If you were to buy something at Circuit City (or any retail store...)

[Cuda1447]

... What could the salesmen say to you to get you to buy the extended warranty?


Reason why Im asking is I work at CC while I put myself thru college, and we are forced to sell city advantage. Basically its an extended warranty plan that protects your camera/computer/whatever you buy from going bad, if it does we repair or replace it. Problem is Im having problems selling this to people, alot of people don't want to pay $75 for a warranty plan on something that only costs 250-300.


Now I'm not trying to be an ass and sell this to people who dont want/need it, but I do gotta look out for myself first and foremost. If I don't get my numbers up I get canned, and thats not good. So tell me, what could a salesman say to you to get you to purchase something like this? What are its biggest selling points in your opinion?

 

[minendo]

Nothing. I have decided before entering the store if I will buy it or not.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Have you met my girlfriend? She loves blowing customers...

 

[Cuda1447]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
Have you met my girlfriend? She loves blowing customers...

WTF, thx for the help. You can go jump off a bridge now...

 

[Chiropteran]

"If you buy this warranty, you can sleep with my beautiful 19 year old sister any time you want" + pics and a phone call to her.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: Cuda1447

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
Have you met my girlfriend? She loves blowing customers...

WTF, thx for the help. You can go jump off a bridge now...

my bad...didn't read the whole post. Though it was a hypothetical question...

 

[Cuda1447]

Originally posted by: minendo
Nothing. I have decided before entering the store if I will buy it or not.

There is nothing at all that can convince you otherwise? See the problem is if most people think like you, and most are exposed to the deal in advance (and they are cause most of our customers our return customers) then Im SOL and its a matter of luck rather then me being able to sell it.


There has to be something that can hit the right button.... possibly the ability to cancel the warranty at any time and get the money prorated back to you?

 

[Saulbadguy]

You have to believe in it to sell it. I'm serious. Try and convince yourself it would be worth it for you to buy. Otherwise, you will feel like you are lying.

 

[Cuda1447]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: Cuda1447

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
Have you met my girlfriend? She loves blowing customers...

WTF, thx for the help. You can go jump off a bridge now...

my bad...didn't read the whole post. Though it was a hypothetical question...

Haha, ok my bad too, thought you were being a jerk. Don't jump.

 

[FoBoT]

nothing, they are a rip off (for consumers) , they are a money pot for the company selling them

 

[Ionizer86]

Find out about the plan. Tell them about it. Some plans are really cool, so they may sell much better. For example, I heard there's a TAP (Technology Assurance Program) at Compusa where, say you buy a $400 PDA and spend $60 on the plan. You could exchange this PDA for any other $400 PDA at the slightest problem. So say you've used it a year. Problems are sure to crop up, whether it's frequent hard resets, instability, etc. You get to upgrade to the shiny new $400 PDA that's two generations ahead of yours for only that initial $60.

Find out what's cool about your plan, and tell them about it.

 

[Saulbadguy]

Originally posted by: Cuda1447

Originally posted by: minendo
Nothing. I have decided before entering the store if I will buy it or not.

There is nothing at all that can convince you otherwise? See the problem is if most people think like you, and most are exposed to the deal in advance (and they are cause most of our customers our return customers) then Im SOL and its a matter of luck rather then me being able to sell it.


There has to be something that can hit the right button.... possibly the ability to cancel the warranty at any time and get the money prorated back to you?

Don't just say "Do you want the service plan?" I've found that saying that is much easier to say no to. First, explain the benefits of the service plan. Then ask if they want it or not.

 

[mpitts]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
Have you met my girlfriend? She loves blowing customers...

You forgot the most important part:

"... that buy extended warranties!"

The truth is that most people that come have already decided whether they are going to buy an extended warranty or not. Unless the warranty is very inexpensive or covers EVERYTHING, you will have a hard time "selling" it to people.

I have had to sell them at Best Buy, Sears, etc and convincing someone to spend an additional 15-20% for something they have,more than likely been looking for the best price on for quite some time is not an easy thing to do.

 

[Cuda1447]

Originally posted by: Saulbadguy
You have to believe in it to sell it. I'm serious. Try and convince yourself it would be worth it for you to buy. Otherwise, you will feel like you are lying.

Well its not so much that I feel like Im lying, just that its not worth it in my opinion. I usually go thru the steps of explaining what it covers, and then when they say no I say but you can cancel at any time, and they say no again, and I say and you can transfer to another product later... and they say no again, and I keep trying until they get pissed


Well not really, but thats what it seems like. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a salesman? But still I think I can better myself with practice (not that its a big deal, this isn't my career... but I don't want to lose my job ya know?)

 

[Cuda1447]

Originally posted by: Ionizer86
Find out about the plan. Tell them about it. Some plans are really cool, so they may sell much better. For example, I heard there's a TAP (Technology Assurance Program) at Compusa where, say you buy a $400 PDA and spend $60 on the plan. You could exchange this PDA for any other $400 PDA at the slightest problem. So say you've used it a year. Problems are sure to crop up, whether it's frequent hard resets, instability, etc. You get to upgrade to the shiny new $400 PDA that's two generations ahead of yours for only that initial $60.

Find out what's cool about your plan, and tell them about it.

Nothing really that cool about the plan except you can cancel it at any time. You can also transfer it onto a new product, but nothing like compusa.

