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This is Exactly How Not To Do Marketing

by goindeep
45 replies
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So me and my wife where in the car park of the grocery store last night, I was packing the shopping bags into the car and my wife was strapping our daughter into her seat.

This random guy walks up to us and says hi, I thought he was a security guard at first. He was wearing a fluro vest, had a name tag and clip board.

He asks us who's car it is then proceeds into a sales pitch.

Turns out he was representing a local mechanic.

While he was talking I was sussing him out to see if he was legit.

I was kind of in two spaces in one way I thought he has balls for doing what he's doing and especially cos it's a unique way of getting his business out there.

On the other side he was a bit arrogant and pushy.

One thing led to another and then all of a sudden he pulls out his credit card machine and was prompting us for the sale. I told him it sounded like a good offer and we would take a look at it later but not right there and then.

He decided to get on the defensive and start questioning us. In fact he got a bit aggressive.

I told him it wasn't normal to approach people in car parks with an eftpos machine and then expect them to hand over a credit card no matter how good the deal is, I gave him the benefit of doubt and told him if they had a site i'd take a look.

He then pulls out his phone and starts telling me to take a look. At this point it just got awkward. I told him thanks but no thanks, we are going home to have dinner.

He turns to me and says "everyone is going home to have dinner, why dont you like my deal" this is the point my inner caveman came out, my wife heard the pitch of the conversation change so she went into the car.

I looked at this guy straight in the eye to see if he was drunk, high, crazy or just plain f*cking stupid. I told him "no thanks mate, not interested, turned around and got into my car".

As we drove off I watched him approach another 3-4 people who buzzed him off.

I then proceeded to call the centre management and report him, put a call through to the local police and call his boss over at mechanics and tell him he is giving his business a bad name and that he is scaring people in the car park.

The boss seemed reasonable and said he'd have a talk to him.

If that was me, i'd be whooping some ass and consider legal action.
#marketing
  • Profile picture of the author Adie
    Looks like a desperate guy to me.. Real scary especially if happened in public places like that...
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  • Profile picture of the author Writer Gateway
    Gah, nothing worse than a pushy uninvited salesman. Pissing people off and invading their personal space is definitely not the way to promote a business.
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    Well, just like with anything else in life, there's always something to LEARN from such an experience. It takes serious courage to do what he did. Most people don't have that level of intestinal fortitude. They expect the world to come to them. They have a sense of entitlement and expect life to be easy. Like the world owes it to them. That's why most people who think this way fail to live up to their fullest potential.

    The downside is that you can't overplay your hand as you learned from that dude's example. He came off as cocky.

    There's always a lesson to learn and it can only help improve the only thing that matters: our personal character.
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  • Profile picture of the author Beatinest
    I used to have a company of guys who would do that. We would get contracts with the service centers then hire people to sell a coupon product to the general public at their homes, parking lots, businesses...whatever... within a 5-8 mile radius of the service center.

    It was a pretty good gig. Each coupon was sold for $49.95 to $59.95 and they only cost us $0.05 to print. They are pretty easy to sell too if you have any people skills at all.

    I did that business with 3 other partners. We did great for a while but as usual with a lot of equal partners things went down the drain and we ended up dissolving the company.

    It was a great business though. Easy way to make $200-$300 or more per day with not a lot of work time invested.
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    • Profile picture of the author goindeep
      Originally Posted by Beatinest View Post

      I used to have a company of guys who would do that. We would get contracts with the service centers then hire people to sell a coupon product to the general public at their homes, parking lots, businesses...whatever... within a 5-8 mile radius of the service center.

      It was a pretty good gig. Each coupon was sold for $49.95 to $59.95 and they only cost us $0.05 to print. They are pretty easy to sell too if you have any people skills at all.

      I did that business with 3 other partners. We did great for a while but as usual with a lot of equal partners things went down the drain and we ended up dissolving the company.

      It was a great business though. Easy way to make $200-$300 or more per day with not a lot of work time invested.
      riiiight... not sure where your from bro but in Australia that's a nice way of getting your teeth kicked in.

      Must be a cultural thing but in Australia most people hate cold callers and door knockers, but this whole car park thing is new to me and id be willing to bet your going to see a few people killed or hospitalized over this.

