HOW TO AVOID TROUBLE
AND SAVE WASTING TIME AND MONEY
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First published 1993
(Smashwords Edition)
Copyright Tony Edwards 2011
C O N T E N T S
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER TWO STAGES OF THE SALE
CHAPTER THREE THE APPROACH
CHAPTER FOUR THE ASSESSMENT
CHAPTER FIVE THE SALES TECHNIQUES
CHAPTER SIX ASKING FOR THE ORDER
CHAPTER SEVEN OBJECTIONS DURING SALE
CHAPTER EIGHT OBJECTIONS DURING CLOSE
CHAPTER NINE ALTERNATIVE CLOSES
CHAPTER TEN CONCLUSION
During my time in college I tackled many jobs to make ends meet. However, the most difficult job of all and the one that paid best for the least amount of hours was the high-pressure sales world of the Direct Salesman I was working for a Double Glazing Company selling replacement windows however, the advice in this book applies equally well to any kind of Direct Salesman.
As a student of psychology, I found the strategies and techniques of the Direct Salesman to be thoroughly fascinating. I made pages of notes, which I put away along with all of my research papers and completely forgot about it. I would possibly have lost the notes in time and this book would not have been written, had I not been present when somebody attempted to force a friend into buying their company’s shoddy product.
This started me thinking and I realised that thousands of people, each day, are being induced to buy inferior products by salespeople using high-pressure sales tactics of which they, the customer, know nothing. On the other hand, I also knew from experience that people waste the salesman’s’ time.
I know that sounded a little blunt, but I am not blaming the customer for wasting the salesman’s time, I put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the companies as they fail to fully train and salary the ‘Qualifiers’. You have seen these people inside supermarkets. Usually a young woman will hand you a shiny leaflet as she says something along the lines of:
“Hello there, aren’t they nice? What do you like about them? Me too, can you see how nice they will look in your house? Let me give you a free, no-obligation demonstration of our widget - your name and the address? Wonderful, when will it be convenient to call? Right we’ll see you at 19:00 this Friday, thank you.”
When I go shopping with my wife I hear this sort of thing time and again and it really annoys me. In the above (highlighted words) Miss. Qualifier, without actually saying as much has implied that it will be she who will be calling to give that ‘no-obligation demonstration’. On Friday Mrs. Prospect is going to be surprised, initially, when Mr. Salesman calls at her door and then angry when she realises she was mislead. And as such Miss. Qualifier has ensured that Mr. Salesman is going to be in for a difficult time on Friday evening and will have to work like the devil to get the order in the home of a hostile Mrs. Prospect when all of this could have been avoided had Miss. Qualifier done her job properly.
Miss. Qualifier’s job is to arrange for a salesman to call to the house of a potential customer whom she has ensured knows what they want; has a fair idea of price; is in the market now for the product and if the product and the price is right will place the order when the salesman calls. Her job tile sort of gives this away if you think about it – she is called a ‘Qualifier’.
There are some good qualifiers who do the job properly. The problem, however, is that it is an extremely difficult job and the qualifier only gets paid for leads generated, in my experience the qualifier is not paid a basic wage. Therefore, many of them - like our Miss. Qualifier - are only interested in getting a name and address in order to get paid. The problem here is when the salesmen report that all the leads from Miss. Qualifier are a complete waste of time and money, Miss. Qualifier gets fired and another Miss. Qualifier is taken on, given scant training and the whole merry-go-round begins again – and that is why I blame the companies. If the qualifiers were salaried they would not be panicking to get leads at any cost to pay their bills and would be enabled to do the job properly.
With my practical knowledge of sales, together with my knowledge of psychology, I decided to re-research the subject of Direct Sales with the intention of publishing my findings to inform people of the need to do the relevant and necessary research on an expensive, prospective purchase before inviting a salesman into their home and to warn them against the 'con men’ in sales. Therefore, the sum total of information contained in the pages of this book amounts to over ten years research.
I accept that both woman and men work as salespeople. However, as a writer and a reader I find the constant repeating of ‘he or she’ to be tedious and frankly nonsensical. Therefore, in the interests of brevity and clarity, I shall use the masculine term throughout.
