"Why We Hate Salespeople"
By Stephanie Goddard Davidson

Why do we bristle at the first sign of "sales"?

I do it. And I am technically in sales, right? I own a company and part of its success is based on my calling potential customers; sending brochures; and even sending articles like this to develop rapport and trust with my would-be clients. And yet, I too, delete Spam before reading it, hang-up on telemarketers and run from the sales lady at Macy's.

Why is this such a prevalent reaction to being sold a product or service? I believe it is because many of us do not fully understand the value of sales in the act of purchasing in today's world.

When we were young, or naive, or broke (and weren't we all at some point?), we probably had the typical experience of being tricked, duped or robbed of our money by being sold something different than we thought we were buying. This immediately caused a survival response in you, that is no doubt still in place today. This survival response is good on the one hand---you are not soon parted with your funds today, I would imagine. On the other hand, this practice may be causing you to lose out on SIGNIFICANT benefits too.

In reality, the majority of the sales reps out there are trained to ensure that you get the best deal for your money and that you find the biggest discounts and even get FREE stuff. A typical sales reps has these advantages that we as customers do not:
Knowledge of ALL pricing levels.
Discounts--past or pending--that may still be available to you.
The ability to feel powerful by giving a friendly customer a 'freebie".
Referral to another company that would better-serve your needs (based on a chummy interaction on your part).

For instance, did you know that many of the salespeople at Macy's are trained to be "personal shoppers"? What this means is that they can take your measure-ments; note your work environment's dress code on their database; your budget; and your preferences and put together a cost-effective wardrobe for you on the spot. This initial service is followed by regular "holds" that meet your qualifications. Next your personal shopper makes a heads-up call to you--before it hits the racks, so that you can add supplemental pieces to your foundational wardrobe. Why was I hiding behind racks of clothes from these people? I need that service (just look at the plaid kool-lots I bought last year).

So it is with on-line companies or calls from salespeople. Why not try an experiment :

Starting this week, stop reacting and listen/read for a minute. Is this something you need or use all the time anyway (like long distance or insurance?). Then ask some questions. Don't just get "scripted". Stop them and say "I pay $40 a month for long distance. How would I pay less than that with you? How easy will you make it for me to switch? What is the least amount of effort I have to initiate to move my business to you guys?"

Corporate interviews and research shows that in the last ten years companies have moved from "quota" hard sales and into consultative "upselling". This means that they are training their people to be experts in the product or service and not just do a soft-shoe to meet an arbitrary goal and hope you don't notice. Corporate America realizes that most of us are college-educated and making an upper middle class income (look it up, if ya don't believe me). In response, the successful companies are creating a sales environment that serves this more educated, higher-earning customer, and not just the company (or at least not ONLY the company).

With this in mind, companies like MCI and Sprint are willing to LOSE money in one business unit (like residential long distance) to get your long-term business in several others (like internet and cell phone provider). Many companies are giving samples, trials, and free services to prove to us that they are honest and of high-quality. Why would you want to miss out on this?

I encourage you to take down that old shield-and-sword that came from the timeshare you bought in the '70's--and see that the times have changed. Instead, start asking the hard questions, start asking for what you want.

If you don't like what you hear in return...you can always hang up.

For more information on upselling and cross-selling in a consultative environment go here.