      To those saying he is courageous I think are confusing him with mentally unstable or just pure stupid. I had my wife and two year old daughter with me, nuff said on that front.
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      • Profile picture of the author tryinhere
        Originally Posted by goindeep View Post

        but this whole car park thing is new to me and id be willing to bet your going to see a few people killed or hospitalized over this.
        There are probably several Australian companies that have been doing this for a long time, and pounding the car parks is a common haunt for these guys.

        It is often travelers / people looking for a quick buck that take on the job as it is quick cash paid daily and you do not need to pass any high grade test to get the gig as it churns and burns the people peddling the cause.

        Probably just the first time you have run into one thats all.
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      • Profile picture of the author Beatinest
        Originally Posted by goindeep View Post

        riiiight... not sure where your from bro but in Australia that's a nice way of getting your teeth kicked in.

        Must be a cultural thing but in Australia most people hate cold callers and door knockers, but this whole car park thing is new to me and id be willing to bet your going to see a few people killed or hospitalized over this.

        To those saying he is courageous I think are confusing him with mentally unstable or just pure stupid. I had my wife and two year old daughter with me, nuff said on that front.
        I ran that business for 10 years and we never had anyone come close to getting physically assaulted in any way. Civilized human beings are just not that aggressive or ill-tempered.

        If you think about it, the only reason that guy is working parking lots is because either he or others who work like him get consistent results from working parking lots or they are testing it to see if they can get conversions...which I guarantee they do.

        We would have guys work parking lots, gas pumps, malls, doors, strip malls, office towers, etc. and our average conversion was 1 in every 5 people we talked to would convert into a sale. Again, we never had anyone get killed, end up in the hospital or even get shoved.

        Also, I agree he isn't courageous but he's also, most likely, not mentally unstable or stupid. He is just doing the job he was trained to do so he can pay his bills and put some money away like everybody else. At least he's not robbing people or selling drugs...lol.
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        • Profile picture of the author goindeep
          Originally Posted by Beatinest View Post

          I ran that business for 10 years and we never had anyone come close to getting physically assaulted in any way. Civilized human beings are just not that aggressive or ill-tempered.

          If you think about it, the only reason that guy is working parking lots is because either he or others who work like him get consistent results from working parking lots or they are testing it to see if they can get conversions...which I guarantee they do.

          We would have guys work parking lots, gas pumps, malls, doors, strip malls, office towers, etc. and our average conversion was 1 in every 5 people we talked to would convert into a sale. Again, we never had anyone get killed, end up in the hospital or even get shoved.

          Also, I agree he isn't courageous but he's also, most likely, not mentally unstable or stupid. He is just doing the job he was trained to do so he can pay his bills and put some money away like everybody else. At least he's not robbing people or selling drugs...lol.
          Definitely sounds like there are some cultural and legal differences.

          Pinning old ladies between cars and harassing them out of the blue is close to robbing people. It's certainly a matter for the police over here when people.

          Promoting yourself as working for the company you are advertising is dishonest and potentially illegal.

          Hawking services in a private car park is illegal.

          Using brands and logo's from global companies that you have nothing to do with is illegal.

          I have had a theory for a very long time. If you need to approach people randomly about a product or service via the phone or door to door or in this case in a parking lot it usually means your product is service is crap and your marketing is even worse.

          I don't mind when companies I already do business with call or email me but do randomly approach me with some crazy offer, I mean its basically a form of SPAM and the only other people I know that generate business in car parks are drug dealers and prostitutes.

          The right way to do it, would be to stick a flyer under peoples windscreens with a targeted offer, some great copy and a great value packed offer.
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          • Profile picture of the author Julius Minor
            Originally Posted by goindeep View Post

            the only other people I know that generate business in car parks are drug dealers and prostitutes.
            And Craigslist sellers.. (well I've actually done that myself..lol..) but through all seriousness it's one thing to approach and attempt to make a sale, but it's other thing to be overly aggressive... That's how people get hurt..
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          • Profile picture of the author ArtAndSoulLady
            I really don't appreciate people leaving flyers on my windshield
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          • Profile picture of the author teresarothaar
            Originally Posted by goindeep View Post

            Definitely sounds like there are some cultural and legal differences.

