Lessons from the Bahamas – part 2

The beach was regularly ‘patrolled’ by locals who were plying their wares, Cuban cigars, dresses and bangles, cruises, drinks and time-shares.  You might have found it annoying but one had to admire their enterprise.  One thing that was very interesting to observe, was they seldom came up and said “Do you want to buy…” which normally provokes the answer “NO!”  They would ask you your name, then introduce themselves (they were keen that you remember them), and then asked about what you were doing there.  The thing is that experience had taught them they  sell more once they have established rapport and some kind of relationship.  Life is a great teacher if you are alert to its lessons, and in the UK, salesmen pay a lot of money for this kind of education.

We learned another interesting sales lesson at a location that specialised in local Bahamian food.  It is called Fish Fry and consists of loads of competing restaurants and stalls mostly serving the same kind of food.  We were told that if you were savvy, you could get a free cocktail and appetisers as people competed for your trade.  However, we also were informed that the best place was called Goldies, and once we had eaten there we knew just how good it was!  They never offered us freebies; they didn’t need to, it was that good.  Quality speaks for itself and allows you to dictate the terms.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2014 at 08:00 and is filed under General, Hints, Tips & Techniques, Travelogue. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.