I sold cars for a couple of summers. I had several customers who fell in love with the car, didn’t push hard on the price etc., just generally acted like the perfect “lay-down.” Until I ran their credit, when the music stopped.
I was reminded of those experiences today after a call with a potential client. He mentioned how my firm was the “gold standard,” and how he’s a lawyer (business guy now though) but not of the caliber of the folks at my firm on the phone (and he mentioned us each by name) . . . and then he asked about whether we can “be flexible with start-ups” (this is after bragging about how a “family office in Amarillo” had just invested $20 million in their company). Boom goes the air being sucked out of the room.
So, anyone else see applications of this principle in stuff they do?
I’ve been trying to sell a fairly nice boat for a couple of years. It’s astonishing how many people will waste my time and effort when they don’t have any money. It’s also surprising how many people think I look like a bank, and act a little miffed at my answer when they ask if I’ll accept payments for it (I say yes, I’ll accept one, for the full amount).
One buyer (who I refer to as “Little Lord Fauntleroy”) claimed to have enough cash on hand and we agreed on a price. A day later, his mother-in-law called and offered me $2000 cash to stop the deal. :eek: She said that LLF was essentially a loser who couldn’t keep up with ownership and she would end up footing all the bills to keep her daughter happy.
I don’t see it now, but I also spent some time selling cars and you’re absolutely right. I was a terrible salesperson, except with someone who had terrible credit. They made me feel like Zig Zigler.
I just assume that everyone who walks through the door is broke and going to try to talk me down to accepting nothing. That way, when they come back that they are pleased to pay full price upfront, it’s like a magical Christmas morning surprise for me. Keeps my day just a titch happier.
I completely do not understand this mentality. I spent quite a few years flat broke and with horrible credit but I didn’t want anyone to KNOW that so I didn’t apply for more credit, especially when an actual person was involved. Apparently being rejected over the internet, phone or by mail was less embarrasing.
I wonder if it’s magical thinking - the hope that this time their credit will be fine and they’ll get what they want.
Yeah, we’re trying to sell a house. People want us to accept payments, and we explain that no, we aren’t going to finance the house. They say that they can’t get a loan from a bank. Well, why the hell do they think that this is going to make US give them credit, if a bank won’t? That house is pretty reasonably priced, and if you can’t get a loan from a bank, then probably you wouldn’t be able to afford to make payments to US, either! You want the house, you’re gonna have to pay for it. We aren’t going to let you live in it for free.
I had it happen this morning. I own my own business, and I had quoted a prospective client on a project about a week and a half ago. This morning he emailed me back saying that if I could drop my price he’d be good to go. No reasoning attached to it. Just, “Hey, can you do the same amount of work, but for less money?” I told him that I would be happy to reduce the scope of the project in order to fit within his budget, so we’ll see what he says.
It was a small drop, about 6%, but I think it’s a bad precedent to show clients that I’ll take less money for no apparent reason. My mortgage company certainly won’t do that, nor will the grocery store.
I had really really bad credit a while back- and I received one of those mailers for a car dealership stating, “You are PRE-approved for an auto-loan of up to $25,000.00!” I didn’t think they would do it, and I was right. I just went to see what they would say in person.
Only did that once, however.
Why would those go out? In the attempt to steer the less creditworthy to a used car or something? When they told me it was a no-go, I said thanks, and left.
Yes, had this experience when we were trying to sell our house a year ago. The first three offers were from people who couldn’t actually pay for the house. One wanted to rent-to-own (wtf?), one fell through because she wasn’t approved for enough even though we’d agreed on a price, the third fell through when her mother decided not to provide the down payment.
I used to have good credit; right up until I learned I was ID-thefted to the tune of 5-figures on a credit card I didn’t know I had :eek: (maybe because it was going to a different address!) & therefore, not making payments on. (my credit score was good enough to get a 5-figure limit on a credit card)
Filing the appropriate police reports can make it go away, but still it was embarrassing & unexpected because when they returned my credit score, it was in the toilet & I didn’t know why.
It’s a common enough phenomenon to have been fictionalised:
Shelley ‘The Machine’ Levene: I just closed eighty-two grand, are you out of your fuckin’ mind? I’m back. This is just the beginning.
John Williamson: Just the beginning? Where have you been Shelley? Bruce and Harriet Nyborg. You want to see the memos? They’re nuts. They used to call in every week. When I was with Webb, we were selling Arizona - they’re nuts. Did you see how they were living? How can you delude yourself?
Levene: I got their check.
Williamson: Yeah well forget it, frame it, it’s worthless.
Levene: The check is no good?
Williamson: You wanna stick around, I’ll pull the memo. I’m busy now.
Levene: Wait a minute, the check is no good? They’re nuts?
Williamson: Wanna call the bank Shelley? I called them. I called them four months ago when we first got the lead. The people are insane. They just. like. talking. to salesmen.
Same here, on the first three. Then, the nuts really came out of the woodwork. One, was from a wanna be mortgage company, that gave a half filled out contract, with 1/2 of the blanks in it…blank. Then, they told us the buyers would pay us our asked for price, in cash, then make payments to us. They told the buyers they could pay something like 1/2 of the price, and *we *would pay them. When I was through dealing with them, the half-baked mortgage/real estate company called and said that they could not accept our offer!
Then, another jerk and his wife came by, and started running his idiot mouth about how he had just fixed up his own house. I thought, 'Oh, he sold and with his profit, he’ll buy this one." Wrong. Jerk just wanted to see what all we had done to fix it up, compared to what he had done. This came out after he wasted about 1/2 hour of my time.
I think that they are looking at two things. 1. People who have good/passable credit, who think that they have bad credit. and 2. The car salesman’s mantra: If the customer wants the car badly enough, they’ll come up with the money.
If you get another circular, go in and take about 2 hours of looking at their cars. Pick the most expensive one, and say “Let’s talk!” Then, whip the letter on them.
I normally wouldn’t suggest this, but, I just received one and I’m getting tired of their stunts so, I believe I’ll do the same.
But wait a minute now. If I convince you that I really really really love it, won’t you ignore the fact that I don’t actually have any money and find a way to let me have it?
You’d think they’d get in legal trouble. Telling someone they’ve been approved for a loan and then when they accept pulling away the football seems like a pretty clear example of fraud, IMHO.