            Pinning old ladies between cars and harassing them out of the blue is close to robbing people. It's certainly a matter for the police over here when people.

            Promoting yourself as working for the company you are advertising is dishonest and potentially illegal.

            Hawking services in a private car park is illegal.

            Using brands and logo's from global companies that you have nothing to do with is illegal.
            Actually, all of that is illegal in the States, too. The exception is hawking services in a private parking lot (parking lot = American for car park). That's not illegal per se, but if the property owner catches you, they'll almost certainly tell you to leave. If you refuse to do so, then you are trespassing, which is illegal.

            And I don't care what that other guy says. Most Americans can't stand door-to-door salespeople. Further, it is not unusual for people to actually draw guns in inner city ghettos and rural trailer parks. Try that nonsense up in North Philly, or the Beltzhoover section of Pittsburgh, or South Central L.A., and see what happens to you. Even in the suburbs, people will curse you out and threaten to call the police. I don't blame them. Banging on strangers' doors is rude and ignorant.

            Originally Posted by goindeep View Post

            I have had a theory for a very long time. If you need to approach people randomly about a product or service via the phone or door to door or in this case in a parking lot it usually means your product is service is crap and your marketing is even worse.

            I don't mind when companies I already do business with call or email me but do randomly approach me with some crazy offer, I mean its basically a form of SPAM and the only other people I know that generate business in car parks are drug dealers and prostitutes.

            The right way to do it, would be to stick a flyer under peoples windscreens with a targeted offer, some great copy and a great value packed offer.
            I agree completely. No legitimate company sells their wares via ambushing people in parking lots. It reminds me of what MLM's do. They don't ambush people in parking lots or go door-to-door, but they do train salespeople to ambush them on social media networks (this is the comparison I was making in my first post). I was not willing to stalk people on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/etc., pretend to be their friend, then attempt to shove snake oil down their throats.

            Although door-to-door sales were common and culturally acceptable a few decades ago, this is not the case today; times have changed drastically. People do not want strangers banging on their doors.

            Windshield flyers aren't inherently rude, but door-to-door flyers or doorknob hangers may work better. Most people don't get mad if someone slips a flyer under their door, or leaves a hanger on their doorknob.
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  • Profile picture of the author competent123
    looks like a desperate salesman.

    usually i just tell them what they are doing wrong and how to do that right.

    if he understands, he may get my sale, if he doesn't buzz him off.

    dont' see a reason why i should not help him out.


    as the old saying goes - give man a fish and he feeds for a day, teach him how to fish, and he feeds for a lifetime.
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  • Profile picture of the author TeamBringIt
    Sales is about persuasion, being pushy and negative...never motivates someone to take actions, that you want them to take...lol

    The guy, had courage..but, was not a good salesman...
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  • Profile picture of the author Victor Edson
    So there he was.. an aggressive, pushy sales person with a crappy job.. and you let him walk away?

    You shoulda hired that guy on the spot!

    Aggressive sales people are almost always better sales people...with a little training he could have been a top producer for some offline services in your area. Oh well.. you can't win em all.
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    • Profile picture of the author Complex
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      • Profile picture of the author Victor Edson
        Originally Posted by Complex View Post

        No, they are not. Have you actually done high end sales? Aggressive and pushy people that approach people in parking lots are not at all the top 1% of sales people. High end sales - is the exact opposite of being aggressive and pushy. You don't sell million dollar homes, Bentley's and things of that ilk with low brow sales skills. Maybe low brow sales skills sells $ 200 a month SEO packages to unsuspecting local mom and pops, but not the high end of anything.

        I used to sell high end office furniture to corporate clients in the Northeast... if you went into that environment, dealing with a social alpha acting all aggressive and pushy ... you don't get the sale. And we are talking about $ 50,000 to $ 100,000 transactions. When you sell high end, you sell to alphas. Pushy makes them push back.

        And whoever says this dude was "courageous" do you know what the word actually means?

