Hi, has anyone heard of David Hart, I checked out his website and I am really impressed with him. I would like to know if there is any feedback on him before I proceed, thanks, John.
It's a great thing that you are checking him out John. There are so many directors out there trying to make an honest living and I know a lot of people on this site would like him to stop advertising the way he does. From what I recall he sells releases inexpensively but then doesn't give you the product or the support so you have a lot of trouble selling it yourself. If a director has so much presence on the internet you should ask him for a few names of people on his team that have signed up in the last six months to a year and have been released (or close to it). Then speak to them and get their honest opinions before you jump in. You could also speak to the Director above them if they are still in contact with them or have yet to be released (if you decide to research others). In my opinion, when it seems to good to be true it often is so investigate some more before starting up. There are many great directors that post here from different groups within the Coastal family. Spend some time clicking on their bylines and see if any of them are people you might want to work with. The directors here are a wealth of information and usually willing to tell all (as in ways to make Coastal work for you). That is how I know that some of them want the head of Coastal to investigate and take away some of these directors powers to sell Coastal as they are undercutting and giving us a bad name. Have a great day!
JohnD, Let's assume David is on the up and up. Let's also assume that Coastal is not going to get in his way of marketing the way he does. A lot of dogs chase cars right? So what does dogs chasing cars have to do with anything? What if a dog actually caught a car? What is the dog going to do with the car? Let's say you buy a package from David. Now what? How are you going to use that package to generate an income for your family? Are you going to duplicate David and go into competition with him? Do some research on what it takes to get into the top positions when you do a Google search. Seriously - what are you going to do? If you are looking at Coastal an an income producing method for your family, I feel it makes more sense to duplicate the efforts of people that are doing well the way Coastal was designed. In fact it goes deeper than that. We all get paid based on the amount of service we provide to others. If you sell a package the service is pretty good as people will be able to save thousands of bucks over their lifetime on travel. However, what if you helped put this same person in a position where he/she is now making 10,000 dollars per month working part time? Who did you help the most? I want my clients to be able to send their kids to Harvard or Stanford and write a check for the tuition. I want them to be able to retire in a lifestyle they have always dreamed of. Again - totally your call. I choose to provide more service. Not because I am such a great guy. Remember we get paid in direct proportion to the amount of service we provide. I do it for selfish reasons.
Be careful John! The purpose of the directors release is to ensure that you get the training you need to market these packages plus it gives you the legal right to purchase them at wholesale cost and market them at retail prices. When you purchase your own travel memebership, you will also get a member ID number which is what you will use for the rest of your life to order these at wholesale cost... From what I understand, some of his clients never did get their package and the DR was of no value, because of that... I'd do my due diligence! (which is what you are doing, kudos to you!) Viola
John: This is a practice that is not accepted by Coastal Vacations. There are other threads in this Coastal Forum where "Coastal Advisory Board Members" stated that the shipping center was going to put a stop to this practice and this Directors name was mentioned. That said, is that the type of foundation you want to build your business on? What if your "discount" package is not honored by the Coastal Shipping Center what do you do then? What if they do not recognise your Directors Release? Then you can not purchase/sell any memberships. I am with the Coastal Call Center, WCYS. We are a group within Costal that utilises a Call Center to do all the selling for us so we can focus on marketing this incredible product. I think it is great that we can offer this to prospects who like the Coastal product but are uncomfortable with the sales side of the business. Understanding that these Discount Releases are an unacceptable practice, and the age old understanding that you get what you pay for, should highlight the position you are putting yourself in. I wish you the best with Coastal and would be happy to give you my perspective on the business if you are interested. Bill Decker 443-244-2118 Successful Level 2 Coastal Vacations Director
