Business Marketing

I was wrong about the hard sell

Published

12 years ago

November 12, 2008

I have been wrong before, and I think it was on as Thursday. I wrote an article about how the hard sell is dead. It is not dead, it is alive and well. I would like to know how effective it is, maybe someone will fill me in.

Last week I attended the NAR annual convention in Orlando. I managed to make it to the exhibit hall a couple of times. The first time was Saturday morning on my way to a panel discussion.

It was early when I arrived and they were just getting started. As soon as I walked in the door one vendor put a plastic necklace around my neck and I was advised that if I wore it at all times during the rest of the event I could win a prize.

Vendors who sell products I am familiar with jumped out of their booths and accosted me in the aisle. By the time I got to the area where I was supposed to meet my fellow panelists I had collected a plastic necklace, a button to wear on my shirt, two pens and a business card on a magnet.

I pitched the magnetic business card almost as soon as I got it as they tend to mess up hotel key cards and some of the electronic devices I carry. The necklace went in my bag, and I kept the pens. I would have collected more but when I started walking down the middle of the aisle with my head down looking at my blackberry the vendors called out to me instead of putting things in my hands, and I pretended not to hear.

A couple of the vendors apparently thought that people who wear two pair of glasses have a hearing problem. They commented loudly as I walked by, “look that lady is wearing two pair of glasses”.

Some of the vendors tried to overcome my objections when they approached me and I said no thanks, but did not bother to listen to what those objections were. Then there was the guy in the booth all alone selling paper calendar organizers. He looked sad wedged in between two high tech booths. I almost stopped and talk to him but the people in the booth next to his started moving toward me so I went in another direction.

In September I attended Blog World. The exhibition hall was very different. There were many new products. No one jumped out and no one tried to sell me anything. I talked to many of the vendors and brought home some new ideas and information, and I bought a couple of products and a book.

I am not sure why the two exhibition halls were so different. All I can say is that my experience at the blog world expo was more comfortable and I actually tried some of the products. The vendors were in general less scary and more friendly. I collected business cards and have since connected with some of the business owners through twitter and linked-in.

I am in sales. 100% commissioned sales no less, so I understand sales pretty well, so please don’t tell me that the hard sell is what makes sales happen. I am not buying it, oh and my hearing is just fine, the glasses protect my eyes and help me see.

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What’s Up With The RE.net Lately?

Teresa Boardman

Full time REALTOR and licensed broker with Saint Paul Home Realty Realty in St. Paul, Minnesota. Author of StPaulRealEstateBlog.com, Columnist for Inman News and an avid photographer.

23 Comments

Steve Simon

November 12, 2008 at 12:26 pm

The hard sell has no appeal to me or mine…

Reply
Kelley Koehler

November 12, 2008 at 12:45 pm

I was only giving away Jr. Mints at my booth, but I made people ask for ’em. Next time, I’ll try chucking them at people’s heads as they walk by, see if that gets me more attention. 🙂

I won’t defend the agro-vendors, but I will say there are some nasty expo attendees too. People that put their hand in your face and try to use your computers, or are just downright rude when you smile and say hello. A small portion, to be sure. But when I paid $150 for the delicious pleasure of a single hard plastic chair for 4 days, and another $40 for the honor of a trash can in my booth, I can’t afford to not try and engage the people that walk by. Granted, all I did was smile and say hello. But bleeding the vendors dry, I would imagine, makes some of them desperate. Every item you see in every booth, from the carpet to the tables to the chair and the trash can – it’s thousands of dollars at a minimum.

Reply
Ruthmarie Hicks

November 12, 2008 at 12:59 pm

I guess it is difficult to avoid. Being a former scientist who decided that a life of indentured servitude was not for me, I see what you are describing as pretty much inevitable.

Right now, in America, you have four choices – you can work in sales, finance or law – or choose to starve. When we become a nation of sales people and paper-pushers everyone ends up shouting louder to be heard above the “noise” – creating ever more “noise.” This in turn breeds desperation. We have become a nation of sales people in order to survive. The result is that the consumer feels under assault.