        It's courageous for a fireman on a Tuesday morning in September to walk into two towers that are about to collapse, not thinking about his self, knowing that he is probably going to die - just to try to save a life or two.

        It's not at all courageous to approach people in the parking lot. That's the lowest end of the sales food chain. That's the kind of job that heroin addicts and crackheads take.

        Well since we are going to change the definition of words that used to actually mean something ...

        I guess it was courageous that I woke up this morning. It was courageous that I put milk in my coffee. It was courageous that I took a morning shit. It was courageous that I wiped the sleep out of my eyes. It was courageous that I brushed my teeth.
        You're right.. you should use creamer. But we aren't all as courageous as you are.

        And the guy sure wasn't taking no for an answer. That's a good quality to have in a face to face sales person. I didn't say he was perfect.. if so he would have closed the deal.

        That guy had the natural 'don't take no for an answer' attitude that it takes to be a good sales person. Selling a Bentley is different than selling a mobile website to a poor mom and pop business who's behind the times and losing conversions and sinking instead of pulling in leads and doing great without marketing their business.
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      • Profile picture of the author Brian Tayler
        Originally Posted by Complex View Post

        And whoever says this dude was "courageous" do you know what the word actually means?

        It's courageous for a fireman on a Tuesday morning in September to walk into two towers that are about to collapse, not thinking about his self, knowing that he is probably going to die - just to try to save a life or two.
        Well said. Never should devalue the sacrifice some make.

        While the salesman may have "guts" to stick it out when others wouldn't it certainly isn't courageous and depending on opinion some would consider it rude and pointless. Someone who says "no" is much more likely to be remorseful of the purchase afterwards (if you do push hard enough to get the sale).

        I totally get the strong-arm salesmen stand-point. I know it works. But its not a business practice I'll be involved in. I also don't want those type of customers. I want customers who willingly want my product and feel good with the purchase. You can almost NEVER have this attitude from a customer pushed into a sale.

        Ultimately do you think the mechanic shop that offers the lowest price or the best service wins out? I can tell you right now.... if that guy approached me in the parking lot and somehow got me to "buy in" I'd be VERY skeptical about the mechanics services (especially with the stigma mechanics share already) or any up-sells. Also regardless of the "service" (the mechanic could do an amazing job) I will probably look at the whole situation as bad and relate my experiences to other people ("wow I got a good deal on the work, but the service was awful"). I bet you most other customers would have similar experiences, mostly subconsciously devaluing the service because of the sales method.

        Anything for a buck? No thank you.
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      • Profile picture of the author Beatinest
        Originally Posted by Complex View Post

        It's not at all courageous to approach people in the parking lot. That's the lowest end of the sales food chain. That's the kind of job that heroin addicts and crackheads take.
        No offense, but saying that is the kind of jobs crackheads take is going a bit overboard. It's not true at all. I had 'normal' suburban folks selling for me. Some were making 60k + per year. My average salesperson was making 40k + per year.

        I totally agree on your other points about different levels of sales people. I have also done high end sales and there is a huge difference in the methods/relationships required to sell different things.

        Originally Posted by teresarothaar View Post

        This is one of the reasons why I failed miserably in MLM. I'm too professional. It just wasn't in my nature to ambush people and cram snake oil down their throats by any means necessary.

        Oh, and people hate door-to-door sales here in the U.S., too. There are sections of Philadelphia--and every other major city--where people literally point guns at door-to-door solicitors. I would sooner work for a crime scene cleanup company, scrubbing the bloody entrails of murder victims off of walls, than sell anything door-to-door in North Philly.
        MLM and door-to-door or direct sales is totally different than MLM. Not even close actually. I mean, I'm sure some MLM people go door-to-door but they don't use the same business model.

        And...people don't hate door-to-door sales in the US. We sold all over the country for 10 years and never had one person point a gun at anyone. I'm sure it has happened with a few insane people but we had great rapport with almost everyone we encountered. I guess it's the difference in selling magazines vs something of value that will help people save money.

        It's funny when I encounter conversations like this. The people that say they hate door-to-door sales vs how nice people are when you actually knock on their door.

        So nice in fact that people will THANK YOU for selling them something by the time you leave and sometimes refer friends and family members to you so you can sell them too. It just blows my mind how different it is when you actually see how it all works first hand.

