Do sales people influence you?
11 Jan 13 03:01PM EST |
Post by
Matthew Steen
One thing I've noticed in the last few years since starting at CHOICE is how salespeople can affect a purchasing decision.
When I go into a retail store, I naturally go to a sales person because I want to buy something. What is the effect of asking that sales person for help? The sales person has the opportunity, right there, to distract you from all the research you've done, whether by denigrating research or hyping their recommendation. Even though they may have had no training on the product, no experience of using it themselves and no feedback from customers who have used it, their job is to make the sale. Why is a sales person there? They are there to make a sale.
Basically, a sales person can have an opinion and sometimes an agenda aligned with wanting to sell you something. At times that opinion is the last thing you hear before you make your decision on what to buy. Regardless of whether you've researched something to death, read the CHOICE website or magazine, asked your friends and family, the sales person may be the last person you listen to.
Have you ever asked them how they make their money? Do they get a commission - from selling a certain product? Does the commission vary from brand to brand, product to product? Do they need to make a quota? When is the date they need to make their quota by? When was the last time they got training on the product they are recommending? Why are they recommending it?
Do they have any proof about its performance? Did they have it independently tested? Or are they just asking you to trust them when they try to set up a "relationship" with you? This person you met five minutes ago, as opposed to the family you've known for a generation, the friends you hang out with throughout your life and the non-profit
company that you invest your money into to give you smart, independent advice?
What's my point? My point is that CHOICE listens to our members, day in and day out. We know what you want because you tell us, and we test to those conditions, independently and without bias. We don't get a kickback from a manufacturer for testing one product over another. We aren't trying to clear floor stock that is discontinued. Can the sales person make the same claims?
We don't try and influence your decision - we just tell you what we find, and what you do with that information is up to you. You can ignore it completely and go for your favourite brand instead, but make sure that the decision you make is yours, not biased by a sales person who is distracting you at the last moment for whatever agenda they may have.
Have you ever had a bad experience like this in a retail store? What was your comeback? Did it turn you off going back to the store? Were you happy with the selection you made?