INTRODUCTION:
“YOU ARE UNDER NO
OBLIGATION TO BUY!”
The above statement is not so clear cut as it would at first appear. It is probably the most powerful inducement, which encourages people to allow a Direct Salesman into their home. So what exactly does it mean? Well, it all depends on who you are.
Mr. or Mrs. Prospect will innocently take it at face value and presume the salesman is going to give information on his product and a price in order for a comparison to be made with similar products. The Direct Salesman, however, has other ideas and his own agenda.
You might be under no obligation to buy, however, you are under an obligation to listen to what the Direct Salesman has to say once he is in your home and believe me he has a lot to say.
Before the Direct Salesman has even met you he knows more about you and your family than you could imagine. He continues to gather information on you during a seemingly pleasant unrelated chat until he has made the decision to sell to you. Then you, the poor unsuspecting public will now be subjected to some of the most clever and devious wiles of the hardest style of selling you have ever encountered.
The Direct Salesman will apply tried and tested psychological, high-pressure sales tactics, which have been perfected over decades. He is a master of them and from what he has learnt about you he knows how to use them to their utmost effectiveness. You, on the other hand, know absolutely nothing about them and no matter how clever you are and no matter what you say, the ever-alert Direct Salesman will listen closely and use his skill to phrase his questions in such a way that with each answer you give you will be committing yourself more and more. Until after three to four hours of this relentless, logical, pressure - mentally and physically exhausted - you will be overjoyed with the product and the price and will enter into a contract there and then on the night to purchase anything from £5,000 to £10,000 worth of merchandise and you will think it was all your own idea and because you thought it was your own idea you will not even think about cancelling.
What is that I hear you saying, nobody is going to entice me into buying something if I do not want it. Well, if you think that way I have news for you my friend. It is exactly people like you who are most at risk in the hands of a Direct Salesman. I will support that statement later on as I have laid all the procedures out in a logical progression the way the Direct Salesman will approach them. Nevertheless, you might like to ponder on it for a while. Have I alarmed you? Good, you now know something that most people do not and that is the Direct Salesman has not called to give you a free no obligation demonstration of his firm's product - he has called to sell it to you!
Now I am going to alarm you further. What you have just read was not about the behaviour of some ruthless, couldn’t-care-less salesman no, it was how all salesman operate. Just remember, every company is in business to sell their goods. They all want your business and they will go to great lengths and invest millions of pounds to advertise (sell) their product to convince (pressurise) you into buying their product. And they will use all manner of tactics and techniques to get their message across from: radio, TV, newspaper and magazine advertising; bill boards and hoardings and on the sides of buses and taxis and of course - the salesman using well honed, face-to-face selling techniques. I’ll leave that in the air for a while and return to it in depth a little later -something else for you to contemplate.
The Direct Salesman's time is precious. He has entered your home and he is prepared to give you his full attention. However before he even begins to sell he needs to know whether or not you are a viable prospect and the way he does this is by asking specific question. These questions are unrelated to his product, but nevertheless essential to his business and, which follow a logical pattern and are constructed to elicit the answers to key questions, which he must know before he will even consider discussing his product with you (selling to you). To the unversed this might sound unfair or even cavalier, but it is nothing of the sort and is actually in the customer’s interests.
Although he is a skilled sales person experienced at reading people (their body language, the unwitting signals they give off and signs about their home and lifestyle) in order to approach the sale in a way that will appeal to Mr. and Mrs. Prospect, experience has taught him that some people need to be protected from themselves.
There are people who are the subject of county court judgements, people who don't earn enough money to meet the repayment or people who are too deeply in debt and yet often, these people will quite happily sign away their lives if allowed. And then of course there are the time wasters, those who think it will be interesting to get a quote on something that they might consider buying next year.
You can imagine if the Salesman was to sit with every enquiry demonstrating his company's product only to discover a few days later by the bank that the person was bankrupt or has CCJs or is in financial trouble, he would be wasting lots of valuable time, and the Direct Salesman's time is very valuable and his job is very difficult and far beyond the ability of the average person. Because it is a very difficult job, the Direct Salesmen is paid extremely well.