 

[xSauronx]

i wouldnt buy unless what i was purchasing was worth far far more than the extra plan costs. my brother once bought a similar plan on a $15 pair of headphones i asked him to get for me, i almost kicked him in the nads for that.

 

[Saulbadguy]

Originally posted by: Cuda1447

Originally posted by: Saulbadguy
You have to believe in it to sell it. I'm serious. Try and convince yourself it would be worth it for you to buy. Otherwise, you will feel like you are lying.

Well its not so much that I feel like Im lying, just that its not worth it in my opinion. I usually go thru the steps of explaining what it covers, and then when they say no I say but you can cancel at any time, and they say no again, and I say and you can transfer to another product later... and they say no again, and I keep trying until they get pissed


Well not really, but thats what it seems like. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a salesman? But still I think I can better myself with practice (not that its a big deal, this isn't my career... but I don't want to lose my job ya know?)

I understand. Just try to explain the value. I always said "Well, if this unit breaks in 2 1/2 years, you can bring it in and we will give you a new one at the same price you paid for this one." That of course is depending on what you are selling. Also, I found women were more likely to buy extended warranties than men.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Well, depends person to person and what type of audience your speaking with. If it's mom and dad buying a computer for their little child who will end up just using the computer for pr0n while they think he's learning, well, they will buy the warranty because they don't know any better. If you're dealing with most people from this forum, they know those warranties are just a bunch of BS and marketing crap we don't need.

You may want to try saying that either you bought it and found the warranty useful yourself, or if that doesn't work, say you would buy this item with a warranty and never without because by putting in X amount now, it saves X amount tomorrow.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Oh, and just don't offer a $50 warranty on a $20 item, Best Buy did that to us once.

 

[FoBoT]

Ripoffs: Extended Warranties

Ripoffs: Extended Warranties

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
? Don't buy an extended warranty on electronic devices such as a computer or VCR. The value of a new computer will drop to nearly nothing in just a few years, and a VCR can be replaced very inexpensively if it breaks.
? A TV or DVD player can be replaced very inexpensively if it breaks. Update!
? An extended warranty for an appliance is a bad deal because they rarely pay off.
? People often lose the contracts, they move, or they forget they purchased the contract in the first place. The usage rate is even lower than the breakdown rate of the appliance.
? You're better off taking the money you would have spent on service contracts and putting it into a repair fund.

 

[T2T III]

No matter how hard one tries, I never buy the extended warranties - with the exception of some tool purchases. Just yesterday, I was at Best Buy and purchased one of the subwoofers that was on clearance. The price was $39.99 and they wanted to push the extended warranty for an additional $20.00. The extended warranty is 50% of the original cost for the item I was purchasing? WTF.

 

[Cuda1447]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
Ripoffs: Extended Warranties

Ripoffs: Extended Warranties

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
? Don't buy an extended warranty on electronic devices such as a computer or VCR. The value of a new computer will drop to nearly nothing in just a few years, and a VCR can be replaced very inexpensively if it breaks.
? A TV or DVD player can be replaced very inexpensively if it breaks. Update!
? An extended warranty for an appliance is a bad deal because they rarely pay off.
? People often lose the contracts, they move, or they forget they purchased the contract in the first place. The usage rate is even lower than the breakdown rate of the appliance.
? You're better off taking the money you would have spent on service contracts and putting it into a repair fund.

I wholeheartedly agree, but that doesn't change the fact that if I don't somehow find a way to sell these damn ripoff plans Im screwed.

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: Cuda1447

Originally posted by: minendo
Nothing. I have decided before entering the store if I will buy it or not.

There is nothing at all that can convince you otherwise? See the problem is if most people think like you, and most are exposed to the deal in advance (and they are cause most of our customers our return customers) then Im SOL and its a matter of luck rather then me being able to sell it.


There has to be something that can hit the right button.... possibly the ability to cancel the warranty at any time and get the money prorated back to you?

Absolutely nothing. I know what I want covered and it is as simple as that.

 

[Kelvrick]

Maybe its because most of those plans are complete ripoffs and consumers are told so by other consumers? Like the ones at best buy where yea, they'll exchange it, but then your computer that youv'e used for a year now and bought for 1500 is only worth 800 now. If you want a new computer, you'll have to make up for the difference.

That kind of crap is what most of those extended warranties are. If yours is different, say so and explain. But if you ask me more then twice, you're getting close to losing a sale of the original product. At least thats just me.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: Cuda1447

Originally posted by: FoBoT
Ripoffs: Extended Warranties

Ripoffs: Extended Warranties

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
? Don't buy an extended warranty on electronic devices such as a computer or VCR. The value of a new computer will drop to nearly nothing in just a few years, and a VCR can be replaced very inexpensively if it breaks.
? A TV or DVD player can be replaced very inexpensively if it breaks. Update!
? An extended warranty for an appliance is a bad deal because they rarely pay off.
? People often lose the contracts, they move, or they forget they purchased the contract in the first place. The usage rate is even lower than the breakdown rate of the appliance.
? You're better off taking the money you would have spent on service contracts and putting it into a repair fund.

I wholeheartedly agree, but that doesn't change the fact that if I don't somehow find a way to sell these damn ripoff plans Im screwed.

learn to be a better lier and don't give a crap about your fellow human beings, or get another job

good luck! :gift: