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I said no.
My response was not well thought out or extraordinary. It was simply a response.
One word: “No.”
The reason I chose to decline his offer didn’t matter, nor did I care to have further discussion about it. The bottom line was I said “no,”—and that should’ve been enough.
It didn’t occur to me that he’d ask me again. I was certain and I was not interested.
The fair was closing, but still bustling with activity. I made a quick stop to make a purchase before heading back in that direction before leaving for the night.
The same man approached me again. “Ma’am, we have a gift for you. Let me tell you more…”
I looked him dead in the eye and replied, “I said no!” He was a bit shocked and replied, “But the gift, you’ll like it.”
More emphatic, yet still strong, I repeated myself: “I said no!”
He was surprised and confused and asked me if I said no to him personally. He didn’t recall asking me—even though he asked me just moments before.
I responded, “Yes. Just a moment ago. You asked if you could give me a gift and I said no.” My voice was strong and my body language was not the least bit inviting. Frankly, I was irritated and angry that he bothered me again. I felt pressured in a way I don’t like to be coerced.
He paid no mind to what I said and the way my body was blocking him. He reminded me of the gifts he wanted to show me.
I threw up my hands in disgust and declared for a final time, “I said no!” and walked away briskly.
I’ve had plenty of times when I’ve succumbed to offers like these (and some even more “dangerous” offers), yet that night was different. I was strong and defiant. There was no gift this man could’ve offered that would sway me into further entanglement with him.
I know for every person like me who was resolute and chose not to engage in the conversation, there are four or more who weren’t as strong as I was in the moment. In fact, in the short time I spent waiting for my friend, three women accepted the offer for a free gift.
Successful salesmen and women know this. They aren’t afraid of a “no” from one person because they know they’ll get a “yes” from another. They also aren’t afraid of one no from the same person. They know the stats confirming it takes eight or more contacts to close a sale with a new prospect.
However, when soliciting deals at the fair, in a mall, or during a limited time sales presentation, they must move quickly and aggressively to close. Often, the idea of a free gift, especially one that includes travel and/or accommodations is enough to get prospects interested in listening to the pitch. According to Red Week (a trusted timeshare community), other timeshare sales tactics include “same day price reductions and more free gifts, companies always close their presentations by offering lower-cost ‘getaway’ package to bring potential buyers back for another timeshare vacation.”
Once in the presentation and given the high-pressure tactics used, it can be hard for prospects to stay firm to their choice and say “no” repeatedly. Even worse, once they’ve said yes (whether implicitly or by failing to stand firm), it’s important to know they are never alone.
Others are saying #metoo and working with professionals to get out of a timeshare contract.
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This project was completed as a test and provided at no cost to the client for the purposes of demonstrating content examples and corresponding results.
Photo: Getty Images
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