Last year, I was in the market for an acoustic guitar. I ventured down to a local music store on a day that factory reps from Taylor Guitars were there, the “professional” salespeople. Fortunately, the factory rep that I began dealing with cared more about finding the correct guitar for his customer than selling the most expensive guitar. He started by finding my price range, not by asking how much I was willing to spend, but asking what guitars I currently own, what I am planning on using the new guitar for, how often I play, what types of music I play, and other similar questions. By using that information, he was able to tell generally where I stood regarding price range.
The next thing the rep did was to take all of the price tags away and had me play each guitar one at a time, determining which I liked the best. While I was playing, he built trust by telling me that in his experience, the most expensive guitar isn’t the one that people like the best or sounds the best. Some people just gravitate towards the most expensive one, simply because of the price and do not give the less expensive guitars a chance. I was able to play both very expensive and inexpensive guitars while not knowing which was which. As it turns out, the most expensive guitar was not the one I chose. The rep also did not hover over me throughout the process, but was there to answer any questions and provide the next guitar to test when I needed it. He asked me questions as I played the guitars to guide me through my decision making process.
BoweryJE22
That’s a great salesman right there! It kind of sounds like my Dad whenever he makes a purchase for me (shoes, phones, etc.). He’d definitely be the one to hide the price tags while I’m trying something out. But it’s surprising that this guy would do that, especially when it would help him. But that does make me think, if people gravitate towards more expensive guitars, was he just trying to get rid of the lower priced inventory? I don’t know but I would still trust that man. Cool story.