The Great “Top Sales Techniques” Hunt: What tricks are used to sell to us?

Winnie1973

mikeabbotts wrote: »

Beware! Mortgage advisors earn more commision by selling income protection insurance/life insurance/critical illness insurance than from arranging your mortgage, and while their industry may be better regulated than most, they are no more or less honest than any other salesman. Critical illness and income protection policies in particular are full of small print and the insurers are expert in using it to avoid payouts - ask any Citizens Advice Bureau. Be sure you really need any of these policies - get advice from someone who is not getting rich on selling them to you. Sometimes they are appropriate sometimes not.

Nonsense, I also work in the Financial Services industry but thankfully not on the front line when you see posts like this. However I do have to pick up the pieces of thise brave soldiers who believed that Insurance was full of small print and the sales people were all schisters out to rip the arm of them.
I've then seen the tears when customers come in in tears because their husband is ill/dies and they can't pay the mortgage/bills etc

Just_keep_swimming_2

darlofc wrote: »

Call me cynical but if a sales person is paid commision[sic] (as they all are) to sell products then they are going to "guide" you to the product that they will gain the most commision[sic] from. I don't believe a word from anyone on here that says they only have the customers interests at heart. Fortunately for sales people there are lots and lots of people out there who are not strong enough to ask questions about products or just say no and walk away.

In reply to this and to mervous:

"Always use the rule of "walk away until they stop chasing you" it works on the streets of Bangkok and it works in PC World, it works with car insurance and it even works with buying houses.

Finally, this is my personal rule, never chip away at the individuals right to make a living, sure you can get £5 of his £10 comission[sic] from him if it's the 20th of the month, but when the thing breaks... you want him to be on your side! So Chip away at Dell's profit, Chip away at PC World's profit, Chip Away at the insurace[sic] they try to sell you but never chip away at Duane's only chance to make his comission[sic] this month."

Not all sales people are paid commission; PC World scrapped commission based sales two years; the staff are now Customer Advisors. They are paid a higher basic salary and receive bonuses based on customer satisfaction results. The reason the company took this decision was to make sure customers received the right advice and products to meet the customers need and not the sales persons!

Just remember 'sales people' are people too, and as other people on here have said are sometimes actually trying to help you.

abjem21

One point that seems to me to have been lost in this discussion is that if you ask if the product you are interested in will do the job you want it too AND explain to the salesman precisley what that job is, they (the salesperson)then have a duty of care to advise you of the best products for you.
I manage a small team (of 5) salesmen selling carpets and rugs, all of which have enormous knowledge and have been extensivley trained in their product and what it can and cannot do. We have budgets to meet (So does everyone these days) however I can vouch for every one of them and I am very proud of the service they give.
15 years ago when I started selling this product (I had been in customer facing sales for 14 years before this) I would have told you how great the products were and explain all their features and benefits to you. Sadly these days are long gone and "waterproofing" or managing customer expectations, is the now order of the day. We spend considerably more time telling you what a product wont do these days. Sadly we live in an age when customers are quick to complain (whether their complaint is justified or not) but not prepared to listen to the advice given when out shopping.
In other words it is my job to deal with customer complaints, I am occasionaly told "I wasn't told that" when products fail to meet the customers expectations. (When appropriate) I tell the customers to either return themselves OR send a friend or family member to try to make the same purchase for use in the same area and if they are not clearly warned of the issue they are busy complaining about to ask to see the manager (me).
To date not one single person has been in a position to ask to see me.

With regard to this thread my personal least favourite Sales ploy (That seems to work very well) is the 50% off then another 15% Plus this weekend only another 10% off on top for ordering now (Or being on the customer database etc etc). You would be amazed how many people read this to be a 75% discount when it is in reality only a product which has been price established for 28 days at twice + what it is really worth, then sold with a 15% Plus 10% discount which equates to 23.5% not 25% (By all means work it out) which has almost certainly been factored into the profit margin anyway. I always tell my wife the louder someone shouts about a discount or the more they spend on advertising something with a big discount the less likley it is to be real. Bear this in mind when you are shopping and you might buy less turkeys.

Mark_drinks_Gem

Excellent Customer Service - The better the welcome, the better trained the staff are, likewise more likely to sell well.

Assumption - Bigger is ALWAYS Better

Selling multiple items / largher portions - why sell one when you can sell two for twice as much?

Asking for a spirit - eg Gin and Tonic - automatically suggesting multiple brands to offer premoum brands - eg Is that Booths or Plymouth - without mentioning price difference. Then irrespective of brand chosen the next comment would then simply be "is that a large one?" DON'T EVEN MENTION Single or small - it implies that there is an alternative.

When we are treated courteously we can't help but be courteous back, it also makes us agreeable and less liekly to dispute or argue 0 or say no thanks.

Bolt on / link selling - it may be the oldest trick in the book but theres a reason why so many companies insist on it - it works. eg You've just bought your kid a new electric toy - you get to the till any till operator with an ounce of intelligence and self worth shoudl automatically suggest "would you like the batteries to go with it?"

The old burger joint comment woudl be would you like fries / go large?

And the golden rule, never assume that what the customer has asked for is all that they want. ASK - CAN I GET YOU ANYTHING ELSE?

