freebie is to attend a 90 minute tour and sales presentation at the resort. Oh, they're going to buy you a meal too.

Needless to say, many people take them up on this offer.

Once at the resort, the sales persons have a neat challenge. They must get people, who have no interest in a timeshare, who are there simply to get free tickets to something, to spend $10,000 to $30,000 that they don't have, right there on the spot. How would you like that assignment?

Once again, there is a system. After getting to know you for a bit and learning that you enjoy taking the family on vacation, they show you around the resort. If you stayed at a hotel the night before, you are blown away when you see the quality of the accommodations they provide. It gets you emotionally attached to the place.

After you complete your tour, they sit you down and show you the numbers. They show how buying this timeshare today will be many times cheaper then staying at a hotel over the long term. Not only will it be cheaper, but you can stay at the 5 star resort you just viewed that makes your hotel room look like junk.

What's the result? About 1 in 4 will buy. 1 in 4 will spend as much as $30,000 when they had no interest only 90 minutes earlier.

Again, we own several timeshares and I have found other companies to have a much better product for the money. However, this company is the only one that has the complete system in place. The result? They have sold more timeshares than any other timeshare company for the last several years.

What is the application? If you can create true value AND deliver it in a systematic fashion, you will make a fortune.

If you have no value, you will lose the repeat business. If you have no system, your sale persons or business partners will not be able to duplicate your results and therefore, you will lose sales and money.

Combine both, and the sky is the limit.