John it appears you have found an unethical Coastal Director who is severely discounting the retail price of the packages or selling packages without requiring the training sales. Folks like the one you mentioned are looking to sell volume online - and are only interested in making money for themselves, not in your long-term success. The training and support he offers will be either very minimal or nonexistent in terms of teaching you how to duplicate, which is the key to Coastal Vacations Success. Coastal Vacations is not a discounted retail volume selling spree. Sadly, the people who get sucked into this scheme will be unhappy and end up writing scam reports about the discounters and Coastal Vacations. Why is that? Because you'll be out there trying to sell packages unsuccessfully - making NO MONEY ??“ trying to duplicate this discounting, clueless director. Most likely his team members have never completed training sales - and sadly, they will end up hating Coastal Vacations, because of this one unethical character. It may seem enticing at first to buy from one of these individuals, but do you really think that you will buy your package for a discount and then ask others who join you to pay full price? There are no short-cuts in Coastal Vacations. I am with the Coastal Wealth Builders team, and what we teach is the proper way of developing a healthy, long-term, thriving business and team in Coastal Vacations. There are also many others on this forum; with different groups, that represent Coastal Vacations in an ethical manor. John, PM me if you want a tour of the CWB sites, including our new back office. To your daily success! Brian Provost
I had seen an ad for a Coastal level 1 package for sale for $250 including releases and I had to check it out as I am the curios type.After speaking with the young lady offering this up for sale it turned out that she was getting out of Coastal and just wanted to recoup some of her investment.She was one of David Hart's team members.I was basically trying to figure out how his system was working and she emailed me a void copy of one of these releases.What is on the release,where you put the names of your 2 training sales is "for more info contact" and the phone number is David's.Now I am sure that David has a legitimate release of his own that he uses to order his packages which he apparently orders by the case load from the fullfillment centre.I am inactive in Coastal with 1 training sale complete and I was offered just the release for $150 but I choose to do things the right way.If I decide to get going again I will get my second training sale and a proper release to avoid the potential head aches.
Good advice from everybody! Stay away from the "directors" who advertise discounts on their website ESPECIALLY if they are selling releases. I don't have a problem with running a special once in a while to help people who need it but to offer prices like this David Hart guys does is wrong. He has no incentive to help you because he has already given you releases.(which aren't worth the paper they are printed on or the email they were sent in) Support and training is the key to success in this business and you won't get it from someone selling releases.
The one big thing that bothers me and no one has said anything about up to this point is, the amount of money required to get started is not small but yet coastal vacations allows this type of thing to exist which to me is not very comforting.
Maybe this will help Coastal Vacations is nothing more than an association of Directors.... and for good reason. Most direct-sales companies go out of business in their first 5 years for the same reason.... the cost of frivolous law suits. Basically, what happens, is there's always one idiot...one of the "independent distributors" or "associates" ... that always does something stupid or unethical and gets himself sued. And since individuals never have much, they always go after the deep pockets behind him, if there are any. If he represents a corporation, THEY will pay the price in litigation fees. Even though the companies usually win the cases, since it's not really their fault that the associate was dishonest, they still end up going bankrupt from the costs of defending themselves. And everyone else in the company suffers. When Coastal Vacations was set up, the original founders thought long and hard about the best way to set it up. They didn't want to see Coastal disappear like all the other companies.... that's simply not fair to all the honest people who depend on that company to make their living. So, they set it up perfectly..... Coastal Vacations is nothing more than an association of Directors. All the decisions for Coastal Vacations are made by the Board of Directors. The Board consists of people just like you and me... they make $1000 - $9705 per sale, just like we do. They don't receive any "extra" compensation just for being on the Board. They just get extra responsibilities and a say in any changes that may affect the package. It's not an exclusive club or group, anyone can be on the Board of Directors. You can receive an invitation any time after you have completed 100 sales and have attended a Level 2 event. Because there's no one skimming profit off the back end of