        I've had this conversation maybe 20 times online and it's always the same. Fun to discuss it though.
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      • Profile picture of the author goindeep
        Originally Posted by Complex View Post

        No, they are not. Have you actually done high end sales? Aggressive and pushy people that approach people in parking lots are not at all the top 1% of sales people. High end sales - is the exact opposite of being aggressive and pushy. You don't sell million dollar homes, Bentley's and things of that ilk with low brow sales skills. Maybe low brow sales skills sells $ 200 a month SEO packages to unsuspecting local mom and pops, but not the high end of anything.

        I used to sell high end office furniture to corporate clients in the Northeast... if you went into that environment, dealing with a social alpha acting all aggressive and pushy ... you don't get the sale. And we are talking about $ 50,000 to $ 100,000 transactions. When you sell high end, you sell to alphas. Pushy makes them push back.

        And whoever says this dude was "courageous" do you know what the word actually means?

        It's courageous for a fireman on a Tuesday morning in September to walk into two towers that are about to collapse, not thinking about his self, knowing that he is probably going to die - just to try to save a life or two.

        It's not at all courageous to approach people in the parking lot. That's the lowest end of the sales food chain. That's the kind of job that heroin addicts and crackheads take.

        Well since we are going to change the definition of words that used to actually mean something ...

        I guess it was courageous that I woke up this morning. It was courageous that I put milk in my coffee. It was courageous that I took a morning shit. It was courageous that I wiped the sleep out of my eyes. It was courageous that I brushed my teeth.
        Exactly!

        Threads like this really do show who is just out to make fast money and who is here to build a reputable, professional and value added business.

        This guy was nothing but a fat loser verging on criminal. How people fail to see that is beyond me.
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        • Profile picture of the author Saul
          Originally Posted by goindeep View Post

          This guy was nothing but a fat loser verging on criminal. How people fail to see that is beyond me.
          and maybe his two year old daughter was in need of medical care he could not afford, but rather than going out and steal, his sense of ethics imposed him to actually *work*. Unfortunately his lack of other skills and the current economic situation made it so that selling in a car park was the only thing he found on that day to hopefully make enough money to buy the meds his daughter needs.

          I think that would warrant some aggressive selling.

          I totally agree that's not the best way of selling (and again, my fictional scenario might be completely off the mark and maybe that salesman was just a jerk) but because we don't actually *know* what his motivations were I don't think the harsh judging I've read in this thread is anywhere close to fair :/

          Bad salesman for sure, but that doesn't necessarily make him a "borderline criminal" or any of the other names I've seen him called in this thread.

          I just have a soft spot for underdogs and I don't like privileged people picking on the under-privileged... their life is hard enough already.

          ciao :-P

          ps. again, horrible salesman skills -no doubt about that- but I'm just saying we shouldn't judge other people withouth knowing what's going on in their lives...
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          • Profile picture of the author goindeep
            Originally Posted by Saul View Post

            and maybe his two year old daughter was in need of medical care he could not afford, but rather than going out and steal, his sense of ethics imposed him to actually *work*. Unfortunately his lack of other skills and the current economic situation made it so that selling in a car park was the only thing he found on that day to hopefully make enough money to buy the meds his daughter needs.

            I think that would warrant some aggressive selling.
            I seriously doubt that seeing he had bling in his ears and on his hands, had a brand new blue tooth wireless eftpos machine and at the end of the day I don't give two stuffs about his situation if he is approaching me and my family with my two year old in the car and then he starts getting aggressive towards me and my wife when all we want to do is go home and cook dinner.
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            • Profile picture of the author goindeep
              Originally Posted by samrand View Post

              Ok so yeah I was all the way with you on your story until you said you called
              the cops on this kid for being an over aggressive salesman.

              Brother I'm from the big bad United States and we'll knock your teeth out
              also if one disrespects but most of us AINT calling the cops on you if you
              have bad salesmanship skills.

              ESPECIALLY IF YOU CALL YOURSELF A WARRIOR!!! lol

              Don't know to much about the "down under" but maybe you do have big "cultural'
              differences than some of us other "civilized" countries.

