Behind Door #1
I've been in the market for a few bigger-than-normal-ticket items, and experiencing a variety of salespeople and tactics has reminded me not only what drives me crazy about an overaggressive close, but also how much variety there is in the circumstances of each customer. To some extent, salespeople must be prepared for those with any number of budgets, preferences, and requirements. Yet it astounds me how often they ignore these requirements, as if the benefits of the item should trump all else...like whether the customer can actually afford to buy it.
There's a story I'll never forget from my working life, an experience I had while working a tradeshow booth with one of our company executives. It was just me and her, and she was exponentially more classy (and wealthy) than I was. These facts don't usually come into play, in that they are there and exist, but there's no need to dwell on them or have them influence your day-to-day reality. But on this particular day at the show, she asked if I had put any bids on any items at the auction booth across the aisle from us. The auction funds would benefit underprivileged children, a worthy cause if ever there was one, yet as I perused the items, there was nothing within a price range I felt comfortable paying. When I shared with the executive that the items I wanted were outside of my price range, she looked confused and almost hurt. ""But, it's for the children,"" she said. To which I wanted to say, ""That doesn't change my budget,"" or remind her that raising my pay could certainly help my ability to contribute to such causes. Instead I'm pretty sure I said nothing, too stunned by the logic that a worthy cause should suddenly somehow generate money that I didn't have.
That's kind of how I felt this weekend with salespeople pushing the benefits of cutting edge technology, touting the per-day cost of something that would last a person many, many years. Isn't it WORTH this much per day, they would ask, to experience such comfort and luxury? To which I will say, yes, it IS worth it. But that doesn't mean I can afford it. This is all to say that there were probably several disappointed salespeople in town this weekend. And the takeaway isn't so much a Read the Room kind of thing (although it sort of is), but more just a reminder of how many different sets of circumstances there are, how many budgets, how many different requirements or preferences exist out there. Not just between different people or families, but also even within ourselves and our families, as our individual situations improve or fall apart or shift over time. Perhaps it's a comfort to know there's something (some couch, car, piece of jewelry, electronic device, musical instrument, or antique appliance) for everyone.