I took my daughter to the town fair this weekend. As we wandered the booths we came across some kitchen knives. Really cool kitchen knives. She rolled her eyes, but agreed to check them out with me.
I drew one out of the block and commented that I could feel the quality and “hear” how sharp it is – like the sound of pulling a sword out in a martial arts movie.
It went downhill from there.
Seller – “We provide a lifetime guarantee on all our knives and even sharpen them for free.”
Me – (thinking) I don’t really care about that, and I don’t want to track you down to sharpen my knives.
Cut one: focus on them, their product, and inconvenience for me
Seller – “Our knives are more expensive.”
Me – (thinking) I figured that from the quality, but now I’m doubting and questioning their value.
Cut two: doesn’t know how to differentiate their product for me, and they’re creating doubt.
Seller – “Our knives are made in the USA, with the highest grade steel.”
Me – (thinking) I don’t care.
Cut three: focus on them
Seller – “Are you in the market for new knives?”
Me – (thinking) Should I be – is that a requirement? And then, (thinking cheekily) yeah, I make it a habit to take my daughter to town fairs to look at kitchen knives. No, I’m not in the market. Are people actually “in the market” for knives (at a town fair!). Cars, solar, new windows – these might support an “in the market” ask….
Cut 4: put me in an awkward position and qualification backfire
Cut 5: She didn’t acknowledge my daughter (their biggest mistake!)
Cut 6: she wasn’t friendly
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What did I like about those knives?
- They had white handles – they would have looked amazing in my kitchen
- The angle of the knife block was unique and would have worked better for me
- They were high quality – I like quality
- They were way better than my crappy knives
What are three things she could have done differently to avoid death by a 1000 cuts (oh the irony), and to make a sale?
PS – I’ll go find something similar on Amazon