every package sale, there IS NO "pot of gold" for sue-happy people to go after. As a director, when you purchase packages for your client, you will be sending your money directly to the shipping and fulfillment center... not to Coastal, not to the Board..... straight to the company we've contracted with to ship and fulfill for Coastal. That's why we're able to make such a wonderful commission... there aren't any people building a profit into the price. We pay exactly what it costs for the printing of the vacation certificates, membership cards, and membership directories, handling, shipping and the beautiful zip-up leather binder that the whole thing comes in... nothing more. We do not need to have a corporation, because we have no liability. When a client purchases a package from you, your only obligation is to deliver the product. You're role in their vacation experience stops right there. When they activate their vacations, they deal with the shipping and fulfillment center, not you. When they call to make their reservations, they call the travel agent, not you. And, finally, when they go on the vacation, they deal with the hotel or cruise line, not you. If their food is cold, or their reservation was wrong, do they come back to you to complain? Of course not... they call the travel agency or the hotel or the cruise line and THEY make it right with the customer. Your job is only to sell the package. Your liability stops there. So there is no need to be listed with the Better Business Bureau.... all the travel agents, hotels and cruise lines already are. If there are any complaints or problems, they will go directly to them, not to us. We are completely independent... We are purchasing a product that represents multi-million dollar companies with impeccable records, and we are simply reselling that product. Those large companies actually service it. Not us. Because they thought enough to set it up this way, you and I will never lose our opportunity. Our ability to make money with Coastal will never be jeopardized. No one can touch Coastal as a whole... we are immune from the things that normally ruin good businesses. If someone does something unethical, they will be personally sued by their clients, as well they should, and it will not affect the rest of us who are honest and have integrity in our business practices. Viola 406-889-5681
Very good explanation, Viola. It makes an even stronger point to the person researching Coastal that they make sure that they research their director and team before they join.
Thanks but still it does not answer the question, why does coastal allow anyone to underprice the packages at all, it is not fair to all involved and it makes the business seem shady.
You bring up a point that has bothered me as well for years John. It really is unfortunate that the Coastal Board of Directors hasnt put a stop to this practice. I hate that we have to deal with unethical people but thats the nature of business. What you should do is take you focus off of the negative and put it on the positive. There will always be people like David Hart in this industry. But by the same token there are people like myself and the many others in this forum that do business in a different way. The Coastal business model is without par. When you put it up against other businesses it always comes on top. Now when you compare people of course there will be discrepancies. You want to focus on getting started , learning how to market, learning your product and thus succeeding and giving your family what you are looking for. As I sent you in my message my business and the way I do it is a bit different. I want everyone to come in at the paid option but I do offer a few free program options. I do this because many like yourself are skeptical. The ball is in your court so choose wisely. Id love to talk to you and answer any questions that you might have. Adam Frederick Coastal Level III Director Founder of A-Team CV FREE Apprentice Program 302 327 6263 [email protected]
Quoting: JohnDThanks but still it does not answer the question, why does coastal allow anyone to underprice the packages at all, it is not fair to all involved and it makes the business seem shady. I understand your concern completely, JohnD. (I had found some of the same things when I was researching Coastal ...) And the best answer I have for that at this time, is simply that if we were a 'Corporation', the CEO could just hold his check, so to speak, if we were getting paid thru a company... I guess I could almost compare it with someone selling on Ebay - which is something else that I do as well... There are always those folks selling bogus items on Ebay and unless you know what to look for and how to pick those guys out, you can get taken for thousands of dollars... Can Ebay shut them down? Absolutely - that is until they come up with a new name and operate under slightly different methods... From my understanding, the BOD has been working on this and David Hart has actually been going for quite some time, his name hasn't always been 'David Hart'.... The pros of doing a business like Coastal are stated in the article above - and Coastal has thrived as a home based business for over 14 years now... The cons are that we have things like this happen as well! Have you been able to hop onto any live Q&A calls where you could post that question and get answeres from the BOD themselves or from some of the Leadership council?? If you want that number, let me know - bottom line is... Those guys will always be out there... and if it makes you uncomfortable to do a business like Coastal, then perhaps it is not the right vehicle for you! Viola
