Sales Tricks People Hate

Today I went shopping with a coupon I'd cut from the newspaper to a new store in town. The goal of the coupon was to get me in the store. Mission accomplished! Expecting to save 30% on my purchase, I was pretty excited.

At check out I was told I could NOT save 30% on my purchase. The sales clerk turned the coupon over to show me the teeny-tiny print listing all of the items that were excluded from this offer. It was a long list and excluded most of my items. Talk about having the wind taken out of my sails! I had been tricked.

Use the following practices so your customers won't feel tricked:

• Include the applicable sales tax amount with your quote.
• Include the shipping charge amount up front when quoting a price.
• Commit to a time frame that you know can be honored - even if it's not what your customer wants to hear.
• If you don't know the answer to a customer's question, say, "I don't know" and then find out the answer. Don't lie.
• Know your product/service well so that you don't unknowingly provide misinformation.
• Clearly explain special offers. Don't be vague to bait customers to call you. Better yet, make special offers simple. Avoid using the "teeny-tiny print."
• Don't oversell customers. They will eventually figure out that they've been oversold and resent you or your company.