Response from a Salesperson

Back in January, I posted a blog entry titled "Prospecting is not Prejudging." In it I told a story about my son Michael and his experience of delivering pizzas to a local BMW dealer, where he was ignored and essentially treated like gum on the bottom of the sales force’s shoes.

I made the point that Michael is a young man of 19 who will probably buy at least 10 cars in his lifetime; he will someday have a family who owns cars and will recommend cars to co-workers and friends.

A longer version of this article also appeared in a recent issue of Yamaha’s monthly magazine. This magazine goes out to all their dealers and dealer salespeople. I thought you might be interested in reading an email I received recently from one of those salespeople. Luckily, he represents a small minority of Yamaha’s dealer sales force. I did not edit it or change a word. I’d like you to get the full effect.

Mr Gresh,

Good day to you, I have read your op-eds in the Yamaha Pro Sales flyer we receive for several months now and I must admit a lot of what you are saying is true even if it is common knowledge. One of my other co-workers told me he saves and refers to your notes. I noticed you used your son as an example in the latest edition of the “YPS” flyer…it is commendable for a young man to take it upon himself to try his hand at the “real world” before leaving academia….I am sure this young man wont be delivering pizza for the rest of his life as well as I wont be in the power sports business the rest of mine. How ever this generation-Y as you put it may be spending more money than other generations before but I am sure most of it are theirs mommies and daddies money they are spending. There are far too many Z71s and Mustang GTs an bmw for a bunch of kids in high school….While it is inexcusable that we dare to prejudge any customer…I find that there are more of the ones that can’t rub the two nickels together than you may know. I sit across from these poor unfortunate ones that have either taken the easy way out and filed a bankruptcy and they can’t understand why they just bought a new car and cant get financed on a motorcycle.

While it is easy to expound on what we should do, while we try to do and meet the same end …after spending sometimes up to an hour of time that could have been spent with someone who might possibly could have qualified for financing the miscreant {remember the one who filed bankruptcy} instead of paying his bills didn’t and now can’t get financed? This may be where some of the pre-judging comes from…or is it the kid who drags in his skateboard and in pants with multiple zippers and chains hanging up and down on them and climbs on a 10-12k motorcycle….or the fellow with three or four necklaces nd a mouth full of platinum and cant pay attention. These are the real customers that come in and we shouldn’t pre-judge them…I agree we shouldn’t… but time lost with these folks is time lost and time is money isnt it?

Here is a true recent contact I had last weekend{Saturday our busy day where many units are moved} names changed to protect the responsible The Clampetts walk in…., Jed ,Elly Mae,and Granny…I do the meet and greet {whilst trying to hold my nose from body odor!} we waltz around the show room…..EllyMAe finds the one for her…..I dazzle with actual knowledge of the product over and above nearest competition… {we are a four line dealer so I babble on}

Price is discussed along with benefits and we agree to “do an application” Now this doesn’t take a long time and we can usually get a quick response…sure enough the Clampetts get turned down. Then they tell me of their medical bills they haven’t paid or paid on……Well what can I do to get approved…I suggest that she get a co-signer with good credit…. Next week sure enough they come back with cousin “It” and after going back over most of the same with EllyMAe and beginning the application process…..Cousin It doesn’t have a drivers lisecnse…so she isn’t eligible to buy a street going bike…..In the mean time not only has my lunch that had just arrived gotten cold but, I missed out on a customer who pays in cash for a new unit…..so let us all what ever generation they be and lunch not withstanding dare someone who cant buy get in the way of many who can and do trade with us…

Yes Sir a lot of what you have informed us of is common knopwledgge and it is known…here and probably at that dealership up in Chapel Hill….but have you ever tried the other side of the table to which you address? It is interesting here…you have to be part therapist, priest, counciler…then you have to be up on your game…or knowledge base….then after you have done all that and take tests and jump through all the hoops you might get to make a sale if one of the other fellows doesn’t beat you to a potential customer,or beat you out of them.

OK so now we know what not to do …mabey you could try to educate the other side of this equation…customers…. Take the kid that is interested in motorcycling….educate them that when they come in….they might actually LOOK at the bikes before climbing all over them….That they actually have the ability to purchase a motorcycle…having the wants isn’t the same as ability. Everyone can get a car or a home the interest rate you pay may not be what you want but even with bankruptcy ,an automobile can be bought…just a what price…a motorcycle on the other hand is not a necessity, you mentioned the term “discretionary income” and that is what it takes to buy a motorcycle…. Well thanks for your part,I stand ready to do mine….heres hoping the customer can do theirs…and no offense I do not want to receive your news letter…

thanks,

Rodm850g

Wow! Where do I start? I guess the best place to start is the way he butchered my name: Gresh? Where’d he get that? My name appears in Yamaha’s magazine every month and in order to send me an email he needs to type out warren@greshes.com. Who did he think the Greshes was in greshes.com?

Next thing that struck me was how angry he was; not at me, mostly at the people he deals with every day (not much of an attitude for a salesman). It first became evident when he wrote, “However, this generation Y as you put it may be spending more money than other generations before, but I am sure most of it are their mommies and daddies money they are spending. There are far too many Z71s and Mustang GTs an bmw for a bunch of kids in high school.”

Who the hell cares where they get the money from? The point is, either they have it or their parents have it and they’re spending it! Believe me, it’s REALLY bad when a salesperson resents the prospects.

Next, he refers to prospects as miscreants, The Clampetts, Cousin It, and mentions “trying to hold my nose from body odor!” Is it any wonder he gets all the people who can’t pass the credit check? The qualified customers probably don’t want to go near that guy. And while he makes it sound as if a vast majority of prospects who walk in are destitute, somehow I have the feeling he’s taking isolated instances and making them the norm. More, importantly, if he hates it so much, why does he keep doing it?

I had to laugh when he asked if I’d ever been on the other side of the table. Having been a salesman in New York’s infamous Garment Center for 10 years, not only was I on the other side of table, but under it, over it, and hit on the head with it more times than I care to remember.

But I think of all the absurd statements in this email “…mabey you could try to educate the other side of this equation…customers….” was my favorite. I thought educating the customer was the salesperson’s job? Is it any wonder why so many people buy from the internet? It’s too avoid salespeople like this.

One thing I was wondering about was the other salesperson he mentioned at the beginning of his email. The one, who keeps my articles, makes notes and refers to them. I wonder if he’s having the same problem?