Salesmen??

[CRHAMEL]

I am on both sides of the fence with my job. I get to call on customers and I have salesmen call on me...... It just burns me up when salesmen stop by with out a appt or even calling to let me know they will visiting me.
I have NEVER done this to my customers I respect their time to much.
It seems like this is a trend with younger salesmen.
What does everyone else experence??

Chris

 

[Waxman]

Same deal here. I give them little time to tell me what they are selling and usually send them away soon after.

But yeah, the cold calls are an intrusion, usually.

 

[robert roman]

Perhaps it is just a sign of the times. People are generally spending less as well as many small businesses.

For example, I am getting less inquires because new carwash construction has declined and the percentage of tire kickers and people trying to get information for free has definitely gone up a bit.

Consider what a new sales person in the carwash industry is thrown into; a relatively mature market with a lot of suppliers and vendors and less overall demand for products and supplies. Consequently, new people have to be aggressive to survive.

When I worked at car dealerships, new people were usually given a six month grace period to get trained and hone their selling skills. After that, the prevailing practice was to sell a minimum of 8 vehicles a month or you were shown the door.

I would imagine it is no different and perhaps a little more pressure in the carwash industry.

 

[pitzerwm]

I think that it is more of the lack of respect. I see a real downhill slide in respect for your fellow man. You would be surprised how many helpful/informative emails I send out and never receive even a "kiss my ass" much less "thanks".

Not to long ago a company called Quick Switch hires a new salesman so he finds a mailing list and sends out an email. I look at the site and another sister site. both have some issues, so I spend a couple hours fixing the code and giving some suggestions and email it to the owner. I hear nothing for a month or so, and receive another email from the salesman. I email the salesman back and suggest that he remove me from his list as IMO the owner is rude that I didn't even get a "kiss my ass". the next morning I receive a phone call from the owner and he tells me that "You are the rudest person that I've ever ran into. I got your email, and Kiss my ass"

Maybe I'm a little sensitive, but if he ever figures out that the Forum is a good place to advertise, you won't be seeing his ads.

 

[rph9168]

I think it depends on how I am approached and what the product is. If they are just introducing themselves and maybe handing me information that is fine but if they want to takes some time and make a full blown sales pitch I want an appointment. If it is something I have been looking for I might give them a little more time but generally I don't like someone just coming in unannounced to sell me something.

 

[Red Baron]

I made the money to build my car wash mostly from cold calling. I cold called 40 customers every day, 5 days a week for years. It works better than any other kind of marketing you can do, imo. Or, at least it did back in the late 1980's when I was doing it.

Granted, it's less acceptable today, but I know why salesmen cold call: It works!

I'd knock 40 doors, get rejected off by 38 of them, get permission to provide a bid on a roof to 2 of them, and I'd sell 1 of the 2. Average commission was $400...not bad for a 29 year old in 1989.

I was very polite and to-the-point with them, and did not waste their time if they didn't need a roof. I was gone in 10 seconds if they didn't need what I was selling.

 

[ScottV]

Bill....Kiss my Ass! I'm not sure how that will make you feel better, but I figured I would give it a try since you asked! LOL

 

[robert roman]

I don't believe you are being overly sensitive Bill, I get it all the time.

For example, some people engage me, paid the fee without question, use me like a hired gun and then discard me matter of factly when they have no further use of me. That's the nature of what I do, it simply goes with the territory. I expect nothing except maybe some work in the future or referral.

However, with regards to voluntarily helping people out of the kindness of your heart, it can be very disheartening.

For example, I am a member of PC&D's Ask the Expert's panel. I can count on one hand the number of times that people have taken the time or common courteousy to thank me for helping them either solve their issue(s) or point them in the right direction.

Again, I believe it is just a sign of the times; dog eat dog, take no prisoners at any cost, all I want is more than my unfair share.

With the proliferation of free stuff on the www, I believe that many people have lost sight of value. Why should I paid for it when I can find it on the web for free. Of course, what you find free on the www is often watered-down or too generic to have much practical value. But its free. If its free, why should I thank you for it? I can get free anywhere.

I wouldn't get too discouraged. You are a good man and this website and your voluntary efforts to truly help people underscores this.