Most Direct Salesmen are paid on a commission only basis (if they don't sell they don't eat). This method of remuneration tends to make them very determined and aggressive and the Direct Salesman will be paid anything from five to twenty percent of sale by varying his commission on the before VAT price. A good Direct Salesman will earn £100,000 plus a year.
You now understand, if you did not understand prior to reading this, why the salesman does not want to waste your time or his and why he needs to know whether or not you will be able to afford his company's product. Once he is satisfied you are a good prospect and makes up his mind to sell to you, he will use all of his knowledge of you, all of his experience of selling and all of the many sales aids at his disposal to turn you, the prospect; into a customer.
I said earlier that the Salesman has a lot to say this is perfectly true; he will talk a great deal. On the other hand, a large part of his job is to get you and your partner talking and he will listen carefully to everything you say. Again, you may think that you will not say anything and give him no information about yourself whatsoever. However, the Salesman will pick up on this instantly and he will phrase his questions in such a way that it is practically impossible to answer without being rude - and why would you want to be rude after all you have invited this pleasant young person into your home to give you a free no obligation demonstration of his company's product.
If you appear to be difficult this will be in the early stages while he is asking trial questions or, 'sending up balloons' as it is known. From then on he will guarantee a response from you by asking open-ended questions. For example, rather than say "this is a nice window don't you think?" which would allow you to answer yes or just nod your head, the Salesman would say: "what do you like about this beautiful window?” Which guarantees a positive, more than one word response. If you think back to our qualifier earlier, she used the same tactic when she spoke to the prospect. To save you going back I’ll remind you; she said “…what do you like about them…” remember? This approach is practically irresistible, it is taken for granted that you like it and is asking in an agreeable manner to say what it is that you like about it. Ask yourself how you would react to this question. This assuming, and taking it for granted that you 'like it' we will meet throughout this book. It is what is known as the POWER OF POSITIVE SUGGESTION and it is the Direct Salesperson's most effective tool. It is used subtlety to get you into the habit of saying yes, but more importantly getting you into the habit of thinking, yes.
To explain how all of this fits together we must accompany a Salesman on a 'sit' as it is called - we must be the Salesman. In a little while we will and we will follow all of the stages the salesman goes through and I will explain in great detail the subtlety of his questions. For example, what he is looking for when he asks a perfectly innocent question and how he listens carefully to your reply, which gives him the answer to a far more important question he has asked himself. However, before we go on to see the Salesman at work, I should like to describe the parts that make up the sale.
In common with a game of chess, selling is a strategy, and like chess it has its open, middle and endgames. In the following chapter I shall discuss those stages in detail.
STAGES OF THE SALE
Part 1. The Warming up Exercise.
What does warming up mean? Well, the Salesperson knows that you and your partner are wound up like a watch spring, you are on edge and likely to be suspicious of him. This is not because he is a Salesman - although he is aware you may have heard some harrowing tales regarding pressure selling - but because of the inherent fear and mistrust of strangers we all share. This mistrust makes his job almost impossible to do. It is known in the selling business as BUYER RESISTANCE. He knows about it and why it is there. You feel it but do not know why. Therefore, in this the first part of the sale, the Salesperson will go out of his way to calm you down and gain your confidence.
This part of the sale can be quite enjoyable and entertaining in the hands of a good Salesperson, a quick wit is an essential tool. Wait a minute; did I say "this part of the sale"? Yes I did, you will not realise it but he is selling something to you right from the beginning. He is selling the most important part of the sale and that is he is selling himself. The first rule of selling, 'sell yourself'. Get the customer to accept you, to like you. The Salesman knows he can have the best product in the world but you won't buy it if you dislike him. Therefore, he will make the odd witty remark or tell a joke to get you laughing, at least smiling. All the time he is putting you at ease. What is he talking about to put you at ease and get you laughing? We have already said his time is valuable surely he is not going to waste it with polite useless chatter. No he is not, all the time he is talking to you and getting you to speak to him he is building up a picture of you to discover: Your financial standing, where you work, what you do for a living; how much you earn; how long you have lived in your house; how much you paid for it, what it is worth now and how much if anything you owe on mortgage in order to determine whether or not to go onto the next stage.
