Yao Bo played with the argument machine while remarking with emotion, “Though he looks ordinary, he gives people a special sense of closeness, unlike other salespeople who, despite their polite smiles, naturally make people feel guarded.”
“That’s quite remarkable!”
“Actually, when he first kept introducing the shortcomings of the argument machine, I was a bit confused and unclear about his intentions.”
“But during his introduction, I suddenly developed a contrarian psychology.”
“The more he discouraged me from buying, the more I wanted to buy it!”
“Later, when I asked him to demonstrate the specific functions of the argument machine, it greatly strengthened my purchasing intention.”
“So I think this salesperson is extraordinary! Without precise control of customer psychology, how could he have persuaded me in such a short time?”
“But based on what he said at the end, this was obviously taught directly by Mr. Pei, and he himself doesn’t have much sales experience. That’s not surprising then—clearly, good horses are common but good judges of horses are rare. The salespeople trained by Mr. Pei are indeed different from others!”
Pei Qian: “…”
Contrarian psychology?
The more he discourages you, the more you want to buy?
Are you… a masochist?
Pei Qian was silent for a moment, then said sarcastically, “I think you should carefully consider why you developed this kind of psychology.”
The implication was: think about whether your brain is still functioning normally.
When a salesperson tells you not to buy something but you insist on buying it, isn’t that a sign your brain has been waterlogged?
Zhou Muyan nodded in agreement, “Indeed!”
Pei Qian was momentarily stunned, then looked at Old Zhou with great satisfaction.
Indeed, there are still normal people!
Zhou Muyan obviously also thought Yao Bo was overreacting—developing contrarian psychology made no sense and wasn’t normal.
For Pei Qian, this was clearly good news!
However, after pondering for a moment, Zhou Muyan continued, “Why this contrarian psychology appears is indeed worth our reflection.”
“I also developed the same contrarian psychology as you, along with a strong impulse to buy.”
“If I hadn’t already bought one for my home, I might have placed an order.”
“Examining the reason, I think it’s the result of multiple psychological factors!”
“First, Tenda products have always had a good reputation. Whether expensive or cheap, they basically all have very unique personalities, which has already formed a preconceived notion in consumers’ minds.”
“Second, the entire environment of the experience store is very upscale, creating a huge gap with other stores. This environment further strengthens the impression that ‘Tenda has extremely strong brand power’ and ‘all products are premium.'”
“Third, what you see and hear after entering the store, including the large crowds of customers and the transparent service of salespeople—this high-quality shopping experience different from other experience stores—further reinforces this impression.”
“All these factors combined create a subconscious belief in the customers’ minds that ‘all products here are definitely worth buying’!”
“Then, when the salesperson first introduces the shortcomings or deficiencies of the product, and does so from a very objective and fair perspective, it conflicts with the customer’s subconscious, stimulating contrarian psychology.”
“The customer will think, ‘This thing is actually quite good, but you keep talking about its shortcomings—what do you mean?'”
“This contrarian psychology prompts customers to ‘defend’ the product, asking the salesperson to demonstrate it or introduce more about it.”
“As the product’s advantages are shown, the previous shortcomings are completely diluted, and it once again aligns with the customer’s subconscious, making them feel comfortable and validated in their beliefs.”
“Thus, the impression that ‘these are all premium products’ is further strengthened, creating a strong purchasing desire in customers who haven’t yet bought the product!”
Yao Bo nodded in sudden understanding, “How brilliant!”
“Could this be the legendary… feigned retreat to better advance?”
“It’s simply a combination punch that’s impossible to defend against!”
“But there’s a prerequisite—the brand must be strong, all products must be sufficiently special, the overall reputation must be extremely high, and then paired with such an expensive storefront—only then can this contrarian psychology be successfully created in customers’ minds.”
“So the experience store is decorated so beautifully not just for prestige, but also for practical purposes!”
The two looked at Pei Qian with deeply admiring eyes.
Meanwhile, Pei Qian’s eyes above his mask were filled with confusion.
What… are you guys talking about…
Contrarian psychology?
Feigned retreat to better advance?
Don’t talk nonsense, I never had such ideas!
This is completely accidental, accidental!
Pei Qian coughed lightly and explained, “That’s not entirely accurate. There are still some customers who will be discouraged from buying.”
If it were really as these two described, wouldn’t the experience store be a complete failure?
Not only failing to achieve the goal of discouraging customers but actually achieving better sales results than ordinary salespeople?
That would be too cruel—Pei Qian felt he couldn’t accept it.
Zhou Muyan nodded, “Yes, that’s right. Of course some customers will be discouraged.”
“But that’s precisely the most brilliant part!”
“The characteristic of this combination punch is ‘willing participants take the bait’—in other words, ‘unwilling participants don’t take the bait.'”
“The prerequisite for developing this contrarian psychology is high recognition of the Tenda brand, subconsciously believing that anything produced by Tenda must be a premium product.”
“If a customer doesn’t like the argument machine to begin with, they won’t develop contrarian psychology when the salesperson introduces its shortcomings. Instead, it will reinforce the customer’s subconscious, and they’ll be even less likely to buy it.”
Hearing this, Pei Qian relaxed a bit.
Well, put that way, the situation isn’t too terrible.
At least some people would still be discouraged from buying.
