Ask HN: How to protect oneself from trained sales people? - bizdiz
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tonteldoos
It depends...did you approach them, or was it a cold call for something you
may not need?

For the first:

\- Do your research

\- Know what you need (vs what you might want)

\- Know what you can pay (conservatively, and at a maximum)

\- Don't be afraid to say no

\- Don't be afraid to ask questions

\- Never feel pressured into a transaction - go away and think/process things

For the second:

\- Don't be afraid to immediately tell them you're not interested (in fact,
you should do this by default if it's something you don't need)

\- Know your finances, so that you're aware of what you can and can't afford
(this might be impetus to cut off the call sooner rather than later)

\- If it's something you may need, or have looked at, the points above apply

An interesting thing I've discovered (anecdata) - salespeople are wary of
engineers, because we rarely take something at face value. If you are one,
make sure they know this early on (either state it, or make sure they know you
know something about the domain). In the past it's done two things for me:

\- The sales person is less likely to make wild claims, and will be more
careful to make statements that can be backed up

\- Often, they become less pushy, because they know they will have to work for
the sale (rather than rely on emotion and ignorance)

One last comment: don't mistake courtesy for friendliness. Sales people are
there to do a job. They are not your friends (you don't owe them anything),
and it's the exception to the rule that they will have your best interests at
heart. Keep this in mind while you're talking to them.

~~~
bizdiz
Those where good points.

In my case it was the first. I did enough research and was very clear on the
pricing and product, i improved on my negotiating as i visited 3 showrooms and
then when i went to this 4th show room "don't mistake courtesy for
friendliness" this happened and i ended up spending $2K more that i should
have. He talked to me in a very nice way taking so much care about how i would
like and i just gave into it as i was tired that day and already was shopping
for the product for a month and just wanted to close the purchase.

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ffwacom
You are asking about how to have a stronger frame than the sales guys, google
or search reddit for psychological frame.

------
twobyfour
Protect yourself in what sense?

~~~
bizdiz
protect myself so that i don't give into their stories and end up buying
something i don't want or end up buying something at a higher price than i had
initially decided.

~~~
twobyfour
Ah.

Set yourself a price ceiling before the call.

Develop a habit of applying a skeptical attitude towards anything you hear,
especially from someone you know has motive to persuade you.

Ask to be put in touch with current clients with similar use cases to yours.
Ask those contacts tough questions.

Take a couple days to "sleep on it" and consider what you've heard / research
/ apply critical thinking before committing to a purchase.

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bizdiz
I have decided here after any time i make any decision i am gonna construct an
Yes or No question to myself 5 times and only if i say Yes 5 times i will say
yes to the decision and if i say No 5 times then i will say no to the decision
and if its a mix of Yes and No then i will simply delay the decision by 48
hours.

Hope it keeps me from falling for such traps in the future. Let me know how
you managed to get out of such situations or if you had any tips to handle
them.

