Double Glazing Sales Tactics – The Consumer Survival Guide.
Many high-pressure sales tactics are used by some double glazing sales reps. We expose a few of them here with our mini consumer guide.
Whilst not all sales representatives use the same, questionable tactics to make sales are common practice in the industry.
DON’T BE INTIMIDATED BY PUSHY DOUBLE GLAZING SALESMEN
Deceitful tactics to try and pressure a potential customer into purchasing on the spot without giving them time to think it over and make an informed decision.
By exposing some of these tactics, hopefully it will allow you to be better prepared to deal with them once should a sales representative try to use them.
“I’ll give you a great price, but it is a one-time limited offer – you must act now”
When negotiating the price for your double glazing, you are going to be pressured quite a bit. Most of the time the salesman will be telling you that he can get a deal done, but you have to act now otherwise the deal might not be there later.
Truth is that the deal will likely still be there tomorrow, or next week, or the month after. This is just a simple and quick way for them to get you to buy, because it is human nature not to want to miss a good deal.
It plays to people’s greed and desire to not miss out on a bargain when sales representatives try this.
“We can promise a discount if we can use you as a show-home”
This is actually a very common sales story that you will probably end up hearing. Most often this tactic is connected with cold-calling on the telephone or by the salesman simply calling at your house in person.
Often these sales representatives are telling you that they need a very limited number of show-homes in your area and that you could potentially be featured in the advertising for the company.
There may be a need for the company to take pictures, and occasionally you may have to show your home to prospective buyers or even field phone calls from other customers.
To make the story more convincing they may even ask about the traffic levels around your home and your area.
Finally, you are told that you can get a massive discount, sometimes as much as 60% off the original price if you agree to buy now. However, if you do not act right now the offer goes back to full price simply because offers that good cannot be left open now can they?
The truth is that there are no show-homes; they are simply trying to get you to buy from them on the spot for a discount that they just made up.
“Buy the front and we’ll give you the back free”
First, ask yourself this question, why would a company seek you out and immediately give you a 50% discount? The old adage of “sounds too good to be true” is applicable here. Once you start comparing prices, you are going to notice that you are likely overpaying for these supposedly “free windows”.
The truth is that there is not a company out there that can afford to simply give their product away. Some want to believe it, because they like the idea of getting a special deal that might not be offered to just anyone, but you should say goodbye to any sales representative that believes you may be gullible enough to fall for such a notion.
“Fine, I can go as low as…but this is a deal I can only do for you.”
Another tactic that salesmen use is to offer massive discounts, offering to drop significantly from the ‘original price’. Some sales representatives could even be persuaded to drop to half of what they were originally asking for.
While it might make the consumer feel like they are shrewd negotiators, unfortunately this is just another sales tactic. Because they start with an inflated price, these sales representatives can afford to lower their prices drastically.
It makes the consumer feel like they are getting a bargain when in all likelihood, they are still overpaying for what they are getting. Often these sales representatives will make the buyer swear that they will not tell anyone about the ‘ridiculously low prices’ that they received!
“I’ll phone my manager to get a better price”
Most sales representatives do this simply because they want to appear to have gone to great lengths to get you the deal that they have negotiated with you. After all, you are special – why should you not be given a great deal?
It is intended to make you take a liking to the sales representative and thus be more likely to buy from them, considering that they actually stood up to their manager for you.
In fact, they already know how low a price they can get for you without speaking to their manager.
To complete the act, sales representatives will often be completely flabbergasted that they were able to get you such a good price from their otherwise stingy manager!
How to beat the dodgy double glazing sales tactics
One of the best things you can do is to make sure that you have a fair price by comparing quotes from different companies. While one company might charge too much, once you have received quotes from three companies you will have a general idea of what sort of investment you may be looking at.
Once you have a decent idea of what you might pay it becomes important to realize that most sales representatives work on commission.
While you can expect to have a few percent of the actual price knocked off, especially if you are very close to having a done deal, most of the time if you have been quoted a price that is consistent with that of other companies, then that is around what you will have to spend. If they promise to knock off an additional 40%, you are dealing with another dodgy sales person.
Now that you have read about some of their tactics, it should come as no surprise that many people fall for them on a regular basis.
Once you know how these salesmen operate, you may better defend yourself against their tactics and sales pressure.
However, even if after reading these warnings and sales tactics it is possible you may still feel pressured or fall for an unscrupulous representative, perhaps you are just not happy with the installation or the final look.
Luckily, you have up to seven days to cancel a contract that was signed in your own home. You have this protection because of the Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumer’s Home or Place of Work Regulations 2008.
Any time in those seven days, it is your right to simply demand your money back and back out of the sale.