 

[MEP001]

I have "No soliciting" signs up and still get people stopping by to sell their chemicals. I like to test them to see if they know their product or if they're just trying to make a buck by pushing something.

I hate salesmen. They're usually phonies who will tell you whatever it takes to make the sale.

 

[Red Baron]

I have "No soliciting" signs up and still get people stopping by to sell their chemicals. I like to test them to see if they know their product or if they're just trying to make a buck by pushing something.

I hate salesmen. They're usually phonies who will tell you whatever it takes to make the sale.

When I was young and stupid and cold calling, those signs only emboldened me. I liked the challenge and I sold and awful lot of roofs to the guys who had a sign up that said: WE SHOOT EVERY 3RD SALESMAN, AND THE FIRST 2 JUST LEFT. I figured he was low hanging fruit because most sane salesman would not attempt a sale.

I knew every Zig Ziglar closing technique in the book, and was a student of Neuro Linguistic Selling (sp?) so that I could quickly pick up on visual cues that often told me what the customer was really thinking. E.g. if I could "pace" him by causing him to fold his arms after I folded my arms, he was prime for attempting a close.

Eventually I figured out that manipulating people was no way to make a living and opted to just work hard to discover and fill his needs.

P.S. Did you know that for a high percentage of people, when they answer a question by looking up and to the left, they're probably telling you the truth -- and if they look up and to the right, they're probably lying to you? That stems from some theory that you look "back" to tell the truth, and you look "forward" when covering new ground or lying. It is surprisingly accurate, but it's a little more complicated than just that.

 

[my2cents]

I am in sales. Before the internet, cold calling was the way to go. Now we all have websites and customers and tire kickers come to us if we have the product, special or information they need. E-blasts are now taking the place of cold calling, but in some instances cold calling can be effective.

I prefer to make appointments with customers but if I see a new wash or a place I have not been to before, I go in and introduce myself and my company. I appreciate it when I get a minute or two of the operators time. It's no big deal if they can't talk and I appreciate an opportunity to call back.

What sucks is if the person you are calling on is having a bad day or is just a miserable jerk that they belittle you or try to test your knowledge. Sometimes they look stupid because they are stuck in thier own little world without any idea what thier counterparts in other parts of the country or the world are doing to solve common issues. Business has been so terrible the last few years either due to weather or the economy that its a "given" that nobody has money to spend when you walk in the door -this makes cold calling that much more of a challenge.

You can meet some great people and solve some issues if common courtesy is used on both sides of the cold call. As as sales professional, don't try and hit a homerun the first visit and don't waste an operators time - get to the point and foster a relationship. Customers need only to spend five minutes or less to acknowledge a caller and to determine if a need is there.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I was speaking with a salesperson who I was dealing with for decades. He lamented how the business has changed. USed to be he could stop in 7 days a week and find the owner operator. Now it seems as if they are hardly ever there. I can appereciate the difficulties in Cold calling and typicaly will not buy any volume of material without trying it. I would say one in ten offered a gallon fo stuff to try. Had one outfit set up everytimg in my equipment room with theri stuff. No Charge. They only asked if they could bring other operators by to view it. Stuff wea great. Should have been they were using three to four times the stuff at a similar cost increase per car.

Another guy from a big name outfit said he could match KR prices. I said OK, he could have the business.So, he set me up with his stuff. Then I got the invoice which ranged fro 2-5 times Kleen rite prices. He is lucky to be alive.

Another big name outfit set me up with their system. Central mixing system and concentrates. Had numerous issues. Made him pull it out . Wanted to choke him .

But, you know what? At least they tried.

 

[Red Baron]

What sucks is if the person you are calling on is having a bad day or is just a miserable jerk that they belittle you or try to test your knowledge. Sometimes they look stupid because they are stuck in thier own little world without any idea what thier counterparts in other parts of the country or the world are doing to solve common issues. Business has been so terrible the last few years either due to weather or the economy that its a "given" that nobody has money to spend when you walk in the door -this makes cold calling that much more of a challenge.

I tried to never walk in the door with a briefcase or "sales" book as that as often as not that was the owner's clue to hide.

