Tricks of the Trade

Tricks of the Trade. Are you being “up-sold”? What exactly is “100% natural latex”? What about “organic cotton and wool”? 

1. Mislead the customer.

It’s the hardest trick to decipher because it requires very careful reading and understanding what the company is trying to do.

• The best example is when a company says that their product is a “natural mattress.” Well, petroleum-based mattress manufacturers can say they have a natural mattress because petroleum comes from the ground. Others say they have a “natural latex mattress” because 50% of the mattress is “natural latex.”
• Some companies say they use “all-natural wool” or “pure wool” or “eco-wool.” This may lead you to believe that they do not use chemicals in processing the wool. However, unless it’s certified organic wool, it is processed conventionally.
• Another tricky label is “organic cotton and wool”. Phrased this way, it implies that the mattress contains organic cotton fiber (and/or fabric) and organic wool. If a mattress containing cotton and wool is completely organic, however, it will be labeled “organic cotton and organic wool.”

2. Up-sell or upgrade the customer.

Up-selling is a sales technique most retail companies in most industries use in order to increase their income-to-advertising ratio. The philosophy is, they have spent their advertising money to get you in the store, so once you’re there, they might as well sell you something more expensive. Typically, the salesperson will recommend a model that is a little more expensive. In addition to increasing the store’s profit, it will increase the salesperson’s commission.

3. Use SPIFs and rebates.

SPIF stands for Sales Promotion Incentive Refund. This is a financial reward designed specifically to motivate the salesperson to sell a certain company’s product. For example, you might go into a store asking to test a Simmons BeautyRest mattress. The salesperson may recommend a less expensive copy of the BeautyRest. We’ll call it Brand X. Even though the salesperson gets less commission for Brand X, s/he might receive a $50 SPIF for selling it and may receive no SPIF for the BeautyRest.

Rebates are more common in the automobile industry, although they exist in the mattress industry, too. A rebate works like this: the manufacturer sells the product to the retailer at “invoice price,” then writes a check back to the retailer. In this way the retailer can sell the product at the “invoice price” and still make a profit.