Summary: Attempting to upsell a counterpart by offering extras.

One of the challenges everyone faces is the aggressive salesperson who pushes additional products or services. The perfect model of this tactic is the fast-food cashier who always asks, “Would you like fries and a drink with your double cheeseburger?” and attempts to upsell you on the Meal Deal.

Example

Sue is buying a new laptop and the salesperson says, “You really should purchase the extended warranty. If anything goes wrong with this laptop, we will fix it free of charge.” The salesperson convinces Sue to buy the extended warranty with the argument, “You just never know.”

Some people like extended warranties; others feel such warranties are a waste of money. Some individuals have purchased the warranties and, when the product has malfunctioned, have been unable to find the paperwork, so the retail chain would not honor the warranty anyway.

Counter

There are three effective counters. We learned one from an elderly gentleman. When a salesperson asked the seventy-five-year-old man if he wanted an extended warranty on his new washing machine, the man replied, “Son, at my age, I don’t even buy green bananas.”

When the dollar value of the product being purchased is low, a second effective counter is to reply, “When this product breaks, I’ll just throw it out and buy another.” This counter is not bad logic when the price of the product and the cost of the extended warranty are factored in.

The last tactic requires a little more confidence. Sue can look the salesperson in the eye and say, “You are putting a lot of emphasis on selling me an extended warranty. Are you trying to indirectly tell me this product is not reliable, and I need some insurance?”

Have you used or encountered this tactic in your negotiations? If so, how’d it go?