Unfortunately, the hard-sell works around here with respect to real estate. Its VERY disappointing. But the pushy and difficult seem to move ahead leaving the soft-sell types in the dust.

Some of this is just simply the betrayal of work.

Reply
Teresa Boardman

November 12, 2008 at 1:02 pm

Kelley – I stopped by your booth. You have a great product and I didn’t see any evidence of a hard sell. I get what you are saying about rude conventioneers and I admire you for how hard you work.

Reply
Kelley Koehler

November 12, 2008 at 1:06 pm

T – I remember you. 🙂 I’m not a huge fan of the hard sell – I’m not sure I’d even know how to if I tried – but after doing the vendor thing, I start to see where it comes from. My favorite part was watching some of the people in the booths really hustle and fail – and then the dude selling purses just sits there on his phone, ignores everyone, and people stop and buy in droves. Next year, I’m selling shoes. I think that’d be a bit hit.

Reply
Bill Lublin

November 12, 2008 at 2:00 pm

Teresa; All things are considered, Trade shows have a lot in common with Carnivals – everyone is like the barker looking for the attention of the passers by – and the passers by are looking for goodies- like animals grazing they collect the Jr. Mints, pens, buttons, necklaces, and other stuff –

But somehow through the noise and the tumult, there are people who get what they need and people who sell their products- and for some its an enjoyable experience.

More importantly – are you aware that Twitter is no longer just for REALTORS?
😉

Reply
teresa boardman

November 12, 2008 at 3:23 pm

Bill – keep in mind I am anti-social, which isn’t just for Realtors any more either and it isn’t fun for me to talk to people, so I don’t get any of the joy from it. Except I do like to talk to you . . sometimes.

Reply
Katie Minkus

November 12, 2008 at 4:29 pm

Aloha, Theresa… what a difference a year makes!! We attending NAR in Vegas last year and found the exact opposite to be true, barely anyone in the booths would talk to us, and certainly not one vendor aggressively approached us. Coming from a culture that lives and breathes “talking story” you can imagine our shock at the disconnect! Perhaps the true test of the health of our economy is: how hard the sell? Thanks for the insight! Warm aloha, Katie, R(B).

Reply
Mike Parker

November 12, 2008 at 5:01 pm

I have noticed of late a movement in sales related to real estate that is disconcertinly similar to that of selling used cars.

I guess this is what happens when 30+% of all agents are starving. They have families to feed, too, you know. These are hardly normal circumstances.

However, I think that the overall loss of civility in business has a lot to do with the death of face-to-face business selling; you know, where one used to travel to call on one’s clients, get to know them socialize with them, etc.? Today, it is so impersonal as to be white noise, so some think that by screeching, they’ll be heard.

More likely, they’ll be tuned out.

Reply
Matt Stigliano

November 12, 2008 at 8:23 pm

Thanks for sharing Teresa. I am one of those that didn’t go, but I imagine if everyone would have been hawking their wares hardcore to me, I may have gone and hid at Kelley’s booth and stuffed my face with Junior Mints. I like info and I like free stuff, but if you expect me to sign up then and there, you’re probably wasting my time.

Reply
monika

November 12, 2008 at 8:47 pm

I usually smile and look them in the eye and say “Hi- Have a great show- I may be back later but right now I’m on a mission” and I say it before they can say anything to me. I feel bad for the vendors as they usually spend big bucks to be there.

Reply
Missy Caulk

November 12, 2008 at 9:03 pm

Teresa, Cyndee and I walked up to a guy just sitting selling wine with personal labels. Cyndee ask him about his product. He said “it’s 300.00 a case and we don’t sell just one bottle” and sat back down.

He was NOT a salesman and we moved on. Funny thing is we stopped at his booth, as Cyndee was interested. Guess we all relate to different folks differently.

So nice to see you again !

Reply
teresa boardman

November 12, 2008 at 9:09 pm

Missy – it was great to see you again too. I am not suggesting that the way the wine sales person ran his booth is the way to do it. I am sure I would have walked away too. There may be some middle ground, like the way Kelley ran her booth or the way many of the vendors at blog world handled it. They were all friendly and alert. When we asked questions we got answers and had some interesting discussions.

