Simon Crawford-Welch - Perspective’s A-List June 2007

An Interview with Simon Crawford-Welch, Ph.D., RRP, Executive VP, Sales & Marketing, Shell Vacations LLC.
By Marge Lennon

How did an Englishman find his way into the US timesharing industry?
I was born in England but as a child I traveled the world with my parents (my father worked in developing third world countries) living and going to school in places like Ethiopia, Djibouti French TFAI, Singapore, Indonesia
and Australia. After completing an undergraduate degree in England, I worked for what was then the largest leisure corporation in the United Kingdom running various nightclubs and entertainment piers in Blackpool, a large vacation destination in Northern England. I then came to the United States to complete my Ph.D. at Virginia Tech with an emphasis in Hospitality and Strategic Management; upon completion I went on to teach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In hindsight, I learned more through traveling the world than I ever did burying my head in books. Living in several different countries really furnished me with a sixth sense of how to “read” people in a relatively short period of time. One thing led to another and I entered the residential real estate business and stumbled into timeshare, beginning my timesharing career in the late 80’s in the OPC marketing arena. I remember calling my father and telling him: “Dad – thanks for all the help while I was getting my Ph.D. – I’m going to Las Vegas to sell timeshare!” It is a call he never let me forget!

In the late 80s, I was blessed to have two great mentors take me under their wing – Jim Broughton and Joe Hutchings. They were primarily responsible for getting me into the timesharing industry. Comparing the potential income for a timeshare sales and marketing professional to an assistant professor also had an impact on my migration to the “real world”.

Who have you worked with over the years?
I tend not to jump from ship to ship. I started off in the hospitality industry with a United Kingdom company, First Leisure Corporation, and then spent several years with International Resort Group, which developed, marketed and sold the Jockey Club and Polo Towers in Las Vegas. Soon after leaving them, I joined Shell Vacations in 1998.

What happened when Shell Vacations switched from an interval based product to a points-based vacation club?
When we made the transition from intervals to points in 1999, we thought we had a great product but it had never been tested in the real world. My role was to ensure we launched that product with the highest probability of success. To accomplish this, we had to employ a “surgical” approach to sales and marketing, moving from a very decentralized company to what was initially a highly centralized company with an emphasis on standardization. This included company-wide pricing strategies, point packages, first day incentives, and even standardized sales processes. At the time, many senior executives did not believe in points and simply could not accept the change. They did not understand that being able to
cope with change is a prerequisite for success in today’s business world. Eventually we told them to either get on the points bus or leave. Most left. Interestingly, nine years later, the vast majority has returned or wants to come back.

How do you efficiently orchestrate guiding 12 sales centers with marketing and sales associates spread across multiple time zones?
Trying to maintain some semblance of order over 1,000 sales and marketing personalities in four time zones all operating with their local and regional idiosyncrasies is no easy task. It requires an unequivocal commitment to a strategic vision … and the ability to function in interchanging roles between the sales room and the boardroom. It is also critical to assemble the right people in the right positions.

At the end of the day, it is always about the people. Computers, processes and policies don’t sell products and services… people do.

We must always remember that we are in the sales business and if we don’t write sales, we should find another business. Our performance is judged each day by the numbers we bring in that feed the rest of the company. I have a favorite saying: “You can have the best product in the world, but if you can’t sell it, you still have it!”

What is your primary responsibility at Shell?
My corporate responsibility is to ensure that we profitably market and sell all the products we create in the “laboratory”. I am part salesman, part resident psychiatrist, part facilitator between the field and corporate, but always a businessman. I do whatever it takes to keep the company moving in our agreed upon strategic direction. I am responsible for and accountable to the sales and marketing operations of the company. I often find myself acting as facilitator between the needs of the teams in the field and the corporate world. My job is to massage the various egos that come along in any business, but perhaps more so in a sales-oriented business where people have the potential to earn large amounts of money. This is a 24/7 business. The majority of our volume gets written on weekends and over holidays, so when other executives tend to be relaxing I am generally working the phones. All of my decisions are made with one overriding criteria: “What is the best thing for the company?” This may lead me to make some decisions that are not popular but it will always be the best decision for the company.

