# Salesmen not being upfront **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 15, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843 "2009-06-15T16:26:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/21 "2009-06-16T14:01:47Z")
Unbelievable. Today I had some woman at the door who said for answering two questions I would go into a thousand dollar draw. I did that and got the coupon. Okay, she had big boobs. The coupon- Kirby’s- I had never heard of them before. I see on the ticket that they want a demo before you go into the draw. More chance of me falling pregnant before that will happen. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/22 "2009-06-16T14:55:30Z")
It seems like a lot of the manipulative sales techniques come from poor research. If you have a good product, people will want it; you just have to find which ones [that sounds like what **Soul** is trying to describe in the good-salesman posts]. If you have a bad product, nobody will want it so you have to trick them. But if you have a mediocre product and / or you’re simply calling everyone in the country, you’re also going to make very few sales unless you trick people. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/23 "2009-06-16T15:43:29Z")
I had a door to door Kirby sales guy try to convince me to let him in to show me how good the machine is. I told him I didnt have a carpet and shut the door - he stood on the stoop for like 5 full minutes totally gobsmacked. It is very easy to damp mop a studio that is entirely contained in a 20 foot by 20 foot space =) As I recall it took me about 10 minutes to do the entire place. ---
**Author:** ![Soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/24 "2009-06-16T19:00:19Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > My remark was not exactly a joke, just a potential observation - the potential being expressed by the question mark. > > Your first post in this thread seemed a bit unrepentant regarding the sales practices being complained of. If, in fact, you are the soul of integrity in your business dealings and professional life, then I apologize for the implied slur. > > I’m not entirely convinced, but as there is no way for me to find out for sure (I am not currently in the market for health insurance, I am glad to say) I extend the benefit of the doubt. I wish that all salespeople were such as you portray yourself to be. > Roddy Gotcha. I wasn’t clear, then - I’ve had trainers try to convince me that the high-pressure techniques talked about in this thread are the best things since sliced bread, and I was just trying to share their mentality with you guys. I don’t buy their stuff - my most rewarding sales (both mentally, emotionally, and financially) have been ones that started with this phone call: “Hey Nick, [client name] is a friend of mine and said you helped her out. Whatcha got?” That phone call never, ever, ever, ever comes after a high-pressure sale, because the client is so damn happy to be rid of you that they never want to think about you again. I learned how to make friends with clients from the second mentor I mentioned. I fired the first after I realized every single appointment I had ended in one of two ways: a sale and then being told to get the hell out, or no sale and being told to get the hell out. With mentor number two, I hear a lot more of “it’s been a pleasure talking with you - do you have a card I could hang onto?” regardless of whether or not they buy anything. It’s much, much more rewarding - but much slower, too. Hugs all 'round, **Roddy** , and sorry for the misunderstanding. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/25 "2009-06-16T22:04:29Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > _emphasis added_ > > You’re assuming facts not in evidence. > > If you’re selling overpriced crap, it’s hard to sell the product on its own merits. Why not take advantage of most people’s reluctance to throw you out of their house, or their desire to get something for nothing (assuming your personal moral code allows you to do this)? I actualy LIKE throwing people out of my house. I sometimes wish I had more opportunities to do so. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/26 "2009-06-17T01:33:27Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I actualy LIKE throwing people out of my house. I sometimes wish I had more opportunities to do so. Yeah, well perhaps if you wouldn’t meet them at the door and chase them down the street with a sword you might have more chances to actaually throw them out. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/27 "2009-06-17T01:45:42Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I actualy LIKE throwing people out of my house. I sometimes wish I had more opportunities to do so. [Here you go.](http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/ask-a-question/have-missionaries-contact-me) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/28 "2009-06-17T03:10:23Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > The factual answer is that it is a common sales approach to get you emotionally invested in the particular product. Once people have become emotionally invested in the transaction, they tend to be less resistant to last minute add-ons and become less willing to kabosh the deal by walking away from the table. > > Another trick they try to do is build a sense of relationship with you by name-dropping. Whenever I meet a vendor, the first thing they start doing is rattling off names of people at my company they may have met. I straight-up tell them “Look. I’m going to be honest with you. My company told me to come to this event and give $2 million in business to the first person who could mention the name of an insignificant middle manager who worked here 18 months ago. So congratuations!” > > The reason salespeople do this is that most people have an innate reaction to tell salespeople to fuck off. But once they are in and the longer they talk to you, people become less willing to be perceived as “rude” or “unfriendly”, especially to someone who is outwardly being friendly. When a fast-talking salesman tries to sell me the sizzle, the only way I get more emotionally invested in the transaction is that I get more and more pissed off. I generally don’t tell them to fuck off right away, I usually try the “no thanks I’m not interested” tactic, but salespeople are trained not to take the first no, or the second no. Instead, they will not shut up and go away until I cuss them out and threaten physical violence. As I’ve grown older, I find that I’m less likely to tell them “no thanks” and go straight to “Fuck off, asshole”, because of past experiences. I will not EVER buy something that’s marketed by telephone or door-to-door. I don’t care what it is. If _I_ do not initiate the sales contact, I’m not going to buy it. Several times, I’ve gone to buy a product or service (more usually a service) and couldn’t get a straight answer to my questions. In response to this, I walk, and tell the salesperson that the reason I’m walking is because I couldn’t get a firm price. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/29 "2009-06-17T05:01:31Z")
> [@Velma](#): > > \ > The scare tactics really turned me off the most. He went on and on about how the recession was causing increased crime and studies show it is going to just get worse, and oh the horror. That’s when you bring out the firearm and say “Listen up you primitive salesdroid, you see this, _THIS_ is my SECURITY SYSTEM!.” 😉 Insured by Smith and Wesson (or Glock, or Remington, or Colt, or Mossberg, or Kimber, or CZ, or Springfield Armory, or…) Shop Smart, shop S-Mart! ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/30 "2009-06-17T06:50:17Z")
