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You
can believe the salesperson about as much as you can believe
everything you read in the papers. On that basis you should find a
way of double checking all the important facts and information given
to you that are relative to your personal reasons for buying, or for
not buying.
Think about
this if you are being given the 'spiel':
It is quite
normal in our industry for the salesperson to be on no basic salary,
no holiday pay, no statutory sick pay, no holiday pay, no car or
telephone expenses, and no retainer. Income is solely derived from
earning 10% commission of everything sold, on a self employed basis;
a sort of 'no win - no fee' incentive to make sales.
Worse still
- the salesperson could be paid just 2% commission on a sale made at
what the company wants as it's 'correct' (also known as 'base')
price, and then up to 60% sales commission of any overpricing
achieved on any orders won.
YOU PAY £500
OVER THE TOP, AND THE SALESPERSON COULD GET AN EXTRA £300 OUT OF
WHAT YOU WERE OVERCHARGED!!!
Unfortunately some people do get ripped off at the initial
over-priced quote, but even more get taken in by fake discounts,
which is all part of the scam.
LITTLE
WONDER THAT THE PRICE YOU ARE INITIALLY QUOTED STARTS OFF BEING
LUDICROUSLY HIGH, AND THEN SEVERAL FAKE DISCOUNTS ARE PROFFERED, ALL
IN AN ATTEMPT NOT ONLY TO SIMPLY SELL TO YOU, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY
TO SELL TO YOU AS OVERPRICED AS POSSIBLE.
THINK ABOUT
THIS: £500 OVERPRICED ON A DECENT SIZED ORDER COULD PUT AN EXTRA
£300 IN THE SALESPERSONS' POCKET!!! = "CAN I BELIEVE THE
SALESPERSON". WELL, IT DOES BEG THE QUESTION, DOESN'T IT?
In my
opinion, these sort of salespeople should be shown the door, and
somewhat as 'tout suite' as possible, but do expect some protest,
and sometimes you could get a show of aggression, so you will need
to be strong in this situation.
Having said
that...
There is a
lot of integrity in our industry and a great number of honest
people, there are probably also a few crooks, and then there are the
others in between. As in all walks of life is easy for the naïve to
be ripped off, so here is a little insight into what the salesperson
might be thinking as he is talking to you, especially when he is
answering your questions and reassuring you about any doubts you may
have.
Now put
yourself in the shoes of the salesperson for a moment:
If from the
'leads' you are given by your employer you sell lots and lots and
lots you will earn loads of commission, have no worries about paying
your mortgage, will be able to afford nice things for the home and
yourself, your wife and family. You will own a nice car(s) and have
happy holidays, and you will be well thought of by your boss.
Your job is
make sales, i.e. to sell, and that is your sole function.
Now read the
previous line once again!
Remember,
you are the salesperson, so now imagine yourself in this scenario:
You are sitting in front of your prospective customer, let's say you
have given them your carefully prepared presentation. Your estimate
for the job is for £3500 and you hope you have given good enough
answers to all their questions to make the sale, but you are not
sure that it's in the bag. It crosses your mind that your commission
after vat on the sale would be 10%, lets say £300. How hard do you
try to convince them to sign up with you, and how do you feel?. Just
knowing that their deposit cheque will have your £300 in it, you
feel motivated to sell, that's how you feel!
It is
important to try to tell 'where the salesperson is coming from' as
it could give you an insight into the real motivation behind what
they say and how they say it, and the validity of their opinions,
even if they do not blatantly lie. Ask yourself: what is likely to
be the difference in quality of advice between:
The
professionally trained salesperson, (especially one who has probably
never actually fitted a window in his life!) and who, once he has
your deposit, you will probably never see again.
The advice
coming from someone with a wide product knowledge and who knows,
first hand, what he is talking about, having had many years
experience of actually doing the work.
The
salesperson has a very big self interest in telling you, basically,
what you want to hear, and a salespersons motivation and often sole
function in his organisation is to part you from your money - that
is his job!
Just some of
the pressure commonly included in the patter for the gullible is the
well worn "massive xx% discount - you must order now, offer ends….",
and a variation on the same old 'special offer' theme that then
starts all over again the very next week.
Here are
just a few of the very many ploys used to make you think that you
are being offered a really good, one off, super duper, never to be
repeated, incredible special deal, "so you really must sign up now,
you cannot afford to lose this offer":
Your house
in on a main road, or there is a Bus Stop nearby, you are eligible
for an extra X% off, this is a fake discount.
If you agree
to a site board outside, ditto - fake discount.
There is a
school up the road, ditto - fake discount.
We need a
show house in your road, ditto - fake discount.
I will phone
my manager to see if I can get the o.k. to offer you an even deal,
ditto - fake discount.
I am the
manager not a salesman, no commission to pay and your order will be
at a trade price, ditto - fake discount.
All a
load of codswallop, but there are some people who still fall for it!
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