The fruit stand

by Ray Winslow, Allyn International

I went out recently to check on an advertisement I’d seen in my local paper. This was not the first time I saw the product offered in the media; it’s also been mentioned on the radio. As a matter of fact, I purchased one of these items about five years ago (wholesale, of course), and have been quite satisfied with the performance. I’m a salesman -- I went out to see the “presentation.” This was a “One Day Only!” sale being held not far from my home at a local merchant’s place of business. I believe the product essentially sells itself, but many people want to see, touch, and have someone validate the purported benefits of ownership.

The ad was effective; people were showing up at the shop. I thought the overall presentation was a bit overdone, but that was just my opinion. Opinions and thumbs -- everyone has a couple. The salesman invited questions, and the first, as I recall, was “What is the warranty?” The answer: “We will pick it up within 30 days if you’re not happy. After that, you have another 30 days to return it at your expense.” That, for whatever it might have been worth, was a statement of policy and did not answer the question. When pressed, he added “The warranty is good for a year; if you get a ‘lemon’ we will just pick it up and send you a new one -- we won’t bother trying to repair it. You won’t get stuck with a ‘lemon’.” Those two statements, used consecutively, bring to mind someone playing an instrument that is not tuned properly -- ouch! Personally, I do not believe that there is a perfect, textbook, “carved in stone,” word by word formula to make a sale. If there is, I’ll wager that “lemon” does not appear on the template.

Be yourself; accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. I recently heard from a consumer who told me she bought a “lemon” from one of my dealers. “Hold on there,” I said. “You are obviously frustrated, and the machine may, in fact, need some adjusting, but none of our products are lemons.” Setting the tone of the conversation, I proceeded to unveil the mysteries of threading a sewing machine properly, and that was the end of that encounter.

I work at a fruit stand, in the shadow of the big supermarkets. You can stop by and pick up one of these, two of those, and a few of those others. I’ll even help you pick out some tasty cherries. But if it’s a lemon you’re after, you’ll have to shop somewhere else.

Reprinted from SQE Professional, April 2007