Actually these sales tactics are researched and work well. I did work with our Six Sigma person at a hotel I worked at when I was the Revenue (reservations) manager. I hate the hard sell, we had one of the best hotels in Chicago, I felt the hard sell was stupid and rude. But she showed by following a pre-determained script, never varying and taking control the customer buys more. I called her on this, and I was proven SO wrong. Everytime we used the script our sales went up over 50%. That is a HUGE increase. When we let the reservations sell on their own, even though I liked their soft sell approach, it didn’t translate into sales. So those hard sell techniques do translated into sales. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/31 "2009-06-17T07:16:05Z")
Salesmen are known for being upfront and honest about as much as accountants are known for being wild party animals. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/32 "2009-06-17T07:20:44Z")
Could the reason for these tactics be down to the fact that most of the salesman’s pay is commission based? So if they don’t sell they don’t get paid. I would imagine at the end of the month (with poor sales figures) the salesman is getting desperate and he will tell any lies to get his commission. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/33 "2009-06-17T13:15:12Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Everytime we used the script our sales went up over 50%. That is a HUGE increase. When we let the reservations sell on their own, even though I liked their soft sell approach, it didn’t translate into sales. But? What are you selling? It’s reservations, right? I call you. I say I want this room, this date. There’s nothing to sell. Maybe… upselling? Except I’ve never been upsold. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/34 "2009-06-17T13:52:57Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Several times, I’ve gone to buy a product or service (more usually a service) and couldn’t get a straight answer to my questions. In response to this, I walk, and tell the salesperson that the reason I’m walking is because I couldn’t get a firm price. Yes, exactly. I hate this. A few years back, I decided that I was going to buy a car. I did my homework, and figured out what make and model I wanted, and the options I’d like to have. Thus prepared, I went down to my local Toyota dealership. A salesman approached me, and I asked him how much the car I wanted would cost. You would think I’d asked him for his social security number and bank account information. We went back and forth for about half an hour, but he simply wasn’t going to answer my question. I heard a lot of “how much do you want to pay”, and “how much would you like your monthly payment to be,” but no price information. And there was a lot of trying to upsell me on the options. Apparently you can’t drive a car off the lot without buying the optional floor mats. And only communists want a manual transmission. And when he learned that I intended to pay cash for the car, rather than financing it through the dealership, you’d think I proposed a sexual relationship with his pre-teen daughter. Good God. I ended up not buying a car, from that dealership or any other. The salesman really did me a favor. I’m better off without a car. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/35 "2009-06-17T14:17:19Z")
There are times when I want to be sold something. I’ll often actively seek out the product or service, and I’ll try to make it as easy on the salesperson as possible. What often happens is that they’ll screw up their own sale by pushing me too hard on something I already want, to the point where I no longer want it. They had a sure sale until they talked me out of it. Many years ago I thought it would be a great idea if I joined a gym. I found one close by and called them up to ask what the membership fee was. Nope, they wouldn’t tell me. I had to make an appointment to go there and talk to them. Stupidly, I did. Once I met the saleswoman, I asked again. Nope, not without the tour first. I asked again repeatedly, but got no straight answer until I was shown the entire gym, was upsold on all of the features, and had signable contracts in front of me and a pen in my hand. I finally got the price right before I signed. I can’t remember the outrageous monthly fee, but I remember the initiation fee was over $300. When I expressed sticker shock, she actually got pissed at ME for wasting HER time. Bitch. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/36 "2009-06-17T14:27:24Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > Apparently you can’t drive a car off the lot without buying the optional floor mats. There may be more truth to this than you know. The only time I’ve bought a new car, while going through the options, I said no to floor mats (they were like $80 or something and I knew damn well I could cheaper floor mats). The salesman said, “No problem,” and crossed them off. Then, as I was driving my new car off the lot, he flagged me down, opened the back door, and tossed a set of floor mats in my back seat. “Y’all have a good day,” he said, and waved us on. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/37 "2009-06-17T14:34:07Z")
Same as you can’t buy a pair of shoes before you have to buy some very expensive shoe polish or water-proofing treatment. I suppose the sales person gets extra commission for selling that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/38 "2009-06-17T14:48:18Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Yeah, well perhaps if you wouldn’t meet them at the door and chase them down the street with a sword you might have more chances to actaually throw them out. 😃 That was **Master Wang-Ka** , I think. He’s the witty one. I’m the pretty one. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843/39 "2009-06-17T15:24:20Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Everytime we used the script our sales went up over 50%. That is a HUGE increase. When we let the reservations sell on their own, even though I liked their soft sell approach, it didn’t translate into sales. > > So those hard sell techniques do translated into sales. When I went into business I quickly learned I don’t just get to be a tech, now I have to be a salesperson too, one of the people I have always loathed. I vary my tactics a little depending on business. If its slow I am a lot quicker to do things like offer up a free pickup or delivery, if we have 3-4 days of backlog in the shop, I don’t concede much because even at a discount the customer is not going to lower their expectations. If its slow I would rather keep things coming in and will offer up some perks for the business. Also if its slow I am more likey to downplay the larger possibility and aim for being more hopeful about the less expensive possibility. Alot of this is because I know once its in the shop its far more likely that they will pursue a repair even if its a more expensive one, and upselling small ram upgrades can easily bump invoices by 10% and create noticable performance boosts on 75% of the machines we see. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salesmen-not-being-upfront/499843.md?page=1)