I’m from Nigeria and coming to America I realized the sales/shopping experience is completely different. In Nigeria bargaining is customary, its usually unwise to buy products for its initial/actual marks. Looking back I’ve realized that this was a skill we had to build and it was basically a rite of passage. Basically younger kids/teens are either taught or observe behaviors or actions that could result to successful bargain. This process is basically two sales going on simultaneously, the salesperson is trying to sell you a product and you’re trying to sell the salesperson to sell it less to you. A few skills I’ve realized lead to a good bargain are:
- having some form of charisma or charm
- building rapport either as a buyer or seller
- price real low to get a lower middle ground
- make the salesperson feel like you are providing something in return
- Maybe it’s providing more business (you have friends to refer)
- Maybe it’s making them feel better about themselves (make them feel like they just helped someone) but not to the cost of themselves.
There also are things you should avoid doing, but too list these I have to explain the Nigerian market experience and dynamics. The selling experience is one-to-one, you walk into a store and have to talk to the buyer. The stores are also in a market district so there’s a large amount of options with that being said, here are some don’ts:
- No window shopping, know what you want to buy else buyers might convince you to buy things you don’t want
- Do not under any circumstance buy anything for the initial price
- If you walk away from a negotiation do not come back, take the L.
BoweryJE22
These are all really interesting points. I particularly like the point of making the buyer feel like you are providing something for them. Every sale is a two way street, where both parties receive something. This is something sellers leverage every time, but something buyers seem to forget about.
I also like how you mentioned the value of knowing what you want. This is important in many contexts. In every sales experience, it is good for the buyer and seller to know what they want ahead of time. This will help them to both ask more pointed questions, and make the sales process more efficient and effective.
Well done Jedidiah! You have such a unique perspective coming from a different culture and different attitude towards sales, its fascinating to hear about your experiences and lessons learned! Great work!