Originally posted by Wired salesmen are strange...
Salesmen are motivated by immediate income, not the likelihood of generating more income.in the future.
In my business I can choose to be engaged for a small contractual fee per year paid quarterly, independent of product recommended, for an independent investigation, analysis, counseling and strategy, which I will monitor and adjust on an ongoing basis. Or I can choose to be engaged for a one-time purchase transaction commission that is 3 times my annual fee, and
maybe make another one-time transaction later (for another similar commission).
Fewer than 5% of the salespeople working for my Firm choose the contract-retainer path, even though it is customer-focused, clean, independent and ethical. Most of the transaction salesmen sell whatever has the highest commission in any given month.
When a competitor contrasts his service to mine, the typical opening is, "He's going to want to charge you a fee . . . . . ", which is supposed to somehow be a negative thing.