Shady Salesperson

Posted by pathenry123 under Sales
From http://smallbusinesscommunity.blogspot.com 5320 days ago

Friday a teenager rang my doorbell. Usually when kids come to my door they're trying to sell me crap that I don't want, but as I prepared to say "no thanks" he let me know that his motives were not financial. He told me he was in a group for young entrepreneurs, and as part of an effort to practice speaking in public his assignment was to go door-to-door and introduce himself...

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Comments

Written by ShawnHessinger
5320 days ago

I think the trouble is that increasingly the nature of the sales experience is changing. True the above described scenario sounds particularly deceptive but even cold calling or other forms of traditional prospecting these days can feel a bit pushy. As permission marketing becomes increasingly the norm, customers have grown accustomed to searching for and asking for what they want. Throw up a Website. A blog. A series of key worded videos on YouTube using phrases like "magazine", "subscription" or maybe a keyword based on the subject your magazine covers. Let me sign up for your e-mail newsletter so you can keep me up to date. Then don't call me. I'll call you. And don't show up at my door. There are some services that still pay to promote broadly, like distributing take-out menus for your new restaurant to everyone in your zip code. (They've all got to eat, right?) But customers are becoming more sophisticated these days, and trying to trick them into buying a product they don't want or need probably isn't the best strategy.

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Written by lovedthisarticle!
5320 days ago

I don't know, "Duped" "Tricked" "Con Artist"? Kinda harsh? I don't think the kid was that different than salespeople who call someone at home. They want to sell something too. Maybe it would have been a magazine you were interested in then he would have made a sale. Salespeople try and get theeir foot in the door. Maybe the kid himself was tricked I don't know. But I admire his courage and entreprenuerial spirit and give him the benefit of the doubt. Sorry.

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