We attended another RV show. (What can I say, exercise and new knowledge rolled into one.) Saturday we walked for two hours, Sunday, another four. The bad news, first. There were not as many visitors as normal, perhaps, because another RV show had been at the same venue this year already. (Or maybe because the Saturday the weather was GORGEOUS, unseasonably so.) But the other bad news: I still observed groups of sale employees standing around in conversation with each other rather than making an attempt to even make eye contact, or they were just nowhere to be found.
There were also, like before, a few who started out helpful, but found excuses to walk away from their potential customers or answer their cellphone and use that as an excuse to leave customers and not bother to return.
Those sales employees forget one thing. Even if a customer does not buy, if they were satisfied with the employee they are apt to have passed his name on to other people looking for an RV. By walking away, their business card likely went in the trash (definitely for me) and many customers judge the dealership on the individual’s behavior (fair or not).
But, the good : we ran into several more sales employees that were actively and politely, seeking to help customers. It was a joy to see them “selling”, but not “overselling”, or, at the very least, making that initial, “Can I answer any questions for you?” Yes, I kept their cards, even the man’s whose personality would greatly clash with mine — because he was helpful and informative in spite of it. It was great to see improvement over the last two shows.
I can’t wait to go to the RV show in May in Puyallup, WA, if no other reason than for the exercise and to see more improvement in active sales! Hopefully, we may have our house ready to sell by then and we won’t just be browsing. . .
