In His Own Words

I promised you a story written by my brother recanting part of his trip to China this past April with his rock star daughter.  And depsite him dragging his feet and my having to push him a bit, he finally sat down and captured the following tale for you.  It would seem he not only enjoyed himself but also learned some valuable life lessons.  Even as the calendar pushes us past the mid-century mark, there is always something we can learn.

So here it is; In His Own Words ...

"Everyone one of us has bought something. Food, clothes, cars, houses, electronics. That of course means that many of us have also sold something. You cannot buy something unless there is a seller, right?

The buying and selling process has also spawned an entire genre of “experts” to help teach us how to be a more effective seller, or a more informed buyer. Right here in Atlanta, Clark Howard has become famous as someone who helps us become smarter, more informed buyers.

In fact, I am an expert on selling. I spent 25 years managing sales teams and now my business is focused on helping salespeople get better at selling.
The vast majority of the training and teaching for both the buyer and seller centers around one important aspect, Price! As buyers we all want the cheapest and best price right? Nod silently if you ever went out to buy something and you said, “Honey, let’s go out and buy something and pay way over list price for it!”? Of course you have never said that! For all of you sales people in the world, raise your hands, if every morning you wake up and say, “How can I hold my price as close to list price as possible?” 
So there it is; the classic conflict of buyer and seller. This conflict if not managed properly, can have dire consequences. One of the two parties in the transaction can walk away very unhappy. Let me illustrate for you.

As you know, I recently visited China. While in Chengdu, the capital of the Szechuan province, my brother and daughter and I went down to the local Chengdu street market. Here they sell everything imaginable and a lot I never expected to see. Trinkets and jewelry and furniture and art. Hats and books and t-shirts. And money. Yes, you can actually buy old Chinese money that is no longer in circulation. There must have been millions and millions of old Chinese money that you could buy for $10!
My daughter wanted a ring. My brother taught her how to bargain with the Chinese vendors who spoke no English. First, the vendor will grab your arm and pull you into their stall. Then they watch your eyes and as soon as your eye lingers on an item, they grab it and smile and punch a number into their cell phone, this is their opening price. My brother suggested that you offer a price that was about 70% lower than the price they wanted. You grabbed the cell phone and punched in your number. And this cell phone number punching price negotiation would go on until you either bought the item or you walked away. He suggested that after 1-2 rounds of price haggling, that you do walk away. Then the vendor would chase you down, cell phone in hand with a price pretty darn close to your last offer. Soon my daughter used this expert process and she purchased her ring for about $3 dollars US.

My brother bought a few things using this same expert process. I didn’t have anything in mind to buy until I spied this very unusual clock. It was a clock embedded in a glass round ball. It was very heavy with big Roman numbers, the clock was made by Omega and the face said it was made in Switzerland in 1882. Yeah right! I knew it was not Swiss and I knew it was not made in 1882, but I just thought it was cool looking and would look great on my desk as a terrific reminder of my China trip. The first offer was 600 RMB’s, about $100 US. Ridiculous I scoffed, and I walked away. The next stall had the same clock, again 600 RMB’s. I punched in 100 RMB’s or about $15. Ridiculous she scoffed, and she waved me off.

This process proceeded for the next 30 minutes as we strolled around the market. 600 to 800 RMB’s was the offer and I stuck to my 100 RMB price. When we got to the last vendor stall area, I was still empty handed, but now I really wanted that clock. I began negotiating very intently, punching numbers, feinting to walk away, more number punching, me moving from 100 RMB’s up and the vendor moving closer to 200 RMB’s. Finally we settled on 180 RMB’s, about $25 US. My daughter and brother cheered and clapped!

We left happy, I finally had my cool Swiss made 1882 glass ball desk clock, and for only $25. It sat safely in my back pack as we jumped into a cab. About 15 minutes later I pulled the clock out of my bag, just to revel a bit in my fantastic negotiating skills. The time on the clock said 3:25 pm. I looked at my watch and it said 3:45 pm. No problem, I will just adjust the time. I grabbed the stem and the entire stem came out in my hands! As I screamed bloody murder, my brother and daughter erupted in huge laughter! Frozen in time, the clock will only be right twice a day, and most days, I will be asleep at 3:25 am!

I stewed for a few minutes and then began to smile. I realized I had learned a lesson. Now, every time I look at that clock, I will remember the Moral of This Story………..Price Is Primary But The Product Must Perform!"

In his own words, indeed!  The expert salesman got owned!  Priceless.