When he feels he has made an accurate assessment of you and your financial situation he will do one of two things. He will either make an excuse to leave, perhaps saying something like - I have only visited you tonight to make an appointment for another day. If he says this, he knows he cannot sell to you for whatever reason. He will leave and you will never see him again. If, on the other hand he decides you are a good prospect, the sale will move up a gear into stage two.
Part 2. The Sale.
You will recognise this part as the Salesman will stop talking about your dog or his holidays and say something along the lines of, well then Mr. and Mrs. Prospect, how can I help you? After a brief discussion about what the customer wants the salesman will ask the most important question of the evening and if you answer in the affirmative the salesman knows he has the sale. At the time it is asked you will pay little attention to it as you will not realise the significance, but later you will understand.
At this point the replacement window salesman will inspect the windows in the room in which you are sitting, generally the lounge signalling Mr. and Mrs. Prospect to accompany him. In this stage of the proceedings the Direct Salesperson's questions and statements will be directed gently but firmly towards the woman of the house, who in turn will present the statement or question more forcefully towards her partner who will usually just nod or grunt. Why is it done this way? The answer to this is extremely fascinating and has to do with damaging your ego - all will be revealed in time.
The salesman will now sell his company to you as he walks back towards his chair. He will sit down and so will you, he is beginning to take charge. He will tell you all about his firm. He will then introduce his product and tell you everything there is to know about it (although his samples and case are still in his car). When he is sure that you are suitably impressed with what he has told you, he will ask the man of the house to help him bring his samples and brief case in from the car. The case he will leave in the hall, the samples will be brought into the room where he will prop them up against a wall or the arm of a chair - close enough for you to see but, not close enough to touch, yet.
He will return to his chair and while you are looking at this product you have heard so much about and are possibly eager to get your hands on, he will change the subject; possibly to something that has just happened outside or perhaps about the weather. Are you thinking about the weather? Of course not, you are wanting to hear more about the product and have a look at the sample. He knows full well what you are thinking. He also knows if he tantalizers you for a couple of minutes or so you will be more receptive to the product when he decides to show it to you. This part of the sale, however, can be very dangerous for the salesman. If he does not distract you long enough the effect when he shows the product will not be what he wants. On the other hand, if he tantalizers you too long you may get disinterested and become hostile towards him. So again, all the time he is talking to you he is listening to your reply and watching your body language and not just one of you but both of you. When we go on the sit you will learn how this is done.
When he judges that the time is just right he will bring the sample closer and begin to demonstrate it from his chair. At this stage, don't be surprised if you find yourself and your partner on your hands and knees on the floor. You will be encouraged at long last to look at it and handle it yourself. The second rule of selling 'get the product into the customer's hands'. All the time you will be answering questions positively which are designed to get your approval of the product and the Salesman's company. This is very important for later, when the Salesman closes the sale.
When the salesman is sure that the man of the house has had a good look at the product and has understood what the salesman has told him, the salesman will take him away leaving the woman to examine the sample alone. The salesman will then measure all of the windows, doors, side panels and patio doors if applicable, noting the dimensions. In fact he will measure everything, even if you are only interested in a couple of windows, because he intends to sell you new windows and doors throughout your house. He knows he has already won the support and confidence of the woman and as always the man of the house is unaware of this (we guys are not very perceptive you know and the reason for this is because we are not that interested in new windows). Again the salesman knows this and he uses this opportunity to split the couple up in order that he can work on the man. He uses the measuring-up exercise to reinforce what he has already said to the couple, but now he concentrates firmly on selling to the man. He needs to separate the couple because selling to the man requires a different technique.
He now becomes like a buddy who has the same interests and hobbies as the man. If the man is a golfer so is he, if the man likes fishing so does the salesman. He has made it his business during those innocent first twenty minutes of the 'warming up exercise' to discover this information and now he uses that information to good effect to become a good friend of the man of the house. He has analysed the man's personality and knows the best way to achieve his ends. He knows when to tell a joke and what kind of joke to tell i.e., risqué or innocent.
