Why is it that all too many sales spiels start off with a lie? I mean, I find a lie to be the worst way to introduce ones self.
Now, as a person that hardly ever lies, I really find it difficult to have anything to do with people that do on a regular basis, especially sales people. It seems that the first line is always a lie.
Let's start with a nationally known alarm company. The salesman rings the doorbell. I answer it. The first words out of his mouth are, "I'm not here to sell you anything. I want to offer you a free alarm system." Uh huh. Right.
First thing, if this person is not here to sell me anything, why is he here? Oh, that's right, to give me a free alarm system. Well, that free alarm system is not completely free as to get it, one needs to commit to them monitoring the system for a period, I believe three years (but I could be wrong on the period). So if one has to get monitoring, then one has to buy it. So, isn't this then a sale? Is this person not selling the monitoring?
And let's talk about that free system. Is it truly free if you have to buy something? Will they come out and put it in without a sale? I don't think so. And let's be real, the cost of the equipment and installation is almost nothing compared to what the company will make in what one will be paying them over the commitment period. So, the sales person at the door is not telling the truth, or if he is, it is stretched to the limit.
So why do they do it? They think that you will react to getting something free that you will not notice that they are selling the monitoring. And in reality, you are jot getting anything free. And yes, they are selling you something.
I get people coming into the shop telling me the same thing. AT&T would send some moron sales people in each month. And these people are working for a company that is contracted by AT&T, not for them directly. This way when what they say turns out to be not true, they can tell you they are not responsible.
But these people would walk in and tell me that they are not there to sell me anything, but to check my statement to make sure I am getting everything I am paying for. Of course, when they look and see that I am not getting certain things like internet, guess what they try to do... sell it to me. Uh, duh. So what happened to "we're not here to sell you anything"?
I'm sorry. I just get so tired of being lied to by someone in order to make a sale.
I mean, it is scary that I am so honest. I mean, if I tell a lie, it has to be a real special occasion. One thing, they are too hard to keep track of. The other thing, telling a lie to gain some advantage is only acceptable in poker. I was at a sub shop the other day, and the girl at the counter was going to charge me for only one sandwich when there were two in the bag. I pointed that out there were two sandwiches and she charged me appropriately. Again, I was too honest. Especially since the sandwiches sucked.
When someone comes in and tells me a lie, I just immediately dismiss everything thereafter. The problem is that I really seem to dismiss an awful lot.