“But…” Zhou Muyan changed his tone, “For this ‘unwilling participants don’t take the bait’ situation, Tenda doesn’t lose anything.”
“These people didn’t like the product to begin with and weren’t planning to buy it. Even if they were persuaded by a salesperson to buy it reluctantly, they would definitely regret it and request a refund or return.”
“That would not only create a series of troubles like returns but also leave customers with the bad impression that ‘the salesperson deceived me,’ which would affect the reputation of the entire Tenda Group and destroy the relaxed, comfortable atmosphere of the experience store.”
“Conversely, if the salesperson straightforwardly explains the shortcomings first, it makes customers who weren’t planning to buy feel that the salesperson is honest, saying what needs to be said, not just promoting to achieve sales targets, but actually considering whether the customer truly needs this product from the customer’s perspective.”
“This way, even if the customer doesn’t buy now, they still have a good impression of the Tenda brand and the salespeople in Tenda’s experience store.”
“When they encounter new products they’re interested in next time, they’ll become one of those ‘willing participants,’ voluntarily making purchases!”
“From a short-term perspective, though customers are discouraged, a seed is planted in their hearts. It will gradually take root and sprout over time, eventually converting them into loyal customers.”
“This kind of long-term vision completely aligns with Tenda’s consistent approach.”
“So brilliant!”
Zhou Muyan silently gave Mr. Pei a thumbs up.
Yao Bo had a sudden realization and sighed, “So that’s it! Now I know the gap between our stores and Tenda’s experience store!”
“It’s not just about money and investment, nor just about the quality of salespeople and the quality and variety of products.”
“Although there are big gaps in these aspects, that’s not the fundamental reason.”
“The fundamental gap lies in overall synergy!”
“When we consider improving the shopping experience in our stores, we often focus on very one-sided, superficial aspects.”
“For example, renovating the store, changing the lighting to improve customer shopping experience; organizing sales training to enhance their professional skills; changing the store location and layout to increase foot traffic…”
“But these measures are too one-sided and superficial. Although they’ll have some effect, they can’t fundamentally solve the problem.”
“Thank you, Mr. Pei, for providing a completely new, higher-dimensional perspective!”
“How much impact experience stores and outlets can have as windows showcasing brands to customers is determined by multiple factors working together.”
“Shaping brand image, product planning, experience store decoration and layout, how salespeople promote… these seemingly unrelated points are actually closely connected!”
“Only by unifying them all and considering them holistically can this magical chemical reaction form, making the experience store part of brand building and giving customers the best shopping experience!”
“Mr. Pei, thank you so much. This visit to Tenda’s experience store was truly worthwhile—I’ve learned so much!”
Yao Bo couldn’t help but grasp Mr. Pei’s hands with both of his, his eyes full of gratitude.
Jinding Group’s stores had been declining year after year, which had been a persistent problem for Jinding Group.
To solve this problem, Jinding Group had tried many approaches, such as renovating stores, training salespeople, poaching salespeople from competitors, and trying to open online stores.
But none were successful!
Although there were slight improvements, they still couldn’t counter the broader trend.
After seeing Tenda’s experience store today and analyzing it with Zhou Muyan, Yao Bo suddenly understood the gap between Jinding Group’s stores and Tenda’s experience store, as well as the root of his own stores’ problems.
The previously troubling questions were answered, giving him a feeling of seeing the light after parting the clouds!
Of course, knowing the problem doesn’t necessarily mean solving it.
The fundamental reason for Tenda’s experience store’s success was still its brand and product strength. Without corresponding product strength for support, blindly learning from Tenda’s experience store’s sales model would surely lead to disaster.
If product quality wasn’t good, then the salespeople’s “false discouragement” would immediately become “true discouragement,” and the store’s sales would likely plummet.
So this model might not solve Jinding Group’s current problems and could even be counterproductive, given that Jinding Group’s brand influence and product strength were still far behind Tenda’s.
But regardless, Mr. Pei’s approach in Tenda’s experience store had indeed shown Yao Bo a completely new possibility that he had never considered before.
It was equivalent to allowing him to stand from a higher perspective to carefully re-examine the problems of his own stores.
Even if he couldn’t solve them immediately, at least the clouds had parted to reveal the sun—a big step forward!
Looking at Yao Bo’s excited face as he held his hands, even appearing somewhat carried away, Pei Qian went into a daze.
How could this work too?
He had thought that training the sales group was Tenda’s long-term plan—when well-trained, they could spend large sums of money while significantly reducing revenue. That’s why Pei Qian had put in so much effort, making Tian Mo memorize sales principles and giving him an experience store for practice.
But on the very first day of the large experience store’s soft opening, it had already failed???
Pei Qian couldn’t help recalling what Meng Chang had said earlier.
Just looking at the entrance of the experience store, he knew this place would definitely be popular!
At that time, Pei Qian was very unconvinced.
How do you know what the experience store is like inside? Why do you think it will be popular? Isn’t that too wishful?
Now it was proven that Meng Chang wasn’t being wishful; on the contrary, he saw things clearly.
It seemed that the only one who wishfully thought the experience store wouldn’t be popular was Pei Qian himself…
Pei Qian couldn’t help but look up at the sky, speechless with grief.
Ah, what a sad story.