YESTERDAY could have been called “Surprise Day” at our home. My dad arrived from work with a small plasma TV to surprise my mom. Well my mom had a surprise for my dad as well: a high-tech touch stove, a massage chair, and a heat massager.
It’s not always like this at home. My parents hardly surprise each other with appliances just because “wala lang.” My mom’s TV is so old that it fades to black in the middle of TV Patrol and so my dad figured it seemed like a good time to buy a new TV.
My mom, on the other hand, was just walking in the mall when some giddy sales people invited her in their store to try out this and that. So even if she had no plans of buying anything, she walked out with all those items I mentioned above plus a P51,000 straight charge on the credit card bill.
We didn’t need mom’s surprise gifts. And my dad got shocked that he had to pay the credit card company P51,000 next month. We looked at each other and decided those non-essential stuff had to go back to the store pronto.
This is exactly what Michael Tan wrote about in his Pinoy Kasi column last January 27 entitled “Hard Sell.” He writes, “As the economic crisis worsens and sales decline, more business establishments seem to be driven more into using hard sell tactics, and I have to say this is a move in the wrong direction.” He also mentioned that some companies prey on the elderly—just like what happened to my mother.
Hard sell may translate to sales (especially among the gullible), but it can also turn off people. Tan tells the story of his father, who decided to stop going to a barber shop just because they were trying to sell him stuff he didn’t need. I can relate. Years ago, I refused getting an insurance policy from one agent just because she was so kulit. I got a policy from their competitor instead, whose agent knew when to call and how often.
I’m sure you have been accosted by sales people in the malls asking as you pass by if you have a credit card. Once you say you do, they will invite you to join a free raffle, listen to a presentation and squeeze the blood out of you. The gullible still get victimized to this day, sad to say.
How do your sales people go about selling? There is a time and place for everything, and a right time to make that sales pitch. Remember that hard sell will be a no sell in the long run.
4 Feedbacks on "Hard sell never sells"
Romeo Ybanez
I was once a victim of this “hard sell” guys offering insurance. Well anyway what I lost is just my precious time. I gobbled all their promos (raffles, free bags, etc) but they didn’t get a thing from me. They have the gall to hard sell because what they offer is a promise. An insurance ‘kuno’. They used man’s ego to take their bait. Every time they fooled someone to sign the contract, they make public announcement to entice others to sign also. Very cheap gimmick.
PinoyXfat
There’s that one company that keeps asking people if they have credit cards. They actually succeed sometimes in getting people to sit down with them. We’ve heard a lot of horror stories. But they’re still there. It probably works for them, but it’s such a turn-off, to the point I cringe at the sight of their logo. You can see their agents at all the major malls in Manila and Cebu. The agents, sorry to say, look like roaches when they descend on people going through the mall’s doors. Can’t blame them though; it’s just a job for them. But yeah, can you imagine a company deploying roaches to market their products?
PinoyXfat
There’s a popular barber shop for men. Ricky Something. Everytime I went there when I was still working in Manila, the crew would descend on my scalp like as if I were a laboratory rat. They’d poke those instruments on my scalp and show me a computer monitor or something to prove to me how bad my dandruff is. The next time they tried to do it, I warned them I would smash their monitor. They backed off thinking “Suplado nito”. Of course they have the right to use whatever gimmick they can think of but they’re support to warn the customer what it’s all about. Sir, makikita po anit ninyo. 1 million po ang resolution. super zoom lens. I mean. c’mon Ricky Something. You have a school, right? Is it Ricky Institute of Manners for Gents?
John Roxas
Fooling and pressuring are all two different beast. One need not be a “victim” of “hard sell” (reads, pressure) and if one indeed fell into pressure, one is not a victim but a willing participant.
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