New to Puerto Plata from Canada

JA84 · Nov 13, 2015

Hi, Im James from Montreal, recently decided to sell everything and move down here.
Im hoping i can meet some good contacts on here, maybe make a friend or two.
I am currently looking for work here, I have extensive experience in sales, business management and setting up
and managing call center operations. I hear that selling time shares and vacation club packages here can be quite
lucrative for a good sales person like myself. Hoping that there might be members on here that can point me in the right direction or provide a contact for that kind of work.

Thanks,
Happy to be here, love the DR !
James

RV429 · Nov 13, 2015

If you came here looking to make a living, you goofed.
Did you start your residency in CA? If not, another goof.
Wages here are nominal unless you manage Jose O'Shays or similar billion dollar spot.

Bronxboy · Nov 13, 2015

JA84 said:
Hi, Im James from Montreal, recently decided to sell everything and move down here.

Can I ask why?

Tamborista · Nov 13, 2015

Bronxboy said:
Can I ask why?

JA84 · Nov 13, 2015

Answer to RV429

Well I dont really think I make goofs, but i do make decisions. And I have been able to make a living in many countries, I am
sure there is a way in the DR.... Also if it doesnt work out than it doesnt work out and I move on, not really afraid of taking
chances in life.

Answer to Bronxboy:

Love the DR, great weather, its beautiful, relaxing, great people.
Also got very tired of the big city living and cold weather of Canada

JA84 · Nov 13, 2015

RV429 said:
If you came here looking to make a living, you goofed.
.

Well I dont really think I make goofs, but i do make decisions. And I have been able to make a living in many countries, I am
sure there is a way in the DR.... Also if it doesnt work out than it doesnt work out and I move on, not really afraid of taking
chances in life.

JA84 · Nov 13, 2015

Love the DR, great weather, its beautiful, relaxing, great people.
Also got very tired of the big city living and cold weather of Canada

redserge · Nov 13, 2015

JA84 said:
Love the DR, great weather, its beautiful, relaxing, great people.
Also got very tired of the big city living and cold weather of Canada

You will be shocked at the very low wages you can expect to earn here, a schoolteacher makes less than 400 American a month, a police officer about 350 American a month. So unless you have some very high end credentials and can secure employment with a very high end operation you may find it a bit of a struggle
.

JA84 · Nov 13, 2015

redserge said:
You will be shocked at the very low wages you can expect to earn here, a schoolteacher makes less than 400 American a month, a police officer about 350 American a month. So unless you have some very high end credentials and can secure employment with a very high end operation you may find it a bit of a struggle
.

I know the wages are quite low here, when i do work, I work in a strictly commission environment where the money you make depends on the price of what your selling, hence why i asked about vacation club packages and time shares due to the fact they sell for tens of thousands of dollars and you make a certain commission on that. It is not for everyone but i happen to be very good at it so might be an option for me down here, if not i have other options, was just curious if anyone on here had a contact with a major resort chain that offers that only reason why i asked.

Thank you for the info though

AlterEgo · Nov 13, 2015

JA84 said:
I know the wages are quite low here, when i do work, I work in a strictly commission environment where the money you make depends on the price of what your selling, hence why i asked about vacation club packages and time shares due to the fact they sell for tens of thousands of dollars and you make a certain commission on that. It is not for everyone but i happen to be very good at it so might be an option for me down here, if not i have other options, was just curious if anyone on here had a contact with a major resort chain that offers that only reason why i asked.

Thank you for the info though

Lifestyles in Cofresi [Puerto Plata] are very aggressive with their 'Vacation Club'.

JA84 · Nov 13, 2015

AlterEgo said:
Lifestyles in Cofresi [Puerto Plata] are very aggressive with their 'Vacation Club'.

I heard about them actually from another expat i met, im actually looking in to it and will hopefully get a meeting

Thanks AlterEgo

melphis · Nov 13, 2015

Welcome and good luck. I knew people who worked in the Melia compound and Iberostate in Bavaro who did well. Also know a few who failed miserably

JA84 · Nov 13, 2015

melphis said:
Welcome and good luck. I knew people who worked in the Melia compound and Iberostate in Bavaro who did well. Also know a few who failed miserably

Thanks Melphis, appreciate it, glad to hear you knew people that did well. Over the last 15 years I operated outbound call centers , also have traveled all over selling industrial machinery. Id say 1 out of 10 people make it in that sort of thing, its definitely not for everyone

4*4*4 · Nov 14, 2015

JA84 said:
I know the wages are quite low here, when i do work, I work in a strictly commission environment where the money you make depends on the price of what your selling, hence why i asked about vacation club packages and time shares due to the fact they sell for tens of thousands of dollars and you make a certain commission on that. It is not for everyone but i happen to be very good at it so might be an option for me down here, if not i have other options, was just curious if anyone on here had a contact with a major resort chain that offers that only reason why i asked.

