What type of sales approach does not work for you?

Anything that’s a high-pressure approach. I don’t want to be told that I have to buy something today. I like to take my time and look around, compare prices, and do my own research. I think that salespeople who work on a commission basis are particularly aggravating, because they’re working in their own best interest, not mine. I’d rather pay a one-time fee to someone after I’ve had a chance to check out their business, knowing that they’re really working for me.”

- Eric D., 60
Cincinnati, Ohi.

About 10 years ago I went to buy a new car and was just looking around at this one dealership. Of course, a sales guy came up right away and started talking my ear off about how great this thing and that thing were. He never once asked what I was looking for, and I couldn’t even get a word in edgewise. To top it all off, he literally blocked the doorway of the dealership when I went to leave, telling me he was doing me a favor by not letting me walk out on what he said was the best opportunity of my life. Can you believe that?”

- Joan R., 57
Grand Forks, N.D.