Aggressive Salespeople Bad for Business
AGGRESSIVE SALESPEOPLE ARE BAD FOR BUSINESS – RETAILERS PLEASE TAKE NOTE
On a recent trip to Pacific Fair shopping centre on Australia’s Gold Coast, I was accosted by an aggressive salesman trying to sell me some skin care product I didn’t want.
As I walked past his booth, he pushed himself in front of me, blocking my path, and opened his spiel with “Can I ask you a question?”. I said “No” and attempted to walk around him.
Despite that, ignoring my obvious body language, he tried to continue his pitch, putting me in the position where I had two choices – either to accommodate him while he acted out his script, or walk away while he was still speaking – attempting to cut him off obviously hadn’t worked.
I chose the latter.
I am totally OVER being harrassed by rude salespeople who operate from booths in shopping mall arcades, accosting customers to try and sell them everything from mobile phones to skin care products.
What part of the word “NO” do they not understand?
And why do the shopping centre owners and managers not see how it drives customers away?
To make matters worse, in the case of the salesman above, the same thing had happened not long before, when I walked past his booth in the other direction.
The result?
The shops located near his booth have now lost my custom - it’s just too unpleasant to be put in that position while trying to access them.
Retailers and sales trainers, please note – agressive, pushy salespeople who don’t respect a customer’s right to shop without being harrassed are bad for business all round – do you really want customers turned away while the retail sector is struggling?
Tags: Pacific Fair, sales training