I went to Dick’s to test some drivers this afternoon. I had done no research prior except hitting Blastoise at the range. Blastoise is what Evan named his driver except it’s more like a Squirtle. I made 6 swings at the range with his club and hit these moon shots about 250 in the air. His club is a 13.5 degree, regular shaft which is dramatically different than my 9°, stiff shaft Callaway XR.
Brendan greeted me. He said, “in the market for a driver.” I said, “yes.” Then this left handed, Cherry Hill, obnoxious, soccer mom was thrust into the conversation by Steve, the other clerk, and Brendan decided her business trumped mine. I wasn’t too upset and perused the offering while he helped Susan (I made up this name).
5+ minutes later he comes back and apologizes which I said was no problem even though I was seething inside. That’s a joke. We walk to the golf simulator and this is where I could tell he wasn’t paid on commission. I’m not going to toot my own horn here, but I’ve sold millions of dollars of product throughout my career and consider myself a respectable salesman. Brendan, 21 (a guess), is not.
The first question I had for Brendan was, “are you a golfer?” He wasn’t. This isn’t the end of the sale for me, as I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but it’s nice to buy a product from someone who knows more about it than you. Another bad line by him was when he was telling me that good golfers don’t come to Dick’s to buy clubs and he sends them to Golf Galaxy which I thought was comical. At least he’s honest.
So I hit about 5 different drivers and he’s changing the color of each drive on the screen and even though I knew what he was doing, it didn’t strike me to remember what driver each color went with. So we adjusted degrees and tested many and the data was all over the place, as I was pretty sure we weren’t even correlating the colors with the right driver. This made it so I couldn’t make a decision. I asked him what the price was of what we concluded I hit the best and came back with a $500 number.
I told him that I wasn’t sure which was the best for me and left the store. I share this because I care about golf. I want to be informed and make decisions that are going to improve my game. This wasn’t Brendan’s fault, but he didn’t make me feel comfortable that this was going to happen. Who’s truly to blame? The employer, Dick’s.
This story begs the question…”are you a roofer?” 😉
Does using products in real-world scenarios provide more for the customer? It would certainly seem to help create consumer confidence in a purchase. Some products are very utilitarian (does it cut this? does it do that?). Others are more personal. Golf clubs would seem to be one of them (to me). What might work well for someone else may not be best for you, your style of playing, strengths/weaknesses, what you are focusing on improving. In that scenario, I might welcome someone who simply knows the product inside and out – and let me determine how it could help or hinder me. Agree you should probably have some base knowledge to represent a product in a retail environment, which sounds like was not delivered.
I recall many many years ago I used to work at a soccer supply store in Montgomeryville. Owner was the back-up goalkeeper for the Danish national team (ahead of him on the roster was possibly the best keeper in the past 20 years). We used to have parents and 14yo kids come in and buy $165 cleats. One day a semi-pro player from Africa came in to purchase for his MLS tryout. Bought a $40 set. “All I need.” Knew his skills, comfort level, budget, etc.
Is there consumer value in being a solid, knowledgeable steward of a product vs. being a practitioner? You can sell a house without having ever built one. Maybe it is respecting what you are selling?
I have to think the hardest sales job would be in tires. Not a sexy product…
Corrugated box salesman.
It’s not necessary to use the product, but it can’t hurt. Not being a roofer, I can’t feel why the product is good or not. However, I’ve talked to hundreds of people who have used the product and combine all those thoughts into my “feel”. It’s the total package in my mind. The banter to go along with the sale is paramount.
I know you guys do your due diligence to better understand the products and industry. Most don’t. The general dilemma is that if someone who was really great at doing the work, why are they selling the product vs. continuing their successful application of it..? I.e. if you were great at running a restaurant, why are you selling restaurant supplies now?
I really enjoy the ‘Masterclass’ series. But the notion of watching Steph Curry train will turn you into an elite 3-point shooter seems a bit generous. I’ve watched thousands of baseball games. Could I hit a fastball? Probably not.
I am intrigued by this “boxed-tire” idea though… The most underwhelming Amazon delivery ever.