But I think the lines that are carried should be complimentary to one another - you sold Beachcomber, a great product in itself but it doesn't offer a lot of bells and whistles; by picking up an equally great product with the bells and whistles you are appealing to more people. It doesn't mean that either is inferior, just appeals to a different buyer.
Vinny
Good point and I understand your thinking Vinny. I guess I spent my time talking them out of the features they
thought they wanted. I ran the risk of losing them if I didn't have a strong presentation to show other features and what I personally believe to be more beneficial to the end user.
Thanks for your suggestions empolgation and what you say makes sense. When I said "controlling the sale" that means asking my customer more questions than they are asking me. I'm very proud of the fact that when I sold Beachcomber, I was more focused on selling my customer a spa that best suits their needs than trying to take them to a higher end spa. I would take the information I gathered and take them to 1 or 2 spas that I think will best fit. People get confused when they go from spa to spa and we do a presentation on each one.
If they didn't find them right, we would move on. That is controlling the sale instead of letting the customer wander aimlessly through the showroom where each spa starts to look the same as the first one.
I was always curious why I lost a sale if I did and asked the people what made them choose brand X? The answers I received never really justified having to bring in another line to prevent this.
I feel 98% of the reason people buy is because of the comfort level with your salesperson. Obviously, you have to be able to offer a strong product but ask yourself when was the last time you made a big ticket purchase from someone you didn’t like? I wish there were more female salespeople as we all know they can make us guys do just about anything! In fact, one of the most successful salespeople in the Beachcomber organization is a woman. It’s unfortunate there aren’t more as this has always been labeled as a “mans” industry.
Anyway... nuff said. Some great points all around and there is no right or wrong I believe. I just know I couldn’t do it and never felt the need to.
Steve