Page 127 - The Apple Experience

control. It validates the customer as a human being and not as a means to
make a salesperson’s numbers that day. It makes the customer feel like she’s

been heard and valued.

Step Three: Present a Solution for the Customer to Take Home Today

The culmination of this step can vary depending on the type of sale or

interaction. For example, if a customer purchases a new product like an iMac,

the employee will likely recommend a complete solution that includes the

AppleCare Protection Plan and One to One training classes. In many sales

environments the “extended warranty” is pushed on the consumer by eager
salespeople who get a bonus or commission for selling those add-ons. What

they don’t tell you is that the rate of repair on digital cameras, flat screen

televisions, or even vacuum cleaners for that matter is so low that extended

warranties are hardly worth it. Another trick commissioned salespeople use,

especially in the electronics industry, is to recommend expensive cables that

are supposed to improve the quality of the sound or picture on the stereo or

television. The salespeople can be very convincing. Who doesn’t want a 24k
gold-plated connector or a low-loss nitrogen dielectric? The cable sounds so

impressive it must be good. But many experts say a $100 cable offers a nearly

imperceptible improvement in quality over a $4 cable. Selling customers

more expensive cables or a warranty they don’t need does not qualify as a

“complete solution.” It counts as a salesperson enriching his pocket or

satisfying company quotas, and not your life.

Why do most people hate the car-buying experience? It’s because car
salesmen are typically instructed to do whatever they can to get you into a car

before you leave the lot. One Apple customer told me she walked into a store

feeling sad and walked out happy, without buying a thing. Well, I’ve walked

onto a car lot feeling happy and left feeling sad! The car-buying experience is