Questionable sales practices

Over the years, and in many countries, they have been lots of consumer complaints on the sales practices of:

a) used car dealers
b) insurance agents
c) property agents

Here are the underlying causes of this problem:

a) the sales person is paid a commission on the sale
b) if they do not make any sale, they do not earn any commission
c) it is difficult to make a sale in a competitive market
d) some have to resort to questionable practices to close the sale
e) the products are non-standard
f) there is lack of consumer information

Some organisations try to solve this problem by setting standards of professional practices. But, this is difficult to achieve, due to the inherent conflict, and the need to close a sale in a competitive market.

Here are tips for consumers:

a) Do not buy from a sales person who approach you
b) Do some research to understand the product
c) Get price comparison of similar products
d) Ask questions to get answers that can be compared easily
e) Get an independent person to help you to make the decision.

All the best.