The worst prize I've ever won

publication date: Jun 24, 2009

Hi,

Yesterday I received some fantastic news . . . I'd won a
holiday!

I never normally win anything. Then again I don't enter
competitions. But I got a call yesterday telling me I'd
won a week's 'luxury holiday' flights and
accommodation paid for!

Result!

Apparently I had completed a street survey and my
name was drawn as a winner. All I had to do was call a
freephone number to claim the prize.

As I was dialling, Heloise came into the room and asked
what I was doing.

"We've won a holiday!"

"No we haven't. I bet you it's a time share promotion."

"Wha!?. . . ."

And of course, she was right  . . .

Yes, I had won the holiday. And no, there were no
hidden charges. But Heloise and I had to go to pick up
our prize at a '2 hour presentation' in central London.
By now my defences were up and my mood changed
from excitement to total cynicism.

"Hold on, so let me get this straight. I'll be locked in a
room for 2 hours with people selling me a time share?"

"Well sir, we won't lock you in the room! But yes, our
representatives will be telling you about our fantastic
resorts."

Oh how deflated I felt!

The company rep then switched to getting me to
commit to attend. Funny, they seemed to have a lot of
sessions to choose from - just think how many prize
winners there must be! I used the excuse of childcare to
see if I could call back next week. I could hear the tone
of the telesales person change. She knew she had lost
the potential sale. The momentum of the pitch had been
lost.

Hats of to them though - it's a very clever
strategy.

It felt like I was getting something for nothing. Imagine
how happy and full of positive emotions I was. The
initial notification urged me to call the other line within 5
minutes to claim my prize. They knew that if I left it any
longer the excitement might ebb away. They wanted me
primed for the follow on.

Of course, I have absolutely no intention of going to the
pitch or taking the holiday. I have no doubt that I'd be
hassled and sold to at every opportunity.

We all know what a bad reputation timeshare
companies have for aggressive sales techniques. To
reposition themselves, this company has figured out
that giving away holidays on the front end is a great
way to lower objections and get people to attend a
sales pitch. Even more interesting is the fact they can
afford to give away all these holidays - obviously this
upfront investment more than repays itself by the
number of people they convert to the timeshare
package.

And this kind of offer isn't exclusive to time-share. . .

You'll find the 'free 2hr session' used by property,
financial trading and Internet marketing opportunities.
OK, so you don't win a holiday, but the implication is
that you will learn 'The Secrets of Successful Property
Investing/Stock Market Trading/Online Marketing'.

I've been to a couple of these (purely for research
purposes of course) and they all follow the same
principles . . . you get pumped up and excited about the
subject, they pound you with the benefits and
testimonials and then hit you with the upsell.

There's one stock market investing training company
(that shall remain nameless for legal reasons), where
their pitch was so slick people were actually pushing
others out of the way to the back of the room to spend
£2,000!

So just be aware. Nothing is truly free. If you are
tempted by one of these sessions, leave your credit
cards at home. Don't get carried away with all the
excitement. The offer WILL still be there the next day.
Just contact them and I am sure they will honour it.

Did you spot the mistake?

Eagle-eyed readers of the latest issue of What Really
Makes Money will have noticed that I mentioned an
exciting new horse racing system called Smoke &
Mirrors. Unfortunately I'd got very confused and the
actual information enclosed was for Legacy Bet & Go.

To save confusion, I just wanted to clarify - both of
these systems get my full endorsement. And just to
clarify the key differences, Smoke & Mirrors is perfect
for those who can follow the live betting market, and the
Legacy is perfect for those who would prefer to place
bets and forget about.

For full details click on these links:

Smoke & Mirrors

Legacy Bet & Go

Right, I'm off to the annual Hilite dinner now, where
some of the UK's main players of the business
opportunity industry gather.

I am sure I'll have plenty of gossip to share with you!

Best regards
Nick