[Jason Williscroft]

Hi all

Just wondered if anyone else has them in their area on a regular basis? they always seem to be around my neck of the woods and their sales techniques leave a lot to be desired!

They stick a leaflet throught the door saying you have been entered into a prize draw for thousands of pounds or for a car etc etc.

Then a week later someone phones, tells the customer they havent won that but they have won a free carpet clean, or sofa clean etc etc. Then they turn up with a Kirby full of foam and spend 10 mins on using the machine and hours on trying to flog it! I hear they start at around 2.5K but after phoning the boss they will come down!!

Anyone else got them local doing this? i've had 3 customers so far that were sucked in, but never had the machine and then called me to do a proper job on cleaning for them!! Maybe they are a good thing!!??

[happy mondays]

  yea had someone round here the other week door knocking, free prize draw for a new car, think it could have been kirby wanting to sell their complete homecare system with the amazing head light! My mum owns one cost her £1200 about 10 years ago so does my mother in law cost her about £800, they both never use them though, just gathering dust in the loft  :

It all comes down to good marketing, a few posts have recently scratched the surface of it on here.

Kirby is a worldwide brand and a very successful company, so are the big cleaning franchises, they all use and have used top flight marketing to get them where they are today.  If you have the right brand and have ££££'s to market it, you have a very high chance of being successful.

Regards,

Paul

[Ian Gourlay]

Nothing unusal about that promotion

Carpet Cleaners use Free Prize Draw Promotions

Its the switch to a sale I have difficulty with

[Mike Halliday]

I worked for them and my girlfriend at the time was  Yorkshire top sales person. we went all over Europe on holidays & conventions with Kirby.

we sold at £800 if we got the top price we got £250 commission, we could go down to £500 but we only got £50 commission

from 2=4pm we went door to door giving away free lottery tickets, the top prize we a cruise. 3 days later the telesales rang up and told them they had one a consolation prize of a bottle of wine.

it was hard sell, if you lasted over a year with Kirby then any direct sales company would give you a job without hesitation.

[creighton foyle]

where i live they advertise for sales reps (20 positions available) needless to say 20 people get taken on and do the week long sales course, during the week they get you to book a minimum of three demos with familly and friends for the weekend and on friday send you off with your machine all hyped up at the prospect of selling, needless to say familly can be a very easy target and it was only after doing the course (25 YEARS AGO) i realised that it is a very clever selling technique , 20 eager trainees with a possible 60 demos at the weekend which will usually results in at least 20 sales for the four permanent sales reps to to share between them.

[Joe H]

They are a good machine, but not at the new price - not even the "discounted" new price.
I paid £110 for a 10 year old one and it works absolutely fine. Only drawback is putting on the hose to do edges - thats why I only do open spaces with it ie commercial - and thats not often, but its a good backup.