Have you ever wished that you could have a relaxing facial/ spa without any sales pitch by the therapist or the sales staff?
I believe we have met hard sell sales person in one way or another. As much as I respect their profession & understand their position, I think hard sell should never be the tactic if you want sustainable business. Too bad not many people understand this, especially so for the beauty salons.
Had my fair share of hard sales at various beauty salons. My ex-colleague who has been to various salons can strongly vouch for that. I'm actually an easily persuaded person & I'm open to buy new products or services. In fact, even if the product is damn good, I won't buy it if the sales person sucks in his/her attitude.
There's nothing wrong for these people to promote their products/services. But if it comes to a point where the sales person becomes pushy & emphasizing that the offer is only valid for the day & will not be extended (sometimes even to the extent of making comments on how BAD your skin condition is), then I suppose it's an offer than CAN be missed. When it comes to promotion, their definition of TODAY is actually EVERYDAY.
I admit I'm so conditioned into saying 'No' to people who approach me on the streets or shuff some 'free samples'. I'm skeptical because of previous bad experiences & my husband always reminded me not to talk to strangers as I simply love to talk ;p So today as I was going to NTUC to buy my toothbrush, a lady came up to me to pass me a pamphlet & said something about 'free sample'. Of course my immediate reaction is to say 'No' without her finishing her sentence. After that I was a little apologetic for my rudeness. It's their job afterall & I should have rejected nicely. Anyway, I thought to myself if I were approached again, I would listen to what she had to say.
Well, I was approached by another sales person on my way back & thought I might as well take the pamphlet this time before I go off. Then she went on to tell me there's a free sample & there's no obligation to it. Well, might as well since I'm free to hear what she's gotta say.
Went in, listened to her describing about the uses of the free sample, the products/services & I made some enquiries also about the products ingredients, country of production (in case it's made in Cxxxx). Then she went on to try to persuade me to buy the $28 voucher for a trial facial. "Promotion is only valid for today. If you don't purchase this voucher, you won't get this good rate anymore," she said. Told her politely that I just had my facial & I still have an existing facial package & so would not want to commit anything. She went on & on obviously trying to sell that voucher. Gave her some excuses as I just want to leave the place. Seeing that she refused to budge, I just walked out. If she had another customer in the shop, this won't look good.
To be honest, if she hadn't pushed me, I would have given it a try after I've finished my existing facial package. She had lost a potential customer. Much more than the voucher worth $28.
I'm no sales guru & I just come from the customer's point of view. If I feel uncomfortable about being pressurized into something, then I don't think I will get any sales if I were to use this tactic on my customers in turn.
So ladies, if you are easily persuaded & soft-hearted like me, it's better to say 'No' first than to listen on.
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