Reply
Gretchen Faber

November 12, 2008 at 10:05 pm

Hi Teresa,
I felt much the same way this year, that more of the vendors were in the aisles pushing themselves on attendees. Although I did want the free pens for my office, since we’re on a spending freeze.
I usually handle it like Monika, and say I’ll be back later. When they’re friendly and ask permission for a minute of my time, I’m much more apt to listen to them.

Reply
Michelle DeRepentigny

November 12, 2008 at 11:01 pm

HAving been to many C21, ERA,and NAR conventions in the past I have to say that the attitude from many of the vendors this year at NAR was very strange. This is the first year that I left without buying anything or coming home thinking I really wanted something they had to offer. Was it the stink of desperation or just my tooth throbbing the whole dang day?

NOT saying they all stunk but it seemed there was a cloud over it this year.

Reply
Paula Henry

November 12, 2008 at 11:14 pm

T – Shoving product down someone’s throat rarely gets the long term attention or respect one would like to have in sales. I much prefer to interact, have a discussion and take time to decide.

I can see the desperation in our industry may have some behaving badly, hoping to cash in on “our need” for their latest and greatest product. If they would approach with a reasonable amount of respect, it may have changed their cash outcome.

I didn’t know you are hard of hearing or that glasses help 🙂

Reply
Darren Kittleson

November 13, 2008 at 6:45 pm

Teresa-I agree with the comments above and your post. This is the 9th year I attended NAR Conference and Expo and there truly was a different attitude from many of the vendors. The ones I felt were most aggressive were those hawking out of date and obsolete products and services. Overall I was VERY disappointed at the lack of ingenuity in the exhibitors this year. I usually spend 4-6 hours in the trade show, this year I felt releived when I completed the walk through the aisles in 3 hours.

Thanks for the post!

Reply
Deborah Madey

November 14, 2008 at 3:44 am

Kelly – I never got any Jr. Mints! I’m feeling slighted. Oops, I guess I didn’t ask.

Missy – I did get a free glass of wine, but no sales pitch.

T- You are a better person than I. You put your necklace in a bag. I threw mine away. More innovation at BlogWorld, and more interesting as a result.

Reply
Kelley Koehler

November 14, 2008 at 9:39 am

Deborah – ack! I send you many minty apologies. Sometimes, I ran out of them early. *Someone* might have trouble not eating them once the box is open.

Reply
ines

November 14, 2008 at 3:29 pm

The obnoxious microphones, the games, the loud sales people…..it was insanely horrible and uncomfortable. I felt bad for our vendor friends that were being misrepresented.
I guess some people still like that …btw….bite me! 😉

Reply
teresa boardman

November 14, 2008 at 4:06 pm

I never got mints of any kind at Kelley’s booth and I can’t figure out why Ines would say “bite me”. I am going to go find other web site where I can feel the love, it just isn’t here for me any more.

Reply
Ines Hegedus-Garcia

November 14, 2008 at 5:12 pm

Awww – you know I love you T

Reply

Business Marketing

Ghost Reply has us asking: Should you shame a recruiter who ghosted you?

(BUSINESS MARKETING) Ghost Reply will send an anonymous “kind reminder” to recruiters who ghost job candidates, but is the sweet taste of temporary catharsis worth it?

Published

4 days ago

January 14, 2021

Joleen Jernigan, Staff Writer

Stressed woman at a laptop with hands on head, considering if she should send a Ghost Reply.

People hate to get “ghosted” in any situation, personal or professional. But for job seekers who may already be struggling with self-esteem, it can be particularly devastating. Ghost Reply is a new online service that will help you compose and send an email nudge to the ghoster, sending a “kind reminder” telling them how unprofessional it is to leave someone hanging like that.

Ghost Reply wants to help you reach catharsis in all of this stressful mess of finding a job. Almost all of the problems and feelings are compounded by this confounded pandemic that has decimated areas of the workforce and taken jobs and threatened people’s financial security. It is understandable to want to lash out at those in power, and sending a Ghost Reply email to the recruiter or HR person may make you feel better in the short term.

