Today we take a look at an elusive creature. This character has the charm of a panda, the wits of a fox and smoothness of a snake.
Who is this you ask? It?s the ever suave door to door salesmen!
While not every door to door salesman is an unethical person, they know what they are doing, so you need to keep your wits about you to avoid falling for their sales traps.
The door to door salesman has been around for ages from peddlers of ?miracle elixirs? to vacuums and encyclopedias. We?ve all seen them pull up, ask for your parent,?or you now that you’re an adult and then start their sales pitch.?Some?of these products are great and can be useful, but a lot of these products are things you can get at a store for far cheaper. Here are some ways to avoid falling for door to door sales traps.
Don?t Let Them In
The greatest way to not fall for door to door sales traps is to not even give them the time of day. You can answer the door and say no thank you and shut the door. Key is shutting the door! Or you can post a [easyazon_link keywords=”no soliciting sign” locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”wisedollar-20″]no soliciting sign[/easyazon_link]/no trespassing and that usually should deter a salesman. Finally, there are times where I just don’t answer the door at all. Don’t feel like you have to answer the door just because you are home. It’s your choice to answer or not.
Don?t Say Yes to Any Question
This doesn?t apply to all door to door salesmen, but some will take any yes you say as a ?yes, let me buy your product?. Then unbeknownst to you, you?ve just purchased six sets of the most recent encyclopedia! You can say ?correct? or ?that?s right? but don?t give them a hard yes unless you mean it.
Ask Them to Come Back at a Scheduled Time
A traveling salesman never makes an appointment and has the element of surprise behind them. If you really are interested in their product, set up a time to meet where you can mentally prepare yourself to what you are looking at. The salesman can see you are serious and will come back. If he doesn?t want to set up an appointment then it probably wasn?t a good product in the first place.
Do Some Research
When a salesman gives you his pitch and you are interested, take his contact information and product information and tell him you?ll be giving him a call. Then look it up and do some research.
Is the company reputable? Is the product good? Are their promises real? With the wonderful technology that is the Internet you can find out so much information, not to mention save money.
If it is a scam, you can usually find something about it on the Internet. Call a friend or neighbor and see if the same sales person has been to their home. Most likely if he has been to your house, they have been to your neighbors too.
As stated, not all door to door salesmen are out to scam you and get your money. Windows, insurance, vacuums and other similar products or services may be?legitimate. They are out to make a living the same as you. Don?t be rude. Be polite and if you are interested hear them out. Keeping your wits and common sense about you will be your best protection from falling into a trap.
Have you ever fallen for a door to door sales trap? Have you used any of these tips to avoid sales traps?
Photo courtesy of: Alexandre Normand
Wise Dollar
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Great tips Kayla – sharing!
I’ll take those points in mind. It’s better to be vigilant to these traps.