Male customers especially, watch the customers glass. Men will plan ahead - "right, i'm going to have this, then go." When their glass gets to about an inch from the bottom - move in - "fancy another one" or "can i get you another" it breaks their trian of thought and "resets the mental timer - right I'll jusdt finish this one now

eyespy

The Technique in a Nutshell: Using your competetion in a negative light
What you were selling: Spectacle frames
More Details: I work for an optical wholesaler who sell in to opticians I know its not technically the same but we use a lot of sales tactics as the market is very competetive. One of the main ones is using the line 'in comparison to other companies we are much cheaper and our quality of service is second to none' I notice that a lot of companies have started doing this comparing name and shame thing my product is better than yours i'm cheaper than you sort of thing on tv. To me its like being back in a playground i'll shop where I want at the end of the day.
How successful was it: Very successful especially if our company gives them what sounds like a good deal but is in fact what they would have paid anyway
How should MoneySavers counter it: I know my experience is mainly trade related but i'm sure there are a few moneysavers in business who deal with sales people like me its a lot more viscious in trade as there is a lot more competition for the business ooh one more tip always always always keep an eye on any items returned to a company for credit or refund or send recorded if there would be any question over the returns I know of some unscrupulous dealings amongst some companies.

HannaB

I had to go into my local high street bank recently to open a short-term savings account. I already have a current account with the bank (sorry Martin, I went for the convenience). Immediately, the advisor started to ask me lots of irrelevant questions. She asked if I was house-hunting yet (I'm 23) and if I was happy with my car. Seeing the signs straight away, I immediately said that I was not interested in a mortgage or a car loan. She then ended her line of questioning straight away and we proceeded to talk about the savings account.

Not sure if this is a recognised technique though.

rulerofuniverse

amyjdavidson wrote: »

...Oh, and on this note, I had a British Gas salesman come to my house last week to quote me for a new boiler. He was an hour late and then stayed in my home for over 2 hours. I would say 20 minutes of that time was spent looking at my boiler and the outside walls, and the rest was spent sitting in my living room pretending to 'build' a report on his Laptop to find the right boiler for us. He just sat there occasionally pressing buttons on his laptop, but the rest of the time either talking to us, watching tv or annoying my cat! He was evidently trying some sales technique but I can't work it out - was it intimidation, or trying to be super friendly so perhaps we'd buy from him. Anyway, this sitting in my house thing really upset me as it was intrusive and completely unneccesary. He didn't even have an internet connection to the laptop so his excuse that it was slow made no sense as there is no way British Gas would have such a slow system for quotes. Maybe he was just incredibly lazy. Anyway, his quote was ridiculously overpriced and all of the information he gave us to sell that particular model were lies as we've had several smaller companies in since, who were in and out within twenty minutes and had different stories about what we needed. And they're going to post the quote - so much better!

You should have sent the guy packing; that's not on. I know it's easier said than done for us polite people, but that's terrible. Nobody should put up with being made to feel uncomfortable in their own home and for two hours!! Cripes..

rulerofuniverse

Its_African_Sunset wrote: »

Ref the comment "really couldn't care less if you died after doing the deal"; are they any different from the person who takes your money at ASDA or at a petrol station, it's a job!

Not all sales staff are the spawn of the devil, some do care that you get what you want!

I've been in sales for a hundred years so I'll post some 'classic' closes in the next few days...

:A

Ok so 1st para. is a good and valid point. However, the last para. I've quoted? Well if you've been in sales for a hundred years then you aren't normal and must be at least 116 years old so perhaps you are the spawn of the devil after all! Haha! That's a joke because I found the comment funny.

Happy_Camper_3

The Technique in a Nutshell: Inaccurate benchmarking

What you were selling: Houses/flats

More Details: Someone comes in and says they want to buy/rent a place, and you establish how much they want to spend. You then show them two places. The first one is absolutely awful, making the customer panic inside "Is this all I can afford?". Then you show them the second property, which is MUCH nicer and ever-so-slightly more expensive. The customer thinks it's a deal because they are basing value on the first property. Lots of the time, the first property belongs to the estate agency, who use it for this purpose only - it is never sold or let out.

How successful was it: It worked on me when I was renting my first place.

How should MoneySavers counter it: Take each place on its own merits. See lots of properties, even if you are in a rush. If you suspect the estate agent of doing this to you, assume the first place doesn't count, and that the real 'first place' is the second one you are shown.

Note: I recommend you read a book called Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. It is what this thread is intended to be. It is a manual for salesmen and also a guide to protect yourself from their tactics.

sonofsmallface

I myself do door to door sales for a very good utility company. There seems to be a lot of negativity towards sales people on here which I feel is sometimes a bit unfounded. We are not all sharks, we don't ALL have only our own interests at heart. I genuinely want the customers to save money. the average person I sign up saves between £100-£200 a year, okay, that's not going to buy them a new house but it's still a saving and I feel happy about the fact tat they are going to save (especially if it's a single parent or someone who is clearly on a low income) - and also, it pleases me to stick it to the fat cat monoploy holding companies that get away with ripping people off and making huge profits, by taking their customers away.
There are of course better deals than the one I've got online and such; what do I do if I meet someone with a better deal, I tell them 'Stick with that and don't listen to anyone who tells you at the door that they can beat it because they can't.
At the same time however, I am aware that there are a lot of sharks knocking doors, who would happily stitch you up and forget about you as they close your gate on the way out; which upsets me, but then again world hunger upsets me as well and I can't make that disapear either.
But bear in mind, we are not ALL evil.