John, you have a valid point. The answer is not as easy as the question asked. Only thing that can be done, and I believe is being done, is his releases are not being accepted. It does stink that Coastal Vacations is not able to kick him off the internet, or even refuse his vacation requests (he is still a member as far as taking vacations goes). Viola stated Quoting: mountainmom5Coastal Vacations is nothing more than an association of Directors.... Saying that, all the ethical groups/teams that market Coastal Vacations adhere to an Ethical Business Policy. This Policy governs the groups/teams requirements to conduct business with that group. The Ethical Business Policy that I signed with the Coastal Wealth Builders group/team covers: 1. Coastal Vacations pricing structure 2. Individual sale of high priced training tools (ie: CD ROMs, DVD's) also, including individuals who promote selling Coastal Members & Directors exorbitantly priced "training programs." 3. Selling the Coastal Travel Packages over or under the suggested retail pricing guidelines set by Coastal Vacations. This includes but is not limited to "Buy Ins" and "Undercutting (including Discounting)". 4. Sale of any individual vacations or membership benefits provided through any or all Coastal Vacation Packages. Coastal Directors do not sell parts of the package. (i.e. just the Hotel Access Card, or the Golf Access International Card, or any of the 5 Bonus Vacations, or the 3 days/2 nights destinations, etc.). 5. Buying or selling Director's releases. Director's releases are neither product nor service therefore can not be sold ethically or legally. Director Releases are given after a Coastal Member has completed his or her required training sales. F. G. 'Buck' Rodgers said, "First, there is the law. It must be obeyed. But the law is the minimum. You must act ethically." Sorry about this being so long, but it is an important discussion. Brian
This is a great discussion. Many of the copy cat businesses like GRN and now P1D and others are using situations like we are talking about now as a selling point for their businesses. They point out that you can't undercut prices but what they don't point out is that you are paying the Company and not the individual. Your money has to go through the company first and then you get paid when they want to pay you. With Coastal, you get paid first and then you pay the company. Some people don't like writing a check to an individual they don't know so, the team I am with, the We Close Your Sales call center, will take payment for you and then send you a check as soon as they get the funds. No waiting until the end of the month. Plus, they do the selling for us so we just focus on advertising and training our new members. The point is that, since we are all individual representatives, the BOD can't just shut this guy down. They can refuse his releases but they do not have a huge hammer waiting to smash his computer because he is his own business. Like Viola says, this really is a good thing because it gives us many ways to do our business and it keeps us safe from people who want to hurt us but it also presents a few challenges like this one. The bottom line is that there are THOUSANDS of people making THOUSANDS of dollars a month in Coastal and you can too.
I've seen the discussion in this thread today, which is one of the most important threads, appear from time to time, and it's no wonder since it has to do with the very core of what makes Coastal Vacations. I have seen that although there is a discussion there is no solution and things keep the way they are. I have seen that some times, some of the defenders of the status quo end up saying to the person that brings up the issue "well, if you feel that way, perhaps Coastal is not for you!"...well, the issue will arise again, and again I guarantee it, because one senses that the prevailing golden rule of "don't make waves, there is money here"...just doesn't fix the problem albeit the many, many honest and helpful individuals that we find in Coastal . The shadow that one can't help detect is doubt. This doubt permeates in spite of the well intended explanations of the defenders. I did not come here today to cast more doubts since by now I already know all the answers. I came here today for help since I have a big problem selling the product. I have been concentrating my efforts in the sale of the Platinum package, which is a great package. I believe that. I have been meeting mainly with senior VP's in charge of marketing, or the decision maker. Banks, Insurance Co's, Mortgage Co's, Distributors of BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, MB's, etc...as you can imagine get those appointments take some work, you know, first finding out who is 'the' person to see, then the receptionist of the Co., up with the sec. of the person(s), then what is this all about...etc.,etc., Finally, the day comes to meet with Mr. decision maker. There I go and we meet, sometimes with a couple of managers (Sales, HR) in the group, and so, up to now, all my interviews have been good interviews !...When I mention $11,000.oo they either don't even blink or show surprise as to how can they get all this world wide benefits, for year after year, etc...then I feel even more so the genuine interest of these people (some of them don't even seat back, rather straight and attentive!...This at least makes me feel great!... So, Joe (yeah, in first name basis), how do we go about paying for all this?... Then the questions come...What is Coastal, where are the offices located, etc. When I explain that it's a group of entrepreneurs that for almost 20 years...etc.,etc.,and I go on that it is my own business etc... then, well you can imagine, but if you don't, this guys are guys that handle millions, that have the responsability of doing THEIR due diligence lest it blows up on their faces should they make the wrong decision that would make them look like fools. One of them, after a neat interview-he even spoke about who to reward, etc- he said to me at the end: "Joe, you tell me that you buy these seemingly neat packages from a company that doesn't exists (obviously his conclusion), I just met you 45 minutes ago and you want a check right now for eleven thousand dollars, AND to boot you want me to make it out to your name?...Who are you? (he is smiling, he is opening up to me, and I appreciated that, of course), well I showed him my drivers license for him to see where I live, to compare it to the business card I gave him with the same address. (See? I ain't hiding Mr.)Show him the government's registration of my business, etc. then he said, what are you worth? $5MM?...(meaning what guarantee has he)... He wanted to buy, I knew it. So we talked some more, and he told me that if I could show him the other Co's. that had bought this from me that he might acquire the package, or show him evidence (letters, phone numbers, etc) that the vouchers are real, perhaps some phone numbers of Caribbean Cruises, Walt Disney, etc.,etc. Soooo, there! I have lost many sales because of this doubts. I'd know how to restructure Coastal to be free of law suits, give it credibility,etc., but that's another issue, as insignificant as it may be, for instance, membership in BBB could help(I agree with Mills that the BBB all it does is collect complains)...ok BUT the BBB has credibility! and we need all the help that there is. NOW, as I said, I came here for help. I need names of known Co's that have bought our packages, that's all. I'll go along with the status quo, no problem here with this guy, but I gotta eat!...You follow?...I don't need for now and for this problem, advise, I need names of known Companies, with ways to contact the person(s) that could give references about Coastal. Posting these names I am sure, will help others that have encounter this problem and in general it would be a good thing to do. I feel good to be in the company of people like you guys, that actually help others, that's why I have come here now. Keep up the good work! and enjoy... J.
Quoting: jsfI've seen the discussion in this thread today, which is one of the most important threads, appear from time to time, and it's no wonder since it has to do with the very core of what makes Coastal Vacations. I have seen that although there is a discussion there is no solution and things keep the way they are. Joseph, It does seem redundant to have the same topics come up and then those same topics just get covered up and not addressed. It reminds me of a cat litter box. It only covers the stench, it doesn't get rid of it. Sometimes the solution is only revealing that there some unethical people in this business and it is something that we have to live with at the present time. Now I really want to touch on the B2B statements and questions you posted. But I think this thread is more about Ethical Directors and such. So keeping in that spirit and not loosing focus on any topics, I want to start a New Thread called, Coastal B2B Sales. See you there for that. Brian
If you are upset at the way one of the "fellow" directors run their business, how about doing this... Go to that director and ask them what the world they are doing? Be confrontational, but don't threaten or slander them. Tell them their disregard for the rules hurts the whole group. Share your feelings with them. Maybe if 10-35 people call up undercutters and voice their concerns, they would go away from peer pressure and the desire not to be one who plays against the rules. When I have have sold Coastal in the past, using my own methods, I got called a lot by people asking what I was doing... It helped me realize we need to stick together so everyone benefits, not everyone for themselves. Do you have the courage to make a call?
