WCI Communities, Florencia & A Smokey Smell

One of the google alerts that I always get is for anything that has to do with WCI Communities.  They're based out of Bonita Springs so I get a few per day.  If you don't know who WCI communities is, they're a publicly traded home building company with a whole set of issues to big for this little blog.  Today, a friend of mine in Central America sent me this link to a Yahoo message board.  If you're following the slow death of WCI or you're a share holder, Behold!  I give you: 

(Pssst. There are huge "price recuctions" in the WCI community on the Florencia building Florencia at The Colony Price Reductions) 

The insights of a former employee (not me): 

Notwithstanding my eighteen years and nearly $200,000,000 in new home sales, I want to thank WCI Communities for teaching me how little I really know about sales and marketing and the homebuilding business.

Thank you for teaching me that sales exists to support marketing, not the other way around.

Thank you for teaching me that advertising is not the way to drive traffic to a community.

Thank you for teaching me that it is prudent to spend millions of dollars to create a magnificent sales environment and to insure that no one visits it by not actually promoting it.

Thank you for teaching me that an effective marketing campaign should target people hundreds of miles away from the community I am trying to promote.

Thank you for teaching me that billboards should direct traffic away from my community.

Thank you for teaching me that an effective sales center needs flat screen televisions, fresh baked cookies and case upon case of mandatory designer labeled water on hand but does not require actual customers.

Thank you for teaching me that when an organization advertises, it is most effective to insure that prospects do not actually call the community itself or speak to a sales person. They should always contact a third party within the company, who after much rapport building may or may not allow the customer to speak with an actual sales person.

Thank you for teaching me to never solicit input from a sales team.

Thank you for teaching me that a person who has been in the system for five years without buying anything is actually a HOT prospect.

Thank you for teaching me that marketing should always publish information to the public before sharing it with the sales team.

Thank you for teaching me that a visit from the marketing team is not really about developing synergy, it is actually about raining a @#$% storm of condescension and negativity down upon all of the people that they meet, most of whom were enjoying an otherwise a crisp, clear, positive and sunny day.

Thank you for teaching me to count be backs as new visitors to an event so that marketing appears to be effective and my conversion rate tanks.

Thank you for teaching me that value engineering a product is really about adding cost to a house.

Thank you for teaching me that having three or more people make simple decisions is the best way to arrive at a conclusion.

Thank you for teaching me that it is better to hold a company's stock at $3 per share than to sell it for $22.