How Do I sell Warranties?

[zippyh]

Have you considered sticking a crayon into people's brains?

 

[eddievddr10]

some people want warranties, Ive sold a ton of them (hell i sold some to edie falco and a bunch of other celebs) , they are not all bad, the ones i were selling had 2 years and 3 year ones against any accidental damage and they either replaced your model with a new one or gave you back the entire purchase price including tax !! plus they payed for the shipping both ways to send the item back and had a 24 hour 800 number in which u speak to someone immediately.
The tricks that i've learned are:
1. woman usually buy them, and if she is with her spouse play up her fears, pets, kids etc
2. have some handy stories of ppl similar to them, that thought about buying but didn't , and ended up regretting it.
3. get personal with the customers the more you are friendly and have a nice convo the more they trust you and it gets harder to say no to a "friend"
4. the thing i tried to do but never succeeded was to have a small screen set up near the selling floor and have a visual of all the crazy shite that can happen to your device, a picture is worth a thousand words and video is worth about a million
5. be honest and genuine, ppl sense scams and don't want to be a "victim"

In the end some ppl you can sway, some you cannot as its a matter of principle to them, but you'll def sell 10% if you follow my advice. Best of luck

 

[Zachgranstrom]

I almost forgot, but I remember one salesman from my retail days that used to always ask the customers, "what's your price for a little peace of mind?". Which almost always helped him to rake in on the warranties.

 

[Blackhood]

I would never advise playing on fear, its a very dishonest method.

If you use case studies then cite ones where people were happy to have the warranty, not fucked because they didn't. When a customer feels that you are trying to scare them, they shut off.

Also remember that you are serving your customer. If the warranty makes their life easier, safer or better then you're helping them achieve that.

As a last ditch I would also try this:

"I know you guys aren't sure about the extra cash for the warranty. I know I shouldn't say this, but maybe you should consider a cheaper version, but get the warranty. I'd hate for you guys to be back in a few months all because it was that little bit too much."

Usually this will convince them that you believe the warranty is a good idea, not an add-on sale. Once they believe this they will pay for both the better item and the warranty.

 

[freddych]

Be honest with your customer. Let them know that for items under $500 it doesnt make sense to get the warranty, but for big ticket items, it can save you alot of money.

Also, I've never done this myself (of course), but I've heard of people intentionally breaking their stuff towards the end of their warranty to use it. You may want to casually hint at that strategy by proposing the following story:

Lets say its 30 days from the end of your warranty and you want to get a newer more awesome TV. Lets also say you happen to be playing Wii that day and happen to, oh I dont know, let one of those pitches be executed a little too realistically and end up with a broken panel. Voila, NEW TV!!

Of course, someone would denounce this as being unethical, but as long as you aren't doing the deed yourself, I'd say its fair game.

 

[otc]



I know for some products they arer pointless but not for $500+ electronics in my opinion. And I know the reasons people don't like them. That's not what I asked. Its all about the benjamins - how do I sell them? What techniques proved effective on yourself?

Pretty sure my amex provides better coverage than all of the big box store warranties...so first step would be to lean harder on people who are paying with cash or check (or use it as a second chance to suggest it). They'd still have to be morons to buy the warranty...but if they are paying cash for a 500+ item, they probably are clueless to the benefits of paying with a card and might be more susceptible to your sales pitch.

I would never advise playing on fear, its a very dishonest method.
If you use case studies then cite ones where people were happy to have the warranty, not fucked because they didn't.

If you tell me a bunch of stories about how people were fucked because they didn't buy the warranty, why the **** would I buy that TV? How about I buy a different TV that doesn't have hordes of people with broken TVs after only 1-2 years...

So now, not only are you being dishonest, but you are talking me out of the sale and in to going home to do some research since it sounds like your TV is a piece of junk.

 

[Dope Nixon]

Working this thursday night, I'll report back with which of these strategies work best, thanks guys.

 

[MikeDT]

How does one sell extended warranties in retail electronics? With lies, bullshit and fear, the way it has always been done.