              Sam
              In Australia car parks are private places of business. You can not sell things in a car park as it is illegal and you can be charged. Also he seemed like a scam artist to me, so of course i'm going to call the cops for all I know he is skimming credit cards which is where they steal your credit card details via magnetic technology which was a big scam going on here for a while.

              lol, don't get me started on civilised countries the US is certainly a civilized country but at the same time it does have more gang bangers, rapists, drug dealers, murderers, mass shooters, child molesters, homelessness etc and when compared with Australia as well as the US average level of education being lower than the average Australian level of education.

              Thanks for your opinion.

              Originally Posted by KevinChapman View Post

              Yeah he sounds like a nutter to me. Pushing people in to sale is never going to get you anywhere. I worked in retail for years and if you push someone in to buying something from you they'll just return it.
              Yes, he certainly was a nut job.

              Originally Posted by Brian Tayler View Post

              Another point I wanted to make...

              Not sure how it is in Australia but here in the states "parking lot deals" are known (by most) to be mostly shady. Especially in urban areas you'll hear about a guy in a van selling speakers out the back (usually in front of a Best Buy or Walmart). Apparently they usually steal/trash dive to get boxes of electronics/speakers and put inside a defunct speaker/electronic or an off brand speaker/electronic. Almost always the "customer" ends up swindled. So, at least here... I'd say the "parking lot salesmen" isn't looked at as a respected way to advertise... nor would most look at the business being advertised as respected and honest.
              Its pretty much the same. Here its also illegal to do this in car parks.
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              • Profile picture of the author samrand
                "lol, don't get me started on civilised countries the US is certainly a civilized country but at the same time it does have more gang bangers, rapists, drug dealers, murderers, mass shooters, child molesters, homelessness etc and when compared with Australia as well as the US average level of education being lower than the average Australian level of education.

                Thanks for your opinion"


                @goingindeep
                You don't say?

                We have MORE of everything here good sir. I believe California alone is
                almost DOUBLE the size of Australia.

                Your average education level is higher on average? That's cool.
                Can't wait for the next innovative thing Australian scholars can come up
                with to make this world a better place to live in.

                Cheers mate,
                Sam
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                • Profile picture of the author goindeep
                  Originally Posted by samrand View Post

                  "lol, don't get me started on civilised countries the US is certainly a civilized country but at the same time it does have more gang bangers, rapists, drug dealers, murderers, mass shooters, child molesters, homelessness etc and when compared with Australia as well as the US average level of education being lower than the average Australian level of education.

                  Thanks for your opinion"


                  @goingindeep
                  You don't say?

                  We have MORE of everything here good sir. I believe California alone is
                  almost DOUBLE the size of Australia.

                  Your average education level is higher on average? That's cool.
                  Can't wait for the next innovative thing Australian scholars can come up
                  with to make this world a better place to live in.

                  Cheers mate,
                  Sam
                  Settle pettle.

                  You started the debate and decided to bring countries into it.

                  Of course California is double the size of Australia in terms of population, our country was only colonized by white man about 200 years ago and we don't have countries to the north and south of us where people can immigrate from.

                  Anyway this is de-railing the thread. Both are civilized and it has nothing to do with anything.

                  The point is that this was an insane douche bag, and I called the police to report his activities
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  • Profile picture of the author stoltingmediagroup
    What the salesman in the parking lot did is admirable, and is no different from all your "screaming headlines, limited time offers, and buy now or else you'll be missing out" types of sales pages.

    Why is it that internet marketers get so offended by people that actually have the balls to approach you offline and hard sell you stuff with a credit card machine, when the only guts you have is to do it online, hiding behind a sales page.

    Just saying.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brian Tayler
    Reminds me of the door-to-door salesmen (but worse being in a parking lot/car park) as you're trying to put things away.

    Sadly the intimidation method DOES work on some (some people can't say no, and will be guilt-ed into buying).

