A Sales Pitch in the Post Office

So I head into the local post office to mail an envelope. It's busier than normal so I get in line behind a woman who seems content to simply wait her turn. Not two minutes later, the woman in front of her turns around and start complimenting the lady's makeup and nice she looks. At first it seems like small talk, but then immediately she breaks into a sales pitch about how she is mailing these little makeup bags out and how they are discount 90% and what a great deal they are and, oh my God, she is pushy and obnoxious. She then starts trying to sell this poor woman in front of me her products. The woman simply says "I've tried that product and it's nice but I'm  all set." The pushy sales lady does not accept this response and says that the deal is too good to pass up and tells the woman to just buy one bag and try them again. "I didn't bring any cash", the woman says. "Oh that's okay, we take credit cards", the pushy sales lady says. "I didn't bring my purse", the woman says, "I'm just getting one stamp". Meanwhile all of this was taking place in a line at the post office. Not the greatest venue for selling makeup I would imagine. I was exhausted listening to this lady myself and couldn't wait to get out of there. The pushy sales lady then offered the woman in front of me to go ahead of her which she accepted and then quickly left the building.

Soon it was my turn and the pushy sales lady offered me her spot as well, and then spoke quietly to me and said "I'm going to pitch the clerk so you can go ahead of me." I did and I was out of there lickity-split. On my way out the woman who had been in front of me was outside getting into her car. When I walked by she smiled and I said, "Next time she should make an appointment." The woman looked at me and said "All I wanted was a stamp." I got into my truck and left but I started to think about how that sales lady was perceived by all of us who were waiting in line.

Was she pushy or was she an aggressive salesperson? Was she obnoxious or was she excited about her products? Was she trying to make a quick sale or was she hoping to share some awesome makeup with people who could benefit from her products? I imagine the opinions could go either way and they did with me.

The lesson I learned today was that timing and presentation are important and they should always go hand in hand. People must be in a frame of mind to receive information, and location and timing are just as important as the message. Sometimes it's better to postpone a sales meeting to make sure that it's received properly, rather than rush an opportunity and end up losing the client. Being excited about your products or services and having a 'take control' attitude are great qualities to posses when selling, but if it comes across as obnoxious and pushy by those we are trying to market to, we have already lost the battle.