When he is sure the time is right he leads the man back down the stairs and tells the punch line of another joke/story to coincide with their re-entry into the lounge. The woman, seeing the two men laughing, subconsciously tells herself, "Joe likes this man and Joe is a good judge of character" the result is the woman, who had warmed to the salesman earlier, now feels confident of her feelings because her husband feels the same way.
Now styles will be considered, glass patterns will be discussed and the salesman will ask more important questions. However, he will begin to ease the pressure slightly as he has already achieved his main task; he is beginning to be seen as a friend whom the couple will be reluctant to offend. He will now work out a price, but while he is doing this he needs to keep Mr. and Mrs. Prospect’s mind’s thinking about windows and he achieves this by showing his photograph book in which pictures of houses which his company have fitted windows are displayed. When he has worked out the price he will not just tell it. No, that would make it far too easy for one to object. What he does now is try to sell finance. There is a very good reason for this as he has all of the necessary paperwork with him and is therefore able to use it to ‘sign you up’.
Part 3. The Close
We now come to what is known as 'the close', meaning winding the sale down and presenting you with the order form to sign. In actual fact, salesmen see the close taking place from the very first encounter. When he walks through the door into your home, he begins to close the sale. However, for the purposes of describing the individual phases of a sale, this part is generally known as the close and consolidation – all will be explained.
Now, that he has sold you on the idea of finance you would imagine telling the price would be quite straight forward, would you not? Wrong again it will be about another ten minutes or so before you are given the price. To give you the price the salesman must keep you on the edge of your seats - as indeed he must for the whole sales presentation. The way the price is handled goes something like this. "Well Jean and Joe" - we are onto a first name basis by now - "I have worked out your investment in your new windows. Do you notice the assumption in the statement again, remember the power of positive suggestion mentioned earlier? Now as you have requested, for your bathroom window we will..." Now he will re-sell his windows to you all over again, describing in detail all of the benefits you will receive; the way the old windows will be expertly removed so as not to damage the interior decoration of the rooms; how the new ones will be expertly fitted by craftsmen; what style of frames you have chosen, what type of glass will be used and where in your new windows and doors, etc. This will continue until he has described each window and door in the house in detail.
The salesman knows two very fundamental and yet extremely important factors in the business of selling anything. Firstly, people don't buy things - no matter how wonderful they may be - people buy the benefit those things will bring. And secondly the decision to buy will be made only if the benefits appeal to a particular desire/s, which will be quite different from one customer to the next. The customer will never tell the salesman what her particular desire/s are (notice I say her, he is selling to the woman for as we know the man will go along with anything she says) she may not even be aware herself. Nevertheless, the salesman will have discovered her motivation by watching and listening closely to the answers to his many questions throughout the night. While he is explaining the benefits of his product he will quickly 'slip' in the price - sandwiched between two good selling points that explicitly address the woman's particular desire/s, followed by: "How does that sound?" Then there may be silence, because if you don't speak, he will just sit there in silence smiling at you both, and this silence will go on until you say something.
It is widely thought in the selling business that the party, who speaks first, loses. You will not realise, but one of the most powerful forces is being applied upon you - the power of silence! The situation is uncomfortable, it makes you uneasy and you will begin to get fidgety if it is allowed to go on too long. Because of this the customer is the first to break the silence with "Oh! I didn't think it would be that expensive". Good, this is what the salesman wanted. The salesman will now use that objection to get the sale. It may take another half an hour or so but he has all of the seemingly spontaneous and reasonable answers and with each one you will find yourself being pushed more and more into 'check'. One or two more moves and it is ‘checkmate’. You have just bought replacement windows and doors from this really nice person - and it was all your own idea.
Was he such a really nice person and was it all your own idea? You won't have these doubts now but the salesman knows if he leaves now you very well might. That is why he isn't going to leave for another forty minutes or so. You see what you would be feeling now would be elation, excitement, pride and satisfaction that you have just skilfully executed the slickest bargaining deal of the decade.