I Went to a Camper Show

A couple of weeks ago. on a snowy winter's day, my wife and I went to a camper show at the community college arena.

We had been discussion our plans to take a real vacation this year and camping was one of our options. I saw an ad for the show in my morning paper. There was nothing much to do and going to the camper show sounded like a pretty good thing to do.

The showroom floor was busy. There were a lot of people and what seemed to be an equal amount of salesmen in the building. Not a saleswoman in sight.

When we arrived we were approached by a salesman who engaged us by asking questions...a good sales tactic. When I told him we were looking for a summer rental he pointed to a couple of campers down the aisle. I turned around to talk to him and he was gone. When he realized that I was not a buyer he moved on. No money there for him. Good move on his part. He qualified me quickly and moved on to find a real buyer to invest his time in.

As we walked through the maze of campers we were approached by another salesman. He didn't abandon us when we asked about rentals. He provided us with the information we needed, gave us his card and asked us to call him. As we started to move on he told us that if we wanted to rent a camper for this summer that we had to reserve one now before they were all spoken for. That may have been true, but I really got a kick out of his "act now" closing technique. Good job salesman!

The third salesman we encountered started out with questions. Again, this is an excellent way to sell. He asked me what I would be pulling the camper with. When I told him that I didn't have a vehicle that could pull a camper he immediately countered with "That is great. The best way to buy a camper is to purchase the camper you want first and then buy the correct vehicle to tow it." This young man took what I told him and spun it and me like a pro. Any answer I gave him became a positive reason to make a buying decision.

I was delighted by our experience. I am not sure how going to a camper show morphed into me enjoying a clinic on selling, That was exactly what happened.

I did not buy or rent a camper. Attending the show helped us decide that camping might not be the best vacation option for us, but it was great to see sales professionals in action.

As we walked down the last aisle we came upon an impromptu sales office with six desks on each side. These was a salesman sitting at each desk sitting across from couples who appeared to be filling out paperwork. Everyone on both sides of al of the desks were leaning over the desk. Very intense. The only thing that could have enhanced the image was for the salesmen to have green visors. What appeared to be a sales manager (pit boss) walked from desk to desk helping make the deals a reality. I really would have loved to have listen to all of those closers working. Were they using the act now close, the little decision close, the assumptive close or the just ask close? Were they trial closing or using a mix of all of these methods to get to yes? I'm not sure of the answer, but one thing is for sure is that business was being done at the camper show.

It was great to see professional salespeople in action. It made my day.

Next: A free lunch at a time share event. wish me luck.