Interesting thread, even surprised myself that I stayed with it and read all five pages of posts. Maybe because me and my drummer just dropped about $4500 in PA equipment on Saturday at a local GC.
With that said I couldn't agree more with Richard and others that the nice but knowledgeable guy is the right approach. Build relationships with the GC staff and store manager. As a matter of fact we talked with the store manager for 20 minutes in the drum department before we went over the Live sound area. The Live sound guys know us as well, in fact the assistant store manager also works in Live sound/Pro Audio dept. We have purchased there lots before, they know when we walk in, we know what we are talking about, know what the right price points ought to be, and actually we haggle very little over the price. They also know that if they invest time with us their investment of time will pay off. The sales guy is a regular person just like me trying to make a living, but if he likes me, he is more willing to cut a good deal right out of the gate then to the guy who acts like a jerk.
Let me be clear to those of you who have posted here who are employed by a Guitar Center. Your competency and knowledge of the products you are selling is of value to this consumer. I don't only deal with the store manager, but if you don't have a clue about what you are selling, or worse try to pretend you do, I won't deal with that sales rep. There is nothing that will make me take my business somewhere else faster then a sales guy trying to sell me on something when I know 10 times more then he does about a particular product. Unfortunately this happens more often then it should at GC or Sam Ash or others. To be really successful at sales you have to know your product inside and out, and do at least as much (probably more) research and knowledge gathering as your customer does.
Which get me to my main point. I have been in the sales/marketing business in a top 10 Fortune 500 company for a long time and have been involved in and closed many multi-million dollar deals with Fortune 500 companies. The first lesson in sales is, people buy from people they like and trust. You need to demonstrate you have an vested interest in their success. They want to know you care about the success of what they are trying to do, and you are extremely knowledgeable about whatever product you are selling and how it can help them accomplish their goal.
I need to make a profit in my business just as Guitar Center does in there business. Yes I want a good price, a knowledgeable product sales person , but I am also want Guitar Center to make a profit. If they don't make a profit that local guitar center won't be there for long. You as a consumer shouldn't go in there expecting/hoping to get a deal underneath their cost or even at their cost, just as you don't work at your day job for free. Lets face it the Rolling Stones don't give away their CD's away for FREE. You also pay for their expertise at their craft, but the Stones wouldn't still be around if all they did was lose money for themselves and their record company.