Thank you for the info though

JA84, I've always believed the best business ideas would be quite pedestrian and somewhat watered down if everyone deemed them brilliant. You have a perfectly transferable skill for the DR marketplace. Any business comes down to relationships and you've already displayed an unshakeable confidence in your abilities. Now, it's just finding a product with high end prices.

My idea would be to, indeed, jump into the vacation club arena as you suggested. However, think of it as a temporary stepping stone to forming your own conglomerate of sales professionals. Many industries have marketing middlemen. This can be a force that you organize, train, and send out to various companies with the JB84 respected stamp of approval. You set up the contract directly with the entity, in this case, the resort. A simple, but not easy formula.

LTSteve · Nov 14, 2015

JA84 said:
Hi, Im James from Montreal, recently decided to sell everything and move down here.
Im hoping i can meet some good contacts on here, maybe make a friend or two.
I am currently looking for work here, I have extensive experience in sales, business management and setting up
and managing call center operations. I hear that selling time shares and vacation club packages here can be quite
lucrative for a good sales person like myself. Hoping that there might be members on here that can point me in the right direction or provide a contact for that kind of work.

Thanks,
Happy to be here, love the DR !
James

Good luck on selling time shares. Hope you brought plenty of "snake oil". Your story doesn't make much sense. The one thing you will need is to be fluent in Spanish and apply for residency before you can legally work. Good luck.

william webster · Nov 14, 2015

Don't misunderstand LTSteve

you will not need to be fluently bilingual to work.... no such requirement

A legal resident - yes.

JA84 · Nov 14, 2015

LTSteve said:
Good luck on selling time shares. Hope you brought plenty of "snake oil". Your story doesn't make much sense. The one thing you will need is to be fluent in Spanish and apply for residency before you can legally work. Good luck.

A lot of people assume on these things, it is kind of funny ! First of all snake oil has nothing to do with it, those vacation clubs are pretty awesome for people who can afford it and a big industry for a reason, there is a demand. I am also Trilingual, and since most of this type of thing is being purchased by tourists your comments make no sense. And obviously ive already looked in to residency, its actually quite straight forward for Canadians.

JA84 · Nov 14, 2015

4*4*4 said:
JA84, I've always believed the best business ideas would be quite pedestrian and somewhat watered down if everyone deemed them brilliant. You have a perfectly transferable skill for the DR marketplace. Any business comes down to relationships and you've already displayed an unshakeable confidence in your abilities. Now, it's just finding a product with high end prices.

My idea would be to, indeed, jump into the vacation club arena as you suggested. However, think of it as a temporary stepping stone to forming your own conglomerate of sales professionals. Many industries have marketing middlemen. This can be a force that you organize, train, and send out to various companies with the JB84 respected stamp of approval. You set up the contract directly with the entity, in this case, the resort. A simple, but not easy formula.

I like the way you think, type of person that thinks outside of the box as well. We used to call it putting together a team of shooters in the outbound call center agency. Train a half dozen people to be amazing sales people and approach entities
negotiating higher commission structures and the better lead streams. It is a formula that can be quite successful, at a certain point they start coming to you.

Cdn_Gringo · Nov 14, 2015

JA84 said:
And obviously ive already looked in to residency, its actually quite straight forward for Canadians.

It is straight forward, but it can take a long time from start to finish. Sometimes a year or more. Good luck.

JA84 · Nov 14, 2015

LTSteve said:
Your story doesn't make much sense.

Im not looking for it to make sense to you.... Let me reiterate since a few people seem to be imagining their own scenarios and conclusion to my story... I only posted this to say hello, I am a new member happy to be in the DR and if you have any helpful information to one part of my plan, please share. I dont mind advice but dont assume i dont know any Spanish or have not looked in to residency and the legalities of living and working here.... Just because it doesnt make sense to you does not mean i dont know exactly what im doing... Thanks for letting me clear that up LT

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