FOQeE Me VeECemper iz, ty7U. inis week _FEATURE _ Getting to ‘yes’ is salesman’s goal Continued from Page 1 “It was a basic ad but the cap- tion was ‘make $2,000 a month,’ ™he says. When he was offered the job he decided to take it because he needed to work and was inter- ested in a sales career. But Ray didn’t last long, in part because he wasn’t making any money; but also because he wasn't comfortable encouraging people to buy something they either didn’t want or didn’t need. The sales pitch was pure pres- sure, he remembers. “It was a persuasive type of pitch. You'd try to get the cus- tomer to say ‘yes’ as much as possible. Like you'd say, ‘Do you feel it is important to have a clean house?” Who's going to say no to that?” Another tactic, Ray says, was to play on a husband’s sen- sitivity to his wife's needs by taking him aside and saying: “Mr. Jones, there comes a time when you have to make a decision. Your wifeis happy with the machine and she wants it and she deserves it, so why don’t you buy it for herandcomehome to a clean and healthy home?” Distributors today emphasize the health benefits of owning a superior vacuum cleaner. Some claim their multi-purpose machines will keep the air free of bacteria-laden dust particles and thus create a much heal- thier environment. People who buy the right machine can ex- pect to reduce their sick time off work and be less susceptible to conditions such as asthma and bronchitis, salespeople promise. All for a mere $1,600, $1,800 or $2,200. By now most people are familiar with the “you could bea winner . . .” flyers that show up in the letter box promising as- sorted prizes with no purchase necessary. People who call the telephone number on the flyer PROMISING ‘ETERNAL CLEANLINESS,’ today’s vacuum cleaner salesperson uses a variety of are informed all they have to do to get their prize is allow a com- pany representative to give an in-home demonstration of the product, which just happens to be a vacuum cleaner. (Actually, “vacuum cleaner” is not a popular term among dis- tributors. Many prefer phrases es ploys to entice Customers into spending upwards of $1,000 on “airflow systems’ and “all-purpose cleaning systems. ~~ << THE WELLESLEY The Wellesley of Victoria, not just somewhere to live, but somewhere to call home. VICTORIA, B.C. V8T 5B5 2800 BLANSHARD STREET en THE WELLESLEY 383-9099 Tours Available Daily Phofo illustration by CHUCK RUSSELL such as “air-flow system” or “cleaning system.”) A This Week reporter recently responded to.a flyer and was told the in-home vacuum cleaner demonstration would take 30'to 45 minutes and no purchase was necessary — or even desired. “We're not looking for you to purchase anything,” the woman said. “We're just looking for your comments.” She obviously didn’t tell the salesman the same thing, how- ever. The demonstration took two hours and the salesman was clearly determined to close the deal, refusing to accept the potential buyer’s repeated insis- tence that he was not prepared to make a purchase. ‘Tm not trying to twist your arm,” the salesman said while applying his high-pressure pitch. Several local vacuum cleaner distributors, including Rainbow, Filter Queen and Tri-Star, use the direct-mail approach to drum up business. Former salesman Ray says most of his appointments resulted from people responding to flyers and attracted to the list of prizes available. But while the flyers listed afew valuable prizes, such as televisions and propane bar- becues, the prizes Ray gave away were invariably next to FORT ST. FUTONS ALE *DBL. PINE BEDFRAME & FUTON MATTRESS worthless. He says they ing cluded cheap sunglasses, aset of plastic pensin a plasticcase, and a plastic attachment that would turn an ordinary faucet into a drinking fountain. Despite the apparent low value of the prizes, Ray says the distributor was always wary of people making appointments just so they could receive some- thing for free. Such people were known as “gift-gophers.” “They were people who knew they couldn’t afford it but would watch the demonstration just to get their stupid little gift,” he says. Not surprisingly, the Victoria Better Business Bureau knows all about the direct-mail’ and hard-sell approaches to selling vacuum cleaners. A BBB spokesperson says the office receives complaints and con- cerns “all the time — daily” She says many people are vul- nerable to the high-pressure tac- tics employed by vacuum cleaner salespeople and end up making an ill-advised purchase. “That's what (the sellers) rely on — the hype. Some people can’t say no, so they sign,” she says. But people who are caught up in the pitch and make a pur- chase they later regret still have seven days to rescind the con- tract, the spokesperson adds, as long as they retain all receipts. Tronically, Rainbow, one of the companies that uses the direct- mail approach, is a member of the Better Business Bureau. But Rainbow manager Ken Wilkinson insists that even though his salespeople work on straight commission, no one has to resort to the hard sell. “We don’t desire to do business like that, and we don’t have to,” he says. “We use a soft sell. We let the machine do the selling for us.” Wilkinson says Rainbow has “an excellent customer satisfac- tion record” and gets few cancel- lations. He says forcing a sale on a customer is bad for business. Notwithstanding the bitter taste his vacuum-cleaner ex- perience left him with, Ray has good things to say about the machine he showed and the response it received from would- be customers. “Most people liked it but felt they couldn’t afford it or it wasn’t a priority, he says. “It was a good cleaner. It was just drasti- cally over-priced. I mean, who's got $1,600 to spend on a vacuum? It’s a lot of money.” Perhaps, but vacuum cleaner distributors insist it’s the price you have to pay for eternal cleanliness. FORT ST. FUTONS 198" xSOFA BEDS...’ 19” *UPHOLSTERY FABRIC SALE $1.99 - $4.99 PER METER 381-3633 942 Fert St. (en the left at Vancouver)