    When I was young (8-10 yrs old) I was home with my mom while my dad was at work, and some guy came by to sell encyclopedias. He was there over an hour and literally would not take no for an answer. My mom is the kind of person who has a nervous laugh and smiles when shes nervous or put into a pressured situation. If you are a stranger and are talking to her, she won't get cold or walk away without your invitation (either vocally or by body language) that the conversation is over. He prayed on this characteristic and kept pushing. Eventually my mom paid him for the encyclopedias only to cancel the check the next day. Literally giving a check and paying for a stop payment (and all the bank hassle that comes along with it) was easier than saying "No" and slamming the door. So yes, I can say this approach works on some. Sad but true. Maybe it was still considered a "sale" for the guy and he made something off it?

    But this is certainly not the business approach I'd ever associate with.
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  • Profile picture of the author teresarothaar
    I agree with you, Complex. There's a difference between courage and stupidity, and a difference between professional sales and...sales.

    Would it be "courageous" for me to whack a hornets' nest with a baseball bat?

    Complex is right in that if you try to sell a Bentley using the same push-push-push tactics as a sweaty-palmed salesman on a Buy Here - Pay Here car lot, you won't get far.

    This is one of the reasons why I failed miserably in MLM. I'm too professional. It just wasn't in my nature to ambush people and cram snake oil down their throats by any means necessary.

    Oh, and people hate door-to-door sales here in the U.S., too. There are sections of Philadelphia--and every other major city--where people literally point guns at door-to-door solicitors. I would sooner work for a crime scene cleanup company, scrubbing the bloody entrails of murder victims off of walls, than sell anything door-to-door in North Philly.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Mensah
    wow that's beyond persistence even to the point of forcing it upon you to buy from him. For all you know he could take the credit card and copy the info to use later.
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    • Profile picture of the author goindeep
      Originally Posted by Alex Mensah View Post

      wow that's beyond persistence even to the point of forcing it upon you to buy from him. For all you know he could take the credit card and copy the info to use later.
      Exactly why I called the cops and reported his ass.

      Same reason if I find out his business details i'll be reporting him to the ACCC, scam watch and consumer affairs.

      For all I know he was credit card skimmer.
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  • Profile picture of the author twinkenterprises
    That's weird. If he was nice about it it might have worked for him, but to get aggressive with people isn't good.
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  • Profile picture of the author Geri Richmond
    Hi,

    Bless your heart! Here you were trying to be nice and along comes the JERK. I would have been really scared thought you handled the situation well. Glad you are all ok!
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  • Profile picture of the author mrgoe
    We do what we do to get sells, if that's all he's capable of, good thing he's trying. When people try to make me buy something on the road using my credit card, I immediately think of scam, so this method won't get him too many sells anyhow.
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    • Profile picture of the author Julius Minor
      Lol.. I doubt if he would have approached me at all.. Every time I see marketers like that, they will look at me, hesitate, turn and walk away. (Not to mention I'm 6'4 250lbs in pretty good shape)..
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  • Profile picture of the author MKCookins
    Wow that is pretty scary,

    I would have two thoughts running through my mind. First like you mentioned is he legit, and if he is he sure he cocky in coming up to people the way he is

    Second would be, is he trying to high-jack my car. In my area where I live we have been getting many hijacking in public parking lots, sometimes in the middle of the afternoon.

    But relating this to internet marketing, it is NOT THE WAY to sale something.

    People buy from people they know like and trust, offline, and online. You clearly did not know this person or business, so why would you buy?

    Same with online marketing. People who come to a site the first time, think why should I trust this person, and what is in it for me?

    You will get 90% more sales if you add people to an email list, then gently suggest products to them while giving them free valuable information.

    Then once in a while, it might be ok to sale hard on a product. More then likely though, all it takes is suggestion a product to your list that you know will benefit their lives.
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  • Profile picture of the author Moeski
    Can't stand the aggressive types.
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  • Profile picture of the author samrand
    Ok so yeah I was all the way with you on your story until you said you called
    the cops on this kid for being an over aggressive salesman.

    Brother I'm from the big bad United States and we'll knock your teeth out
    also if one disrespects but most of us AINT calling the cops on you if you
    have bad salesmanship skills.

    ESPECIALLY IF YOU CALL YOURSELF A WARRIOR!!! lol

    Don't know to much about the "down under" but maybe you do have big "cultural'
    differences than some of us other "civilized" countries.

