Probably just got a job at Best Buy!

[BabyHeadCrab]

Selling computers to n00bs, yay. Interview with the sales manager next Wednesday. Starts above minimum wage, so yay. I'll get to moonlight as a computer salesman henchmen for BB while taking classes at Uni. Anyone have any work experience at Best Buy? I understand the frustrations that may come with the position I'm just so damn happy that I got a callback with the economy as shitty as it is around here in Milwaukee. Just psyched to have a likely position at any place that isn't food service or desk retail. yayayay

yay!

 

[Raziaar]

Good luck man. I know nothing about retail other than my personal opinion that it probably sucks ass, just like the food service industry.

 

[DarkSin]

I'm currently working full time at Best Buy.. in the same position you're being interviewed for. It's really not what it looks like on the outside. The computers department(at least at my store) is the most difficult department to work in. When I first started I figured customers would come in, say "hey, I want that!" and they'll be on their way. Nope. They have a whole sheet full of services that you hand to each customer. They fill it out, and you go over every single service with each and every customer. You also plug whichever promotion they have going on at the time too. They expect you to sell their services and if you don't, your job is on the line. They aren't super strict about it, but if you go a week and sell 0 services you'll get a talking to. The job itself is pretty fun, mostly due to being able to work along side people that are like minded and of the same age. You'll feel more of a car salesman/tech support specialist after you're first month though.

 

[xcellerate]

I worked at best buy for a few months when I moved cities. It was my least favorite job by a long shot. I sold computers and then was 'promoted' to geek squad for a short period before I finally found a real job. While you don't make any commission you're still required to hit sales quotas, they won't fire you if you don't but they will cut your hours and/or make you train some more.

A few things I noticed while working there:
-there are basically two types of people, those who buy protection plans and those who don't. If somebody says 'no' then you'll probably waste more time trying to convince them they 'need' it than just accepting the 'no' and moving onto the next person. The website has an attach rate of about 10% simply by having a checkbox, so if you at least mention the protection plan to everybody...you're bound to get 1:10.

-when talking about the protection plan start from the 3yr and work down if they react negatively to the price. The pre-setups and software installs were the easiest things for me to sell, you just have to be casual about it. If somebody comes in around lunch time or has kids with them, say something like, "if you guys want to go grab lunch , we can setup your computer for you so it'll be all ready when you pick it up."

-the store will have pre-setup laptops, sometimes these will be all you have left. I know it's bad, but I'd remove the price tag from those machines and when people asked how much they were I'd give the price of the computer + the setup cost (because really that's how much it is anyway). So say the computer is $500 + $70 for the setup, then the computer costs $570. If you get the register and people see that they're paying $500 + $70 and ask what that is, you tell them that all you had left were machines that had been setup, and 80% of the time they'll be okay with it since they went the register expecting to pay $570 already.

Selling this crap is so much of a game it's ridiculous. It's all in the presentation and timing, if people ask "isn't this something I can do myself?" then they aren't confident in themselves, but instead of telling them "no" which they're immediately skeptical of, you tell them (in the case of pre-setup computer), that "yea, you probably can, but it just can be time consuming ..."

I know that's a wall of text, but as much as I hated working there (and I did hate it), the only thing that kept me sane was trying to figure out a better way to get more money from people.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Actually that's extremely helpful feedback guys, I read through your posts in their entirety despite being really tired. The specifics are very hard to come by without asking people directly, so this kind of advice is very appreciated. I consider myself a very convincing salesman, but we'll see how it goes once I actually get a position. Thanks again!

 

[Krynn72]

Every Best Buy computer salesman I've ever had the displeasure of talking to has been a complete fool, and pressed shit that nobody should ever want, to the point where I assumed they were making commission on it. So, I guess just be prepared to encounter people like me who know more about PCs than you and who will get offended when you try to sell them stupid shit that your boss will force you to try and sell to me. And without commission apparently.

Though I did have a pleasant experience with the cell phone guy when I got my current phone several months ago. He was cool. He realized that I knew already what I wanted, and he just let me tell him it. I suspect he is considered a bad employee, but I would go back there for my phone stuff just because it was a good experience, unlike how I won't go back for computer stuff ever again, to any Best Buy.

EDIT: Which isn't to say I know more about computers than you, but some people will, even if I'm not one.

 

[morgs]

Good luck with the interview dude! _b

 

[staticprimer]

I worked in BBY computer sales for about 1.5 years before getting a full time sales position at a local PC sales/repair shop. If you don't mind selling services and service plans, you'll probably be alright. The novelty wore off after several months of every customer being nearly identical and a cheap ass. "Yeah I'd like a good computer, but I don't want to pay more than $350. Also I'd like to be able to divide by zero." The managers will push you to overcome objections, but I never bothered. "No? That's cool, whatever." I suppose I was a bit more pro active earlier on, but there was a manager shake-up and I got the feeling the remaining managers were being threatened by the higher ups, resulting in generally poor morale within the department, if not the entire store. You know, asking someone who quit a few months ago due to dissatisfaction probably isn't the best idea anyway.