First Impressions Count
Tamebay contributor Glenn today looks at first impressions and how quickly they can be formed, both in the real world and online:
“Are you the bill payer?” This single sentence by doorstep callers is perhaps the most annoying sales pitch I have ever heard. Those five words shout at me “They want my money!” Before I have heard any details and considered if the service is of interest to me the pitcher wants to know if I have the authority to change an existing gas, electricity or telephone service and if I haven’t then I’m not worth the effort of speaking to.
I have no idea what the next practised line is because by the time they get to ‘the bill’ the door is shut on them with an expletive about never calling again.
In those few seconds the ‘seller’ has managed to alienate me to such a degree that I wouldn’t deal with that person regardless of any benefits any change might bring.
Telephone sales are just a bad and I have now prepared several suitably offensive replies to ‘PPI’ vultures. Unprintable – Sorry.
I and I suspect most of us make an assessment about a service or product within seconds and as I read, watch or hear about a service or product I continually assess whether I want to continue to engage or move on.
When I see listing with a poor quality photograph I lose interest and move on, even though the listing might be excellent is all other ways.
If you can’t engage a potential customer in those first few seconds then everything else isn’t worth the effort. Without a clear photograph and meaningful title everything else is just clutter.
PS – The wife is the bill payer. Been that way ever since I purchased a complete set of Encyclopaedia Britannica from a doorstep caller.
Lace says
5:35 am on 14/01/2013
If that’s the first question they ask, clearly they don’t know about the buyer’s decision making process and their influences. My child may not be the bill payer but he can persuade me to buy things. Or the wife may be the bill payer but it’s the husband who make decisions on certain areas of the household. Sales pitches can be really funny!
Chris says
10:08 am on 14/01/2013
The ones I like are from the various Religions. As if I am going to even consider changing my religion at my age. Especially at the doorstep!
Jordan Fishwick says
12:37 pm on 15/01/2013
First impression do count, but I have seen them changed in the past.
Andy Lawrence says
5:22 pm on 18/01/2013
I got a lesson in first impressions last week.
I couldn’t believe it when I answered the door and the donation collectors from a certain charity had taken to wearing black tabards over white shirts making them look very much like the Police at first glance. Obviously a cynical tactic to get more doors opened but really that’s pretty low. How many old people are they scaring with this tactic?
Not cool.