 

[freddych]

I was passing a Best Buy and I was thinking about your strategy.

Telling the customer about how you always buy the warranty for big ticket items and how you accidentally threw your Wiimote into the TV and they replaced it under the plan would be a very good way to sell it I think.

 

[Unbreakable]

Back in the good ole days. They sold you what you wanted and told you that baby will last a few lifetimes.

but yeah, me personally. I dont give two ***** about a warranty, I'll walk out if a salesman gets preachy about it, lol Honestly if I pay say 2k for a TV and it goes bad in less than 2 years, I just say meh and dont buy from that brand/store for a long time. It may/may not cost me more, but its about the principle of the matter to me, not the monetary value.

random thought....whats up with selling a warranty on cds now?!

Back on Topic: Lie, instill fear, site examples.

 

[bha]

About 10 years ago I walked into Circuit City and was a looking at DVD players. I had already been to Best Buy and found the one I wanted, but wanted to see what CC's price was.

I found the same unit and it was the same price. But they also had another brand that looked pretty good to me and was $50 less.

The salesguy was incredibly pushy with the warranty and pretty much wouldn't sell me the product without it. His argument was:

1. DVD players are fragile
2. They have lots of parts that can go wrong
3. Repairs are outrageous and usually cost more than the entire player did.

I looked at him and said "Well you made 3 good points.... for why I should NOT buy that DVD player if it's total junk. Thanks for your time"

I turned and walked out, after briefly seeing his jaw hit the ground. I think he was surprised that his spiel would backfire like that

Now that I had decided to buy the more expensive player, and it was the same price at both stores, I went to BB just because the CC guy was a douche.

Had he been honest with me he would have made a sale. But now that I think about it, he was probably compensated better for the cheaper DVD + warranty than he would be for the more expensive one without warranty.

Another story: neighbour of mine bought the crappiest cordless phone ever. He was told at BB that it was the best one they made out of 5 brands he was comparing. He looked at me (feeling dumb) and said "I think what REALLY happened was the kid that sold to me got $3 for selling a cordless, but $8 if he sold me this brand". It wasn't better, the salesguy was just compensated better

 

[ShaneB]



I would never advise playing on fear, its a very dishonest method.
If you use case studies then cite ones where people were happy to have the warranty, not fucked because they didn't. When a customer feels that you are trying to scare them, they shut off.
Also remember that you are serving your customer. If the warranty makes their life easier, safer or better then you're helping them achieve that.
As a last ditch I would also try this:
"I know you guys aren't sure about the extra cash for the warranty. I know I shouldn't say this, but maybe you should consider a cheaper version, but get the warranty. I'd hate for you guys to be back in a few months all because it was that little bit too much."
Usually this will convince them that you believe the warranty is a good idea, not an add-on sale. Once they believe this they will pay for both the better item and the warranty.

It isn't really - fear of the unknown allows you to hedge your risks: unknown variables are essentially risks, that's why you buy insurance. You might get burgled... or you might not, but to control that risk you buy building / contents insurance; warranties are sold on the same principle.

 

[dickhertz]

In order to sell anything you must show a value to a customers.
What you need to do is to find a repair orders from your store .
Or You go to the repair shops tell them you need an estimate for instance..That you have a samsung 7000 or 8000 what ever it might be, that you your Pixels are burned out..How much would it cost to repair something like that ?
Do some research ,,I know for fact that some manufactures only cover certain components.
You gotta show them..Ask for higher price then tell them I am a new I can sell it to you at employee price. for my repeat customers.
Trust me it works..I do it everyday..I am strong as death when it comes to closing.Ask them if you cant afford $200 warranty now..how can you afford $2000 repair?
Its not about winning when in comes to closing or out smarting a customers is by helping them..if they see you are sincere they will buy it ,tell them what is covered and what;s not some sales people always say ..oh yeah its cover for 5 yrs.If the warranty starts after the manufacture warranty tell them this one is platinum warranty zero DECT....dont lie.
Hope this helps

 

[Blackhood]

Seriously? DickHertz for a user name and a two-year thread bump?