The double glazing sales game can be a bit of a nasty one at times. Competition to win orders can move from slick product demonstrations to just plain old lies and misinformation. There seems to be a healthy number of sales people who seem unable to do their jobs without slagging off their competition. This is what I have found in my ten years selling, and in those ten years, I have heard some absolute corkers!
Things others have said
My brother told me of a client he saw the other day that said:
The other company told me that their argon gas has more fibres in it than everyone elses
Fibres! Sounds like that sales person has made a new discovery in the world of physics. Probably not. Quotes like this demonstrate perfectly how little some sales people know about what they sell. So in some cases they have to make it up as they go along. Is that their fault? If they’re new then no, it’s down to the company to train it’s sales people to know what they’re talking about. If they have been in the game for more than a few years, then there is no excuse, they should know exactly what they’re talking about.
There are other instances that spring to mind. Recently I had a customer told me that another company they had in said they were unable to have Light Oak windows and doors, they could only have it on white. On more than one occasion we have had our competition tell our customers that A rated windows didn’t exist. And on more than one occasion our competition have said to our customer that the company I work for had actually gone bust and wasn’t trading any more. Was news to me!
Slag off rather than sell
The above is a symptom of weak selling by those who are unable to sell on the strength of their own products and own company. It is easier for them to try and put home owners off you by fabricating false information and rumours. Little do most realise, home owners tend to see right through this.
Personally, although these sorts of things aren’t good for the industry, it does make my job of selling a lot easier. Once home owners have had the hard sell, the lies, the bad mouthing of others, I come in, don’t take too much of their time, talk about us and our products, and leave without any pressure being applied whatsoever.
Companies really should be spending time with their sales force to show them down to the screw exactly what products they sell, what options they come with and what can and cannot be done. A well informed sales person is a good sales person.
I would like to know the best lies you’ve ever heard when selling to home owners. They can be as ridiculous as you remember! Please leave them in the comments section below. We could all do with a laugh now and again!
One of our customers was told by a salesman that our company buys its windows from his company so he will always be cheaper than us.
My wife’s friend was recently advised by a large national company that they were the only company who actually make the windows to measure and that the local competitors used standard windows and used packers and trims to make them fit!