It always amazes me when I talk to salespeople about their own stories of dealing with other salespeople as customers. The stories are fun because salespeople, when they are on the buying side, can spot and recognize heavy handed sales tactics and techniques before they are used. Not surprisingly, those techniques annoy the salesperson just as much as any other customer.
But here’s the part that really throws me: After telling me a story of how a sales technique annoyed him when he was the victim, the same salesperson will tell me a story of using that technique on a customer! When I press the salesperson a bit, asking why he uses the technique if he knows it annoys the customer, I usually get something like, “Oh, that’s just part of selling,” or something like that. That’s like saying that the Inquisition was just a part of visiting Spain. It doesn’t have to be that way.
I had my own recent experience in dealing with an obnoxious salesperson. I decided, about a month ago, to buy a Harley-Davidson. This decision wasn’t arrived at lightly. I rode the big touring bikes from every major manufacturer (and there are a lot of them) before deciding on the Harley. The truth was that the Harley just fit me ergonomically better than any other bike, and that I did have a desire to buy American, which tilted the scales a bit in favor of three brands – Harley, Victory, and Indian. Since I was buying a used bike, under a certain budget, that locked in the H-D.
I visited a dealership here in Kansas City which will remain nameless to protect the guilty. When I arrived, I was met by a salesman who was, in fact, a nice guy. I told him that I was interested in used Road Kings between the years of 2009 and 2011 for technical reasons (I’ll not bore you here with those details, but the salesman did ask and agree with my answers). They had one. In dark red metallic, and I love red. I asked him the price on the bike, and he explained that he didn’t have the price on him, but we could go inside and ask. So far, so good – back when I was selling cars, I didn’t always have the used car price list on me, either. We went inside, and that’s when the trouble started.
When we went inside, I was introduced to the sales manager – who shot my salesman a look that said, “Watch me put this guy away.” Uh-oh. I asked him the price on the bike, and he asked me if I was going to trade anything (Old sales tactic alert – always answer a question with a question). I said that yes, I would probably trade my Honda Valkyrie. He said, “That’s quite a move up in bikes (Old sales tactic alert – subtly insult the customer’s trade in to devalue it in their mind).
I told him that I wasn’t sure if I was trading or not but I wanted to know the price on the red Road King. He then asked me if I planned to pay cash or to finance. I told him that I didn’t know, but I had the capability to do either. He then said, “Well, if you’re going to trade, you don’t care about the price, you just care about the difference figure, and if you’re going to finance, you just care about the monthly payment. What monthly payment are you looking for?” (Old sales tactic alert – redirect the customer’s attention from pricing.)
By now I was getting frustrated, because I’d asked for the price – twice – and not gotten it. I said, “Look, let me help you a bit. I am today’s informed consumer. That means that I’m smart enough to understand that a payment is a function of the price of your bike, the allowance on my bike, the interest rate, and the term, and I’ll want to know about and address each of those components separately. The good news for you is that I have a want for that specific bike, and that I have complete ability to pay. The only thing separating us from a deal is your candor in the conversation. We start with the price on the bike.”
He said, “Well, but what if I could give you way more for your trade-in than you ever thought you could get? Then the price wouldn’t be so important, would it?” (Old sales tactic alert – couch an improbable ‘dream scenario’ for the customer with the old “If I could, would you” phrasing.)
Now I’m mad but I’m giving him one more shot. I said, “Look, let’s hit reset on this conversation. We’re going to treat each other like intelligent, rational adults. I’m going to ask you questions and you’re going to answer them in a straightforward manner, and vice versa. The question on the floor is, ‘how much is that Road King,’ and if you tell me you don’t know, then you are either stupid, incredibly bad at your job, or dishonest. Which would you prefer?”
He responded, “Well, I don’t understand why you’re fixated on the price when the payment is what will matter to you.” At that point, I handed the salesman his card and told him that he should save it for someone who will use it, because I will never set foot in his dealership again. And I won’t. Of course, the last old sales tactic was that the salesman tried to stop me as I was leaving the parking lot.
I honestly don’t understand how salespeople – and sales managers – become so locked into old, crappy, and abusive customer tactics that they can’t mentallly adjust when those tactics are so obviously losing a sale. I could have had a deal done on that bike in 30 minutes. Yes, it was frustrating for me.
My story has a happy ending. I went into an independent dealership called Superstar Cycle Center, found a used, ex-sheriff 2010 Road King in green and white, and did a deal that left both myself and the dealer happy. That’s the way it should be. At Superstar, the salesman was straightforward at every step of the process, answered my questions, and even helped me research a couple of specifics on cop bikes that I wanted to know. Result – I’m a happy rider.
So, what do customers really want from you? A pleasant buying experience. Buying things should be fun, and if you take all the fun out of it through hackneyed and far outdated sales tactics, you’re living in a much less successful version of the past.