In the long run, though, will it solve anything? Ghost Reply suggests it may make the HR person or recruiter reevaluate their hiring processes, indicating this type of email may help them see the error of their ways and start replying to all potential candidates. If it helps them reassess and be more considerate in the future and helps you find closure in the application/interview process, that would be the ideal outcome on all fronts. It is not likely this will happen, though.

The Ghost Reply sample email has the subject line “You have a message from a candidate!” Then it begins, “Hi, (name), You’re receiving this email because a past candidate feels like you ghosted them unfairly.” It then has a space for said candidate to add on any personal notes regarding the recruiter or process while remaining anonymous.

I get it. It’s upsetting to have someone disappear after you’ve spent time and energy applying, possibly even interviewing, only to hear nothing but crickets back from the recruiter or HR person you interacted with. It’s happened to me more than once, and it’s no bueno. We all want to be seen. We all want to be valued. Ghosting is hurtful. The frustration and disappointment, even anger, that you feel is certainly relatable. According to several sources, being ghosted after applying for a job is one of the top complaints from job seekers on the market today.

Will an anonymous, passive-aggressive email achieve your end? Will the chastened company representative suddenly have a lightbulb go off over their heads, creating a wave of change in company policy? I don’t see it. The first sentence of the sample email, in fact, is not going to be well received by HR.

When you start talking about what’s “unfair,” most HR people will tune out immediately. That kind of language in itself is unprofessional and is a red flag to many people. Once you work at a company and know its culture and have built relationships, then, maybe, just maybe, can you start talking about your work-related feelings. I believe in talking about our feelings, but rarely is a work scenario the best place to do so (I speak from experience). Calling it unprofessional is better, less about you and more about the other person’s behavior.

However, it’s unclear how productive Ghost Reply actually is. Or how anonymous, frankly. By process of deduction, the recipient of the email may be able to figure out who sent it, if it even makes it through the company’s spam filters. Even if they cannot pinpoint the exact person, it may cast doubts on several applicants or leave a bad taste in the recruiter’s mouth. It sounds like sour grapes, which is never a good thing.

There may be any number of reasons you didn’t get the job offer or interview, and they may or may not have something to do with you. Recruiters answer your burning questions, including why you may have been ghosted in this recent article in The American Genius.

Ultimately, you will never know why they ghosted you. If it makes you feel better or at least see the issue from both sides, the amount of job candidates ghosting recruiters after applying and even interviewing is equally high. Some people simply either have awful time management skills or awful manners, and at the end of the day, there’s not much you can do about that.

Focus on your own survival while job hunting, instead of these disappointing moments or the person who ghosts you. It will serve you better in the long run than some anonymous revenge email. There are other ways to deal with your frustration and anger when you do get ghosted, though. Try the classic punching your pillow. Try taking a walk around the block. If it helps to put your frustration into words, and it very well may, then do so. Write it on a piece of paper, then burn it. Or type it all in an email and delete it. For your own sake, do NOT put their email address in the “To” line, lest you accidentally hit “Send.”

The sooner you can let it go, the sooner you can move on to finding a better job fit for you.

Business Marketing

Free shipping is everywhere… how can small businesses keep up?

[BUSINESS MARKETING] Would you rather pay less but still pay for shipping, or pay more with free shipping? They may cost the same, but one appeals more than the other.

Published

1 week ago

January 8, 2021

Brittany Vance, Staff Writer

Person standing over pacakge, sealing with masking tape.

When it comes to competing with huge corporations like Amazon, there are plenty of hurdles that smaller businesses have to cross. Corporations can (and do) undercut the competition, not to mention garner a much larger marketing reach than most small businesses could ever dream of achieving. But this time, we want to focus on something that most people have probably chosen recently: Free shipping.

How important is free shipping to consumers? Well, in a 2018 survey, Internet Retailer discovered that over 50% of respondents said that free shipping was the most important part of online shopping. In fact, when given a choice between fast or costless shipping, a whopping 88% of those surveyed chose the latter option.

