Saturday, September 30, 2006

High Pressure Sales

High pressure sales tactics are very annoying. Those are the ones that meet you to give you an estimate (selling you something) and they keep putting in "incentives" to get you to buy immediately. ie: extra discounts, more stuff, etc. There are times when the salesman just needs to hear the "no" that is in there and take it for what it is.

We had a company come out this morning to give us an estimate on some work. They gave us an estimate, then a coupon discount, then a "buy it now" discount on the work. When my husband and I said we need to think about it, the salesman called his manager and they threw in another discount. He still had to leave without the sale.

It's no wonder that so many people buy stuff at prices they don't need to pay. With sales like that, many people just can't get the "no" to be forceful enough. So, I highly recommend that if you're going in to a meeting you know is going to be high pressure, do all the other estimates first. Then when they give you their 'final offer' you know what you're getting yourself in to.

In this case it was Dixie Homecrafters and estimates on their gutter guard system. Something that would be nice to have, but isn't totally necessary for us. If you're not sure of the company, use www.kudzu.com It's a great place to check out what others have said about companies.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hear you Ashley! Usually what we do is decide before we speak to sales people that we will not make a decision before we have a chance to talk to other companies. You'd think that they would understand and respect this decision because if we end up going with their company they win and we spread the word if the work is done well. Word of mouth is the best advertizement.

DD said...

Anytime I feel that I'm being pressured, it's a signal that I should say no, and if they pressure me even more, then that's a signal that I say no and dig my heels in - deep. A good product doesn't have to pressure you or brow-beat you into agreeing. You did the right thing and as usual, your advice is right on target, too.