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I don't buy anything if I did not initiate the transaction including products from a door-to-door salesman. Here's how I turn down their sales offer.

On Sabbatum morning, a boyfriend knocked at our door. He wanted to sell us new windows. Kris tried to brush him aside gently, but he was persistent. He didn't leave until he'd scheduled an appointment to requite u.s.a. an hour-long in-dwelling presentation virtually his company's product.

"We do need storm windows," Kris told me subsequently he'd gone.

"That'south true," I said. "But I don't like ownership from door-to-door salesmen."

The worst job I always had was selling insurance door-to-door to little old ladies in rural Oregon. I know the tricks and techniques these folks use to become into your abode and make the sale. Sometimes knowledge isn't plenty. Kris and I have purchased our share of stupid things from door-to-door salesmen over the years, including:

  • A set of encyclopedias. We bought these in 1995, on the cusp of the digital historic period. They never saw much use. (Look for more near this on April Fool's Solar day.)
  • A freezer total of craven, most of which went to waste subsequently a power outage.
  • A Kirby vacuum cleaner, which at present sits unused because we have no carpeting.
  • Membership in a "consumers society". We paid something like $1500 to join this arrangement, and then $lxx a year thereafter to remain members. In theory, membership allowed u.s. to purchase furniture and electronics for cheap. In reality, we barely used it.

Kris and I are smart people. You'd remember nosotros'd know better than to buy this stuff. But we're besides nice people, and sometimes that niceness overpowers the intelligence. Most of the time I'thou able to stand up strong and to turn people abroad at the door, but sometimes I'm weak, and I feel sad for the salesman. That momentary weakness is all information technology takes to end upward spending $500 on encyclopedias I'll never use.

I used to have a rule that I'd always buy stuff from kids who knocked on the door. But in 2001, I let some college kids cajole me into purchasing several magazine subscriptions. Several over-priced magazine subscriptions. Canceling these was a nightmare.

Since and so, I've adopted a rule of thumb that has served me well: I never purchase anything if I did non initiate the transaction. I don't buy anything from flyers in the mail service, from telemarketers, from email ads, and, especially, from door-to-door salesmen. Why not?

  • They're trained to sell. You are not trained to resist. During my time with the insurance company, I learned how to handle a variety of objections, and how to nowadays my information in such a way that the client almost sold herself. I wasn't very good — some of my colleagues were. They could have sold ice to eskimos.
  • They create need where none exists. If you really need something, y'all already know it. Yous can exercise the research on your own. If you let yourself to be pitched, the salesmen volition create a need you lot didn't know y'all had. He'll make information technology seem sensible to spend thousands of dollars on a smoke alert.
  • They casualty on fear and ignorance. They want you to feel sorry for them. They want you to feel like you're keeping up with the Joneses. They want yous to feel like yous're protecting your family. A salesman wants y'all to make an emotional decision.
  • They utilize high-pressure tactics. They try to create a sense of urgency: "I only have one left", "This offer ends today", "We're only in town for this calendar week". Don't let the perceived scarcity influence you. And don't feel guilty if a salesman berates you for wasting his time. Stand strong.

Information technology's all well and good to know how the salesman works, but what can you do to resist? Hither are some effective techniques for handling door-to-door salesmen.

  • Don't reply the door. The best mode to resist any form of marketing is to avoid it birthday. Don't watch idiot box ads, don't read junk mail, don't engage telemarketers. And don't open the door to a traveling salesman.
  • Don't let him inside. If you do open the door to notice a salesman, don't let him in your home. Once he's in, he has the advantage. Expert salespeople know this. Some people feel it'due south rude not to ask a salesman within, but that's not true. The salesman isn't concerned with etiquette (and, in fact, takes reward of social conventions by using them against yous). The salesman just wants within your home so he can brand his pitch. Keep him outside.
  • Don't heed to the presentation. Almost sales pitches are constructed to get y'all answering questions (usually with a "yes") as soon as possible. Don't autumn for it. Once again, nobody wants to exist rude, but which would y'all rather do: interrupt the pitch or purchase an overpriced set of steak knives? I'd rather interrupt the pitch.
  • Be courteous but firm. The salesman is merely doing his job. Yes, it'southward a shitty chore, and he ought to be doing something else, merely ultimately it's still but a style for him to put nutrient on the table for his family. Stand firm, merely don't be a jerk.
  • Go a big dog. "No soliciting" signs don't work. Salesmen ignore them or pretend not to run across them. (They're like a blood-red flag: "I'm no good at resisting sales pitches, so delight don't call.") But it's difficult to ignore a large, snarling animal. When I was selling insurance, I avoided whatsoever home with a large dog. I wasn't the only 1.

Ultimately, your best defense force is to merely say "no" and shut the door. I've done this many times before, and though I sometimes felt guilty for well-nigh xxx seconds, this soon passes.

When Kris told me about the window salesman yesterday, I did some research. I knew that he'd defenseless her in a weak moment, and I was worried that her pride might make it difficult for her to cancel the sales engagement. I found several sites online with complaints nigh the company and its tactics. I compiled the information and went upstairs to tell Kris what I'd learned. I was going to volunteer to call the salesman myself.

"Nosotros don't want to do this," I told her. "The company does a hard-sell. The '1 hour appointment' generally lasts 4 hours. They don't take no for an reply. Their windows are much more expensive than normal windows." I sighed. "We demand to cancel the appointment."

"No problem," Kris said, smiling. "I already did."