Part of this has to do with the fact that shipping costs are often perceived as additional fees, not unlike taxes or a processing fee. In fact, according to Ravi Dhar, director of Yale’s Center for Customer Insights, if it’s between a discounted item with a shipping fee or a marked up item with free shipping, individuals are more likely to choose the latter – even if both options cost exactly the same amount.

If you’re interested in learning more, Dhar refers to the economic principle of “pain of paying,” but the short answer is simply that humans are weird.

So, how do you recapture the business of an audience that’s obsessed with free shipping?

The knee jerk reaction is to simply provide better products that the competition. And sure, that works… to some extent. Unfortunately, in a world where algorithms can have a large effect on business, making quality products might not always cut it. For instance, Etsy recently implemented a change in algorithm to prioritize sellers that offer free shipping.

Another solution is to eat the costs and offer free shipping, but unless that creates a massive increase in products sold, you’re going to end up with lower profits. This might work if it’s between lower profits and none, but it’s certainly not ideal. That’s why many sellers have started to include shipping prices in the product’s overall price – instead of a $20 necklace with $5 shipping, a seller would offer a $25 necklace with free shipping.

This is a tactic that the big businesses use and it works. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, right?

That said, not everyone can join in. Maybe, for instance, a product is too big to reasonably merge shipping and product prices. If, for whatever reason, you can’t join in, it’s also worth finding a niche audience and pushing a marketing campaign. What do you offer that might be more attractive than the alluring free shipping? Are you eco-friendly? Do you provide handmade goods? Whatever it is that makes your business special, capitalize on it.

Finally, if you’re feeling down about the free shipping predicament, remember that corporations have access to other tricks. Amazon’s “free” prime shipping comes at an annual cost. Wal-Mart can take a hit when item pricing doesn’t work out. Even if your business isn’t doing as well as you hoped, take heart: You’re facing giants.

Business Marketing

How many hours of the work week are actually efficient?

(BUSINESS MARKETING) Working more for that paycheck, more hours each week, on the weekends, on holidays can actually hurt productivity. So don’t do that, stay efficient.

Published

1 week ago

January 8, 2021

Brittany Vance, Staff Writer

Clock pointed to 5:50 on a plain white wall, well tracked during the week.

Social media is always flooded with promises to get in shape, eat healthier and… hustle?

In hustle culture, it seems as though there’s no such thing as too much work. Nights, weekends and holidays are really just more time to be pushing towards your dreams and hobbies are just side hustles waiting to be monetized. Plus, with freelancing on the rise, there really is nothing stopping someone from making the most out of their 24 hours.

Hustle culture will have you believe that a full-time job isn’t enough. Is that true?

Although it’s a bit outdated, Gallup’s 2014 report on full-time US workers gives us an alarming glimpse into the effects of the hustle. For starters, 50% of full-time workers reported working over 40 hours a week – in fact, the average weekly hours for salaried employees was up to 49 hours.

So, what’s the deal with 40 hours anyway? The 40 hour work-week actually started with labor rights activists in the 1800s pushing for an 8 hour workday. In 1817, Robert Owen, a Welsh activist, reasoned this workday provided: “eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest.”

If you do the math, that’s a whopping 66% of the day devoted to personal needs, rather than labor!

Of course, it’s only natural to be skeptical of logic from two centuries ago coloring the way we do business in the 21st century. For starters, there’s plenty of labor to be done outside of the labor you’re paid to do. Meal prep, house cleaning, child care… that’s all work that needs to be done. It’s also all work that some of your favorite influencers are paying to get done while they pursue the “hustle.” For the average human, that would all be additional work to fall in the ‘recreation’ category.

But I digress. Is 40 hours a week really enough in the modern age? After all, average hours in the United States have increased.

Well… probably not. In fact, when hours are reduced (France, for instance, limited maximum hours to 35 hours a week, instead of 40), workers are not only more likely to be healthier and happier, but more efficient and less likely to miss work!

So, instead of following through with the goal to work more this year, maybe consider slowing the hustle. It might actually be more effective in the long run!