So many places require their members of staff to use sales techniques to try and make extra sales to customers at the point of purchase. Depending on the sales person and the store policy, these sales techniques could be a simple question at the till "Are you interested in any of our special offers today?" to an aggressive hard sell, where the staff member really tries to convince you that you would not survive without the product. I really hate being put in situations where people try to sell me things. I hate being stopped in the street by the charity workers, I hate when they come to my front door and call my phone, and I hate when I'm just trying to buy something but I have to "sold to" first. The problem is, however, that I hate saying no and I will politely stand and be sold to for long periods of time before eventually mumbling an excuse and hoping they aren't angry with me. Often the thing that people are trying to sell are overvalued - even if they're on some kind of offer. If they were as great as they were claiming them to be, they wouldn't need to make any extra efforts to sell them, after all. I've been practicing some techniques to avoid being targeted by salespeople and thought I would share them. If anyone has any others, please add them 1) Look inaccessible - I know from experience in a previous job that it's much, much harder to approach someone who doesn't look approachable. Pretending to be on a mobile phone, looking in the other direction, looking through your bag as you pass. They are much less likely to try and stop you in your tracks than if they happen to catch your glance. So avoid eye contact and look busy. 2) Have a few premade excuses available at any time - If you go to a shop, one of the best things to do when you first go to the sales point is say "I'm in a bit of a rush". One major part of customer service is to ensure that your customers needs are met quickly and efficiently, especially if they're in a rush. If you are caught in the street or on the phone with a salesperson, do the same thing. "Will you still be here later? I'm just running late for a dentist appointment" for example. 3) Pretend that you already have the service/product - when you buy a computer, the salesperson will pretty much always try to sell you Microsoft Office and/or some kind of antivirus. You might not want them and prefer to use the open source software available online. If you say that, they will likely have reasons why their product is better. But if you tell them that you already have it, there's not much they can do and they're less likely to try and convince you their own product should be purchased. 4) Pretend that you don't fit the criteria for the product they're selling - If you're approached to purchase something that requires credit, for example, claim to be too young to own credit (if you can reasonably get away with that) or say that you don't have your debit card (usually required to run credit checks). Often saying that you don't have your purse is a way to get out of extra sales. Recently I told a store advisor that I literally had enough money in my bank to purchase the thing I was buying so that they didn't carry on trying to sell me anything extra. Usually the salesperson on the street will ask you a question before they try to sell something to you to see whether you are worth the time of a sales pitch. This might be "Do you own your house?", "Are you the bill payer?", "Do you have a mobile phone?" You can often gather from these questions what you need to say to get out of the sale. So even if you do own your home, just say no. 5) Shopping at peak times - If you do your shopping in stores and cities when there are a lot of people, you are less likely to be targetted individually for a sale as the salespeople are more likely to be busy with other pedestrians/customers. If you shop during school and work hours when towns are less busy and shops are emptier, the members of staff have more time to stop you and try to sell to you.
The thing is they have to do even if they know you don't want to buy because they maybe mystery shopped or assessed by a manager nearby listening. So if they don't do it, they may lose their job. I used to mystery shop people and the upsell was the important part and they had to introduce it and I had to mark them on how well they tried, if it was natural pr pushy. Also as a manager I had to assess staff on the shop floor, and if they didn't try to upsell, then it would go on their report. So even if I don't want it, I let them try because I don't want them to lose their job.
You could also learn how to say no. Sure salesmen can be very annoying but if you regularly buy stuff from the same store then you need to ensure that they never bother you when you are shopping you need to say "no" a number of times. And you shouldn't feel bad about it either. Salesmen expect that sort of thing. But that doesn't necessarily mean being rude. They are people too!
In the olden days, I have a soft spot for peddlers on the street - charitable or whatever it is they are selling. I would spend some minutes before I think of an alibi to leave. But when I matured, I realize that it is not only my time that is wasted but theirs as well since I have no intention. Right now, the most prevalent in the mall and in the streets are those young people giving you brochures of new condo buildings. But I have learned the trick with the gesture of my hand in saying no and not looking at them in the eye.
I absolutely hate people who take the hard sell stance and always SHUT DOWN immediately. It puts me right off and I just can't stomach all the pretence, the smarminess that comes with it. The good thing's that I've learnt to be very firm and will unashamedly say a big NO, that also conveys the message; NOT UP FOR DISCUSSION.
I would love to have the confidence to be firm with sales people and tell them straight away that I'm not interested in being sold to, but I suffer some confidence and anxiety problems and also was raised to be extremely polite - to the point of over politeness, I guess. I'm trying to teach my daughter the opposite and I really push myself to be confident and strong when she's around. But when it's just me and I'm having one of my anxious mornings, I find the tips I listed to work to avoid being sold to. Like you @Theo I have always been conscious that they're just doing their job, and I'm never ever rude to them. I know it's their job to try, especially in stores, so in those situations I am more likely to use an excuse early on to get out of the conversation (like the "I've literally got as much as I need to make the purchase - I can't afford any add ons today"). But out in the street, where it's just one salesperson stopping customers as they pass and there's no managers around, I will try and avoid the interaction all together.
I find it always best to prepare and do my research before going to make a significant purchase. If you know what you want and have the necessary knowledge to back it up, no sales-talk will be able to make you change your mind or side track your original intentions.
I usually smile and say I am in a hurry, and most people don't mind that, because they can still be seen to be doing their job and can't be marked down. It's sad that people feel pressured to give the sales pitch, but often it's someone in head office that make it part of their KPIs which is all wrong.
I either walk fast away from their direction, or if I get ambushed then I just simply say that I'm not interested in whatever it is that they're offering. Many salespeople are not that insistent anyway, and they will stop talking once you tell them you're not interested.
I have worked in Sales before and do know how tough it can be to be the person who has to sell something to someone. I often felt I was being to pushy and personally I do not like it but with time I found a way to accept it being a part of my job at the time. Clearly, it can lead to uncomfortable situations for both sides. It's interesting though because I also prefer to avoid conflict situations and whenever I say No i often feel bad. I believe I have gotten better at it and whenever I am being offered something now I try to give a real friendly "no, thank you. I already got it at home" and walk just right past them.
It is always simple and straight forward just to say 'no thank you' and mean what you say, an annoying sales representative will back off. It works every time.
I'm the same way.. in a store, I have no problem saying I'm just looking, but when it has to do with charity (which I likely don't trust anyway) then I'm made to feel like a bad person.. especially if they use children to do their dirty work. I don't like being approached for money. I despise it. I don't think it should be allowed. Just set up a table and let the donations come to you. The only people I will give money to are the homeless or charities I chose on my own after carfeul research.
