The worst prize I've ever won

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