I just got back from a cruise to the Bahamas. I'm very tan.

Even though I was sternly warned that I would not work on vacation, I couldn't help but notice all sorts of analogies between my cruising experience and the wonderful world of real estate sales. Ahhh, the curse of the obsessive blogger. You know what I mean.

Anyway, now that I'm back, I'll share some of ‘em with you.

A few weeks ago, I was following a conversation on another real estate forum about call-capture. Whether or not to do it. Whether or not it annoys people who get a call out of nowhere from a stranger. Whether or not it matters if you annoy people. As I recall, the consensus was that it does not matter if people are annoyed by an unsolicited phone call; if the strategy works every once in awhile, it's worth the annoyance imposed.

Frankly, that seems to be the mantra of the Old School traditional real estate model.

Anyway, back to my vacation (yeah, it's all about me).

As we got on the cruise ship after a 7-hour drive, we were bombarded with lights, music and activity. Selling activity. We were offered a Welcome Bahama Mama (for $8.95+tip). A few steps away was a booth selling soda packages ($29.00 for all the soda you can drink PLUS a free insulated cup!). To the side was a guy hawking on-shore excursions. To the other side was a cute little thing promoting an on-board detoxification experience in the spa.

Being the introvert that I am, I just wanted to escape to my room and have a moment of silence. The joy I felt at finally being On Vacation was a little dampened by all the attention focused on getting into my pocketbook.

But was the approach working? Oh, yeah, there were people lined up at every booth, brand-spanking new SeaPass card in hand, ready to start spending their dollars within minutes of boarding.

A few days later, I found myself disembarking into Nassau. If you've ever been to Nassau (or any island, probably), you know what happened next. We were accosted by local dudes offering buggy rides, scooters, taxis, hair-braiding (okay, those were women), snorkel trips... along with plenty of offers for less-legal products.

None of which we bought, by the way. But that didn't stop them - we spent the day fending off sales pitches, requests for tips from people we'd never seen before and pushing away "free" bracelets and trinkets.

Now, do these people really think anyone appreciates their approach? That their visitors enjoy the experience of being incessantly accosted on their vacation? I can't imagine they do, but, it's worth it because it results in sales.

Does the end justify the means in marketing? If you believe it does, how do you rationalize that it's okay to do unto others that would annoy the hell out of you if done unto you?