September 2009 Developments - 54

Sales From Fixed-Week Fences to Acres of Access or more than 25 years, we cultivated and sold a ﬁxed-week product out of one location. We then expanded beyond the “grid” to create a ﬂexible points product with a new club and, this year, added a new sales distribution center. What’s made it all work? Remember the ﬁxed-week product? We do—it’s all we sold out of our ﬂagship Orange Lake Resort in Orlando, Florida, for more than a quarter of a century. Today, the product name and even the timeframe sounds antiquated, but back then, it worked well. Attribute much of this success to our size and location—the largest single-site timeshare in the world, next to Walt Disney World®—and the sales team leadership from 22-year timeshare industry veteran John Sutherland. Sales were going great, until the points product entered the ﬁeld and became the pick of the crop in the industry. After surveying our customers in 2006, we found that more than 12% of them owned our competitors’ products. They wanted more options. That’s when we knew it was time to rethink our product and increase ﬂexibility; we simply couldn’t overcome that objection. Around the same time, a new leadership team entered the picture, offering a fresh vision for the organization. Don Harrill, our president and CEO (from Trendwest Resorts Brooke Doucha F and Hilton Grand Vacations), and Bob Albertson, our executive vice president of sales and marketing (from Fairﬁeld/ Cendant) both understood what a pointsbased product with a multi-site resort network could do for our growth strategy. This insight ignited a renewed sense of who we are and what we could become. Especially for Sutherland, who welcomed product change that would increase owner satisfaction and boost sales performance. Renewed Momentum Reconﬁrms “Process” Over the past four years and with a great deal of hard work and focus, we have accomplished more than we did in the ﬁrst 25. We evolved our product, continuing to offer the security of a deeded ﬁxed week but adding the ﬂexibility of a points overlay. We expanded our resort locations to more destinations, fueled by our alliance with IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), which created a new timeshare brand and club name, Holiday Inn Club Vacations. Sutherland, an Orange Lake Resorts ﬁxture for 14 years, is now senior vice president of sales for Holiday Inn Club Vacations. When it comes to these exciting movements for the company and how they relate to his sales method, Sutherland said, “Over the years, we’ve updated our sales presentation content with new information about our amenities and offerings, and most recently, we’ve added the story of how we’ve come full circle with our brand to form the Holiday Inn Club. But the foundation of our sales process and the way we select and train our people…that’s not changed. It’s what has kept us grounded, focused and driven every day to satisfy our guest’s appetite for vacations and provide them with a great sales experience…no matter the product offering.” With the passion and ﬁerce determination it takes to wrangle in and lead a high-powered sales force, Sutherland’s secrets to success have been (1) developing long-lasting relationships with his people—many of whom have been working with him for more than a decade; (2) creating a formalized, ﬁve-step sales process and managing to it, and (3) developing one of the most competitive compensation plans in the business. A true test to the longevity of his principles and sales process model would be in leading the Sales were going great, until the points product entered the ﬁeld and became the pick of the crop in the industry as change that would increase owner satisfaction and boost sales performance. 54 We listened to our owners, members, and guests and added more amenities at the Orlando resort, like a $50 million River Island village, featuring a 27,000 squarefoot waterpark with a lazy river, a $2.7 million Water’s Edge pool complex which opened in 2008, and more product options, including the upscale Signature Collection villas. For all of these reasons, there’s been a sense of renewed momentum for our sales team, who has an even greater story to share with our guests. But the more things change, the more some things need to stay the same—like process. One of ﬁve OPC locations at Broadway at the Beach, Myrtle Beach, S.C. Developments • September 2009

September 2009 Developments

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2009 Developments