Hitting a Nerve

One thing I learned about sales at the Fishhouse is that sometimes you just throw something out just to see if it sticks. Sometimes it’s a high price, sometimes it’s an analogy. More often than not it doesn’t get you anywhere, but sometimes you end up hitting a home run. I told a guy he could afford a new Cadillac CTS with all the cash I was saving him. It turns out he had just bought a new truck and was looking for a way to justify the purchase; he picked up the phone and fired the current vendor on the spot.

My coworker, Steve, had just such an experience yesterday. One of our competitors is known for its long history of excellent service, however, in recent years the quality of their rental garments has declined dramatically. So Steve-o walks into this auto shop and finds out from the manager that they use this company for their uniforms. So he throws this out:

“Oh, I never would have guessed!...The zipper is still attached to your jacket.”

It was an over-the-top slam on the competitor; an extreme exaggeration meant to call attention to the poor quality of the current purveyor, but not meant at all to be taken literally. After all, zippers don’t just fall off of jackets

“My other jacket has been missing the zipper for three months.” The manager replied.

Bingo.