Shell is considered one of the most innovative timeshare companies in terms of sales and marketing. How have you developed this reputation?
I believe in a diversified portfolio approach to marketing. No single marketing program should account for more than 1/3rd of the company’s net sales. If one marketing program takes a dip (as Telemarketing did in the United States with the advent of DNC), that leaves the company in a precarious position. We try and operate and 7 or 8 key marketing programs, each with entirely different approaches and technologies so that we never become too dependent upon a single program, process or technology. I also believe in the 80/20 sales and marketing rule. 80% of our net sales should come from tried and tested proven programs. 20% needs to come from “test” programs. At Shell, we are constantly testing new programs on both the sales and marketing side. This is what keeps us innovative and at the forefront of new developments. Where Shell goes we make waves and others follow – that’s a fact.

What are the strengths that have contributed to your success and how does this blend with other company executives?
I’ve always believed that if you are going to be on the bus, you might as well be the driver. I strive to be the one in charge and ultimately in control of my own destiny, which is probably one of the reasons I choose to live in the entrepreneurial environment of a private company. Having credibility in both the sales room and the Board room requires very different skill sets, approaches and knowledge. I am fortunate to be able to navigate in both environments. I’ve also learned to spend 80% of my time listening and only 20% talking and only then if I have something constructive or meaningful to say.

A mentor once told me once that when I started to feel full of self-importance, to put my finger in a glass full of water, pull my finger out and look what happens to the water – not much – the void is quickly filled. It’s the same in business. No one is irreplaceable and the business will go on without us in its own form and fashion. The key to a functional executive team like we have at Shell is our ability to combine our strengths and weaknesses. This enables us to compliment each other in the accomplishment of a broader purpose.

You mentioned you’d have a hard time working in a public company environment. Why is that?
I thrive in an entrepreneurial environment. We make decisions and we make them quickly. I look around at some of my colleagues who operate in pubic companies. By the time they have jumped through various hoops to make a decision, the dynamics that originally required that decision are no longer valid. They are constantly in this six-month “time lag” when it comes to operational decisions. In an entrepreneurial company like ours, there is really no where to “hide”. You either perform – and perform quickly – or you are out on the street. Our focus is always on three things – execution, execution, execution. All of our executives have to be able to stand up for what they believe in and expect to be challenged aggressively when we make major decisions. This ultimately leads to better thought out decisions. I am immensely proud of the team that we have built at Shell Vacations.

This is not a job for me. I am also a part owner of the company. We have created the best points- based product in the industry today. But achievement always brings along its traveling companion – adversity… and when you have been through so much adversity over a prolonged period of time, you bond as a team and have higher sense of purpose. Any executive worth his or her salt has to have a fundamental guiding vision, which acts as a steadying foundation during these times.

Can you share any “guiding” leadership philosophies?
I always try and focus on what is right and not on necessarily who is right. I am not in a popularity contest or running for political office. I’m here to make money for the company and to serve the various constituents of the company – shareholders, employees, and customers. My job is to serve and make sure we never loose track of our strategic focus.

While the temptation often arises to get down into the engine room and tinker with the engine, that’s not the most efficient use of my time, skills or talent. My job is to stay up on the deck and watch out for icebergs.

As a leader, one should never forget that knowing how to do something and actually doing it are two very different things. The credit should always go to the people actually doing it. And you always need to let those people know how they are doing. Feedback is the breakfast of champions. You don’t lead people by pushing. You lead people by pulling. And pulling requires that you constantly give feedback on performance or lack thereof. In this business, it takes about 15 years to become a hero but you call fall to a “zero” in about 48 hours. Finally, the star of the team is always the team. No one individual – including the leader – is irreplaceable.

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