I have a good friend that works at an AT&T corporate store and while he has not been able to provide me with a firm release date, I know from previous experience that he is always one of the first around to get new phones and he always sells them to me the minute he gets them, regardless of a "scheduled" release date. I'm hoping I can at least get it a week earlier than the anticipated July 15 date....

No.. But BlackBerry is the only smartphone that matters.

I agree with this to a degree, but several of the booths here are the actual stores, such as the case of T-Mobile since they have no permanent store around this area. But it's always good to be wary of them as well.

My favorite answer of the list of ones received was definitely the one saying AT&T wouldn't be carrying the phone. Priceless!

That was mine too. I couldn't help but chuckle at that one.

I learned a long time ago to never listen to the reps in the store.

On the rare occasion when I want a little chuckle, I'll ask them about a release date. Otherwise, it just leads to frustration and a waste of my time while they run around 'checking' with everyone in the store to see when a product's going to be released.

Oh I know. 1 in 25 knows they're stuff and actually cares about the job they do. Otherwise you get the 17 - 24 bracket that just works there for a paycheck. (I am in that bracket by the way, by age, not by work ethic. ).

If you are in sales it is your job to know as much about your products in order to sell them. It doesn't matter what product or industry you are in sales is sales and knowledge is key. So yes they should read the sites and pull their heads out of their butts.

Exactly. That's what makes a good salesman.

+2

Their job is to sell the devices they have on hand, not provide the customer reason to hold off purchasing something. It's also not their job to feed our fetish to have the latest and greatest, just to match up a customer with what would be the best product they have available to them at the time.

So if you go into a store and ask about a product that hasn't been officially released yet, or given a date for release, there is no reason for anyone to summarize all of the conjecture and rumor he/she read about on a website. That's not being knowledgeable. Being knowledgeable is answering my questions fully about any product I pick up in the store.

^ i think he was refering to all there products, no one can know anything about the 9000 right now as like you said it hasnt been released... i mean they have the specs, but they can answer whether its good or not... well we know it is...

We're not asking to spit out rumors or conjecture. We're simply saying if you don't know, say "I don't know". Saying "It will be out by Christmas", shows that you are not knowledgeable about your upcoming products. That's exactly what this thread was about. I understand the tactic of "Buy it Today, it won't be here tomorrow!", but that old school way of selling doesn't work anymore. If they value they're job, they have to know about their own products and they're competitors products. Keeping up on "the latest and greatest" is important in sales.

What? "Old school way of selling?" Selling hasn't changed at all. If a customer walks into your store, you sell what's on hand. You don't tell them there's something better coming out in a few months and ask them to come back. That's not "old school" that's just smart business. The "latest and greatest" is what's in the store, not whatever is featured in the latest rumor on a message board.

I agree no one should make something up and a simple "there's no release date for that device" would suffice. But you're 100% wrong in thinking that a salesman keeps his job by telling customers to essentially come back later.

Sometimes you have to. If you have a customer that comes in on a Dodge Challanger (A vehicle that isn't even close to being released yet), your telling me you need to show them what you have now?? If they come in on a specific product, it's doubtful your going to change their minds. For the typical customer maybe. I was calling in on a specific device, there is no way they're going to sell me on an iPhone or anything else because I want a the Bold. I tell customers to come back all the time. When they want something specific, they are not going to compromise.

If they specifically want a product that's not released yet, odds are they aren't in the store in the first place. You match their needs with what you have, and then let them decide.

There are obvious differences in selling styles and techniques depending on your industry. But the core of know your products is still the KEY. I am more likely to purchase from a rep who knows their stuff, is honest with me and deals with me honestly. I will then refer everyone I know or run into that would be interested in that product or uses the same carrier to that rep.

If you are in the slash and burn selling of mobile phones and car sales then you are in a more challenging sales world and yet you can still set yourself apart. If you know how to sell you can gain the customers business with solid selling methods which would include learning what features are most important to the customer and what they want out of their phone. This will prevent them from getting pissed off in 2 months when the bold comes out and that crappy (to them) Curve just isn't cutting it for them. So yeah know you stuff or get the hell out of sales. BTW I am in sales providing tech to my customers and I make sure I take care of them day in and day out. Why sell them something today that isn't going to meet their needs when I can sell them the right solution in month or two, if they can wait.

Its been a while since I have posted. But just to share a quick story. I was in an AT&T store over the weekend and overheard a lady that was inquiring about the Curve:

Lady: Can I receive email on this?
Employee: No, if you want email you have to go with the Blackjack 2
Lady: Really? I read that I can get email on the Curve?
Employee: No, I don't think so, let me ask....

I just thought to myself WOW!? I guess she took the initiative to ask her fellow employee. But at least know your current in store product line.

And so it continues! If I had that shallow kind of knowledge in my line of work. I would have been fired a long time ago.

My ATT rep who is usually pretty good said first week of August

Yes, we have been told August here in the UK. We have already started taking back orders from our dealers in anticipation for the release.