The Worst Sales Person Ever

Yesterday I met the worst sales person ever.

I am getting ready to go out of town and my new house needs an alarm system. I have been calling on alarm companies for the past week and having them come over. Some were good and others were bad but I just met the worst sales person on the planet.

Everything started just fine as he entered my home. I told him what I wanted based on my research. Then I asked him what he though. His only answer was that he could not make the choice for me. My first thought was ” What is he here for if not to tell me how he would set up the alarm?”  Strike one, not helpful with product knowledge.

Then I asked him what his alarm would consist of. At no time did he ever even try to connect with Kim and I. He rattled off what his system did like we was talking to a wall. At one point I asked if an infrared would be better or would a glass breaking sensor would be better. Again he said ” Well, I can’t make that choice for you” Strike two, no connection and setting a real bad anchor.

After it was all done he actually had the best equipment for a good price. Then we talked about the monitoring. It was a 12 month contract that was cheaper than everyone else but still good quality. I mentioned that Kim was thinking of switching monitoring companies. Kim said she did not like the current company because they sold us some equipment that 6 months later went obsolete. He defended the company saying they were right. Then Kim said she was going to get out of her contract because it automatically renewed without her consent. he then defended the company again saying that he had to go to court many times to enforce that provision in his contract. Strike three, fighting with the customer.

Even though he had the best product at the best price there was no way we were going to use him or his company.

After not being helpful out of fear of “liability”, treating us like we were too stupid to understand alarm systems, and then arguing that he did exactly what we did not like about the other company, we really did not like the guy. Selling is about relationships. You build them by understanding the client and what they want. You make them feel good about you. Even when you disagree you can do so without being a jerk.

What could he have done instead?

Easy.

When he got there he should have been more interested in what I wanted. If he disagreed he should have been able to tell me why and give me a better solution. Just telling me I was wrong and all the other alarm companies were wrong without providing a solution just set a really bad anchor. I was irritated and had to grill the guy to get an honest answer.

He should have explained why his system fit into what I was looking for and addressed my desires. He never even really told me about his equipment. All he did was say how the other equipment was crap and the other people did not know what they were talking about.

Last, even if he agreed that the other company was within their rights to use that kind of contract he could have explained that those contracts help hold down the monitoring costs and system prices. Instead he defended them and got aggressive about it.

When you are in any situation where you are trying to persuade someone you have to hit certain marks.

First observe the states they are in when they explain what they want.

Second create a relationship that is personal.

Third explain what you have to offer while keeping that relationship and observing their responses.

Fourth speak to them as individuals .

On top of this you can learn how to anchor them, use rapport positioning and how to use vocal influence to amplify these simple 4 things. Even if you do not learn these skills just following the 4 things I outlined here will get better results for everyone.

Have fun

Tom and Kim