Belittling Jerk - I walked in a hardware store in Sweetwater, Texas one day looking to make the owner our local representative, a pretty lucrative deal for him. He assumed I was just selling something and was very rude to me, even in front of his customers. I walked back out a few steps, then turned around and told him: I wasn't here to sell you anything; we're looking for a local rep who will get 5% of all sales in Sweetwater, which would amount to about $10,000 in your pocket every year with you doing not a darn thing for it. He said "Oh, well come back in then." I told him "No sir, we're looking for good natured people who treat others with respect, and you just showed me and several of your customers that you you aren't that way so we don't want our company name associated with you".

 

[pitzerwm]

I think that it goes back to the entitlement that the intellectuals are teaching in schools.

When there is competition (capitalism) there is a first, second, third. However, we don't want to warp their little minds by being third, so lets not compare and everyone is first.

Now they are in charge of the country and your capitalistic butts are history. How dare you expect recognition, because you have it, its your duty to "give" it willingly. If you don't give it willingly, we will just have to take it as you missed the memo that we sent to set you straight, and take it.

 

[dewey9876]

I love the last two posts!

 

[Red Baron]

Sales used to be a more respectable profession. I was competing with people who had a lot more formal education than I had, but I found that hustle was the great equalizer. I out hustled every other roofing salesman in West Texas by a wide margin. Several of them poked fun at me for being a roofing salesman who dressed up every day in a white long sleeve shirt, tie and slacks. They stopped laughing in about 1989 when my little roofing company won the business of the 2 largest real estate owners in West Texas, and most of the coveted/large school district reroofing projects, some of them $500,000+.

It was funny, it all came to me one snowy morning in Littlefield, Tx. There's no use in a roofing salesman knocking doors of businesses on a Saturday - the odds of landing a job were slim-to-none. But there I was in my slacks and leather shoes, treking through 6" of snow in downtown Littlefield, Tx., knowing two things:
1. The chances of me selling a roof that day were not good. and;
2. The chances of my lazy competitors selling a roof that morning were zero because they were at home, probably still in their warm bed.

 

[pitzerwm]

That is one thing that you all need to remember is that even if they are a salesman today, he might be a customer tomorrow.

I learned that a long time ago. A man was selling insurance, and when I told him, "No thanks, my father sells insurance" and started to close the door, he stuck his foot in the door. I tried to cut his foot off with the door.

Next morning, I walked into my laundromat and there he was washing his clothes.

This happens at the conventions to me when I talk with booth personnel, there are always a few that are really rude. A lot of the times, I mention them here in the forum. I'm sure that helps their sales.

 

[rph9168]

My biggest gripe is with the sales person that does not know all about what they are selling. Without product knowledge they are a waste of time to talk to.

 

[Red Baron]

My biggest gripe is with the sales person that does not know all about what they are selling. Without product knowledge they are a waste of time to talk to.

I had an overly-agreesive car salesman irritate me at Frontier Dodge in Lubbock, Tx. years ago. As agreed, he took my pickup to be appraised for a trade, then hid it around back until the salesman and manager could tag team me. He made me jump through hoops to get my pickup back, so once I did I told him I decided I wanted to test drive his truck one more time (this was in the days when they trusted you to go by yourself). I took my son aside, gave him the keys to my truck and told him to meet me at the mall about 2 miles away. I drove the new Dodge to the mall, called the salesman and told him: I'm leaving your truck at the mall, you better get here to get it pronto coz I'm leaving the keys in the ignition and whoever gets here first, gets your truck.

 

[Earl Weiss]

That is one thing that you all need to remember is that even if they are a salesman today, he might be a customer tomorrow.

.

A customer or..........???!!!

One time I was returning from Russia & looking at the customs lines at O'Hare airport when a voice said "Please step over here sir." Something you don't really want to hear even if you have nothing to fear because it will probably involve some hassle or cavity search.

Anyway the customs agent asks where I was, andif it was business or pleasure. I explain that I was at a competition and reach into my wallet for a business card from my school.

As I do this she says " I thought you looked familiar, I used to take lessons from you." I am now hoping that I never did anything to **** her off. About then she signs off on my paperwork and clears me to bypass the lines.

So, that salesperson today, especialy a younger one could be the ER doctor working on you a few years from now.