    Sam
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  • Profile picture of the author KevinChapman
    Yeah he sounds like a nutter to me. Pushing people in to sale is never going to get you anywhere. I worked in retail for years and if you push someone in to buying something from you they'll just return it.
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  • Profile picture of the author owais211
    Banned
    Its seems the guy is desperate to sell.
    Going the desperate way of doing sales and having a must buy attitude won't bring you any sale deal closure.You have to be persuasive and be able to demonstrate that what you are selling is worth buying.
    That was really an horrible experience
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  • Profile picture of the author patadeperro
    For all of you who are saying the salesman was getting pushy and agressive I seriously invite you to go to the offline part of the forum, because between the agressive cold calling, the never give up and dont get a no for an answer, I may think that many salesman are getting the wrong advice.

    I agree that people really need to understand the art of selling and seduce more than being pushy
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  • Profile picture of the author Brian Tayler
    Another point I wanted to make...

    Not sure how it is in Australia but here in the states "parking lot deals" are known (by most) to be mostly shady. Especially in urban areas you'll hear about a guy in a van selling speakers out the back (usually in front of a Best Buy or Walmart). Apparently they usually steal/trash dive to get boxes of electronics/speakers and put inside a defunct speaker/electronic or an off brand speaker/electronic. Almost always the "customer" ends up swindled. So, at least here... I'd say the "parking lot salesmen" isn't looked at as a respected way to advertise... nor would most look at the business being advertised as respected and honest.
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  • Profile picture of the author celente
    pushy salesmen are not only annoying, but I tell them straight away I am a marketer and tell them, they are not going to get the sale today, and even give them a book to read to show them why. LOL.

    The frank kern soft sell approach works so well in this economy its not funny, however all these dikweeds are taught to be pushy. Good luck to them, because while they are out there trying to hussle for one sale a day, we are checking our inboxes and see sales coming in consistantly. YEY!
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    • Profile picture of the author teresarothaar
      Originally Posted by celente View Post

      pushy salesmen are not only annoying, but I tell them straight away I am a marketer and tell them, they are not going to get the sale today, and even give them a book to read to show them why. LOL.

      The frank kern soft sell approach works so well in this economy its not funny, however all these dikweeds are taught to be pushy. Good luck to them, because while they are out there trying to hussle for one sale a day, we are checking our inboxes and see sales coming in consistantly. YEY!
      Plus, it's easier to rise to the top when so many of your competitors are unprofessional hacks.
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  • Profile picture of the author teresarothaar
    Goindeep - it's very similar here in the states. Parking lots are private property, and in larger malls are patrolled by security guards. If a security guard catches someone soliciting--or even putting flyers on windshields--they tell the individual to leave. If the individual refuses, the police will be called, because that's trespassing.

    I do not know of any mall, shopping center, or even stand-alone store (like a Wawa or 7-11) that allows soliciting in their parking lot. Many of them have signage to this effect. Sometimes the property owner will make an individual exception for a charity, like the Girl Scouts or the Salvation Army, but that's it, and even then, the charity must ask the property owner for permission in advance.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    You should have acted like you was interested but you'll need several forms of ID (ex: drivers license photo ID, SS#, mothers maiden name, address for the last 10 years, 3 references).

    Drag it out all day looooong...
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    • Profile picture of the author jimbo13
      In many Supermarkets in the UK you have a car cleaning group which makes sense.

      Get your car cleaned whilst shopping. It also cuts down on car crime in the car parks too which is a good thing.

      There are also the Autoglass people who fix chips in your windscreen.

      And sometimes there is the AA (AAA in US not Alcoholics )

      These three are a natural fit and you would pay them on the spot if you use their services.

      But how can a mechanics rep ask you for money before he has done any work and what work was it that was to be done?

      Seems like a daft idea to start with.

      What would be a better use of his time is approaching people and giving a coupon/flyer to drivers and explaining that ABC mechanics just around the corner are doing a free tyre check, oil check, wheel alignment, brake check this week. Rotating it.

      This is what I would phone the garage owner and suggest with all the reasons why this is a better approach.

      Dan
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