Money making scams, unethical selling techniques and mind games, are still used by some large and small business sales teams. These short term gain techniques are really bad business practice and can bring down not just a business but a whole market place.
I’ve listed below some of the common scams sales people use when persuading customers to buy from them. Look at the reputation some industries are now trying to claw their way back from. Holiday clubs and time share, estate agents and realtors, double glazing and direct sales for home improvements. There are many reputable companies in all of these markets but a few sales people wanting a short term gain has led to mistrust and a loss of credibility.
You can’t build a long term large or small business sales enterprise based on money making scams. A successful sales operation should be built on building a relationship with your customers, repeat business, and customer referrals. Not one-off sales made with false claims and sales tricks to close the deal. So here are some examples of the sales mind games and influencing techniques that you should avoid.
False reasons for your sales appointment call
You have probably received a call at some time from someone trying to make a sales appointment with you, or attempting to sell you their products. Often they will give a reason why they are calling that you accept at the time of the call but afterwards you question it. These reasons for calling can include: I sent you some information. Someone has recommended you or asked me to call. You filled in a questionnaire. I spoke to your partner and they said to call you. We contacted you some time ago and you said to call back. I am calling because... and then a false reason or connection just to get your attention.
The sales person quickly moves on and asks you a question so you don’t have time to think about what they have said. No matter what the outcome of the call, afterwards you might think back to the reason they gave for calling. If you haven’t filled in a questionnaire, spoke to someone a while ago, or your partner hasn’t asked them to call you, you start to question the credibility of the caller. If you were thinking of buying, or have agreed to a sales appointment, there may be doubts creeping in as to whether you should do business with these people.
Lying about who you work for
This money making sales scam is used by telesales and field sales to gain a sales appointment with a prospect or to manipulate the buyer and close the sale. The sales person leads you to believe they are calling on behalf of someone else. Often it is to gain credibility by associating their business with an organisation that you know. This could be your bank, a national company, a law enforcement agency or public service.
An example of this is when debt counselling companies claim to be phoning on behalf of your bank. They add that they know you are struggling financially and that they can help you. Other examples include sales calls to UK domestic power customers where the caller claims to be associated with British Gas. Telecommunications sellers intimating that they are associated to British Telecomm. There are companies that sell advertising space in publications associating themselves with hospitals, fire and police services, or charities. Once caught out by these unethical sales techniques a customer will not get stung again and they become cynical about all sales people in that market place. They tell their friends, and when enough people have an opinion the media jump on the bandwagon.
The sales manager feedback call
I recently agreed to a sales appointment for double glazing. I often do this, I allow sales people to meet with me and I get to see what great sales techniques, or money making scams, they are using. Then I can take them away and use them or write about them. The double glazing presentation was very poor and all sales objections were answered by dropping the price or making promises about the financial package. When the seller realized he was not going to close the sale with me he admitted defeat and said he just needed to call his manager. He told me how the manager was very passionate about customer satisfaction and maintaining the good name of the company. All the sales people have to phone in after every sales appointment to make sure the customer is happy.
The manager wanted to talk to me to get feedback on how his advisor had treated me. He asked how much I had been quoted and I answered. He said that was far too much and the sales person was new to the company and had given me the wrong price. He then tried to start selling the new price to me. That’s strange I said, only a moment ago your employee was telling me what a great company you were and how he had worked for you for over twenty years There was a silence that I wasn’t going to break. The salesman, sat in my living room, was going bright red with embarrassment. The manager at the end of the line couldn’t come up with anything better than, he was getting his staff mixed up. A quick check on the Internet afterwards and I found blogs and feedback sites that told how the very same manager feedback call sales trick was used on others. The double glazing company spends a fortune on national TV advertising. Probably because it doesn’t get any customer referrals or repeat business.
Is it any wonder the double glazing market suffers from a reputation for using unethical sales techniques and money making scams. There are many very reputable companies in all direct sales markets, but they have to overcome the credibility issues created by a small minority that are more focused on short term gain than they are on providing a great service that will gain them repeat business and stacks of referrals.
I’m Stephen Craine a working sales manager and trainer. There are very effective and ethical ways to disguise your sales and appointment calls and make them appear more beneficial to the prospect. Using these techniques will increase your results while maintaining and even improving your credibility. You can see free sales training and ideas on how to put this into action at
http://www.sales-training-sales-tips.com/telephone-sales-skills.html. You can add these sales skills to the other training available on my website. There are free sales training courses and pages with sales tips and ideas on all aspects of the sales process. Star at the home page and have a click around the free sales workbook courses at
http://www.Sales-Training-Sales-Tips.com.