Sales tactics from a good salesman

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KrazyKid

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#193513 14-Mar-2016 09:11

Brought a new TV yesterday. I was interested to watch the sales tactics of a good salesman. Very cynical about these guys so was interesting to see.

Things I noticed included

Comments he was going to get in trouble of the low price
How the cost of the extended warranty dropped from 10% to 6.5% over the negation
The warranty purchase allowed them enough margin to extend the interest free terms from 15 to 26 months
(or the finance company had terms that they could increase the highly advertised deal at next to no additional cost)
He had a staff member ring as the sell was being processed to allow him to state that they "should removed another persons hold off the TV because cash was king and the TV was for me" (it was two of 2 in stock - the other being the floor model)
It wasn't a high pressure sale - I was left to think about it while sitting on a comfy couch, checked pricespy and call the wife - even offered a coffee.

I am happy with the price and deal overall and the TV is awesome. I would even use this store again, but obviously don't buy enough big ticket items so the process was interesting.

What other sales tactics have you seem good retail sales staff use?

insane

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#1512737 14-Mar-2016 09:17

They love to agree with what you say. Next time try make it sound like you're sold on a model and watch them talk it up and put down the others, then switch your mind and watch them repeat the process and bag the first one you looked at.

Then switch back to the first one, and beat them down on price for the points they outlined why it wasn't the best :)

wasabi2k

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#1512768 14-Mar-2016 09:46

I normally go in to a store looking for a particular model - after spending hours trawling reviews and options - and with knowledge of what the price is elsewhere.

I will normally find what I want on my own, then ask the price - ask for best offer, then buy or not.

I have never had anyone attempt to upsell - but have been told I was mistaken on a technical aspect once or twice. If it is something minor I will not care, nod and smile - get my TV/Amp/etc.

For me - if a salesperson is willing to acknowledge the faults of another product they market and sell - I will probably trust them more. Double points if they also acknowledge the expensive model isn't going to make much difference.

I ended up with a Panasonic ST-60 - they guy selling it to me said the U was really poor and the VT not that much better for the money. He then got it in earlier than expected and gave use a great price. Will go back there for any future TV/Audio purchases.

Contrast with being steered to the LED TVs repeatedly while shopping for a Plasma (and expressly stating so) - while the guy bags Plasma and why they are so bad and why burn in is so bad etc etc.

If you tell me they are:

1. Bending the rules for me

2. Asking manager for approval to give me $100 off the sticker price

Spare me.

KrazyKid

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#1512807 14-Mar-2016 10:35

insane:

They love to agree with what you say. Next time try make it sound like you're sold on a model and watch them talk it up and put down the others, then switch your mind and watch them repeat the process and bag the first one you looked at.

LOL now that you mention that - this happened to me during the sale when I expressed an interest in a different brand.

I'm a "research the hell out of it first" guy as well so I also smiled and nodded.

Even though I was aware of what was going one I found myself feeling good about my decision when I heard things that were reinforcing my thoughts.
(eg when next years model comes out in a few months it will be exactly the same inside as this years")

Lizard1977

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#1513079 14-Mar-2016 14:53

It can make for an entertaining lunch hour to eavesdrop on salespeople in places like Harvey Norman (while under the guise of browsing the shelves). Though it can be hard to contain the smirks when you hear obvious BS being spouted to seemingly ignorant would-be purchasers. On a couple of occasions I have been tempted to pull the unsuspecting victim away and warn them not to be suckered...

The best tactic, and the only one I appreciate, is honesty. I like to think my BS detector is well calibrated, and over the years the salespeople I seek out are the ones who have been upfront and honest in the past. I bought a dishwasher and dryer a couple of years back, and the sales guy was really decent and honest, and paid attention to what I was looking for. Such that he still remembers me when I go back to window shop. There are others, though, that I steer well clear of because their schtick is so obvious and they don't really care about repeat business.