In itself over a period of time I would agree with you that 'almost selling' isn't a criteria. Ultimately sales is about selling, not almost selling. A miss is as good as a mile as they say and sales people are judged on results.

This however completely misses the point that was being made. Myles and Kurt were there all day and by all accounts didn't even come close to selling. Kurt was especially poor.

The point being made was that Leah came over with an hour to go and got far closer to selling than the other 2 in a far shorter space of time. The implication therefore is clear- had she been given more time or been there all day it looks far more likely that she would have done what the other 2 failed to do.

Without meaning to contradict my opening gambit, in sales, there are techniques to be learned and employed that lead up to actually closing the sale- opening lines, closing techniques, handling objections etc, If Leah demonstrated this better that the other 2, then she should rightly deserve some credit.

Come on people, this isn't rocket science (apols for the patronising but I sometimes despair of this place!).

I think Alex and maybe Leah would have had a good "shout" at selling one of the retro caravans, it suited Alex's more outspoken "market stall type selling"

The implication is clear, but the logic that Sugar applied wasn't necessarily correct.

Don't get me wrong, I think Leah has proven several times that she is a very good seller, but the fact is that this type of product tends to sell late in the day rather than early. As this episode showed (and indeed similar tasks in previous years), buyers like to chat and mull over a big purchase like this and will tend to make their final decision later in the day, perhaps having wandered round and looked at several other options first. It's a rare beast for someone to stroll through the doors at 10am, look at a £17k camper van and immediately decide "I'll have that."

So to say Leah would have sold more had she been there all day isn't necessarily true. I'm 100% sure she would always outsell Kurt and would probably have outsold Myles too, but it's too big an assumption to assume she would DEFINITELY have done so.

Having said that, like I said at the top, I do think Leah is an excellent seller and really should have been on the stand. I'd have put her there ahead of Alex, for sure.

Sorry, Philip, I have to disagree with you on that one. Leah would have been eminently suitable as she has quite a softly-spoken and patient but firm approach. Alex's bluff-and-bluster approach would probably have scared off the kind of customers who buy this kind of product (certainly the ones we saw in the episode). To make a comparison, you wouldn't put a market trader into an exclusive jewellery shop, for instance.

Kurt should never have put himself there. I would probably have selected Leah and Myles myself. Myles made errors early in the day, but we also saw him correct himself by qualifying prospects later in the day.

True, but at least Alex engages the people as they walk by, not just let them carry on. Having done more trade shows than I care to remember, its that style that gets people to stop. If you just stand or sit and wait for people to come to you, you're going to have a long day.

I agree with that, but when you're talking about a big-ticket item like that you're not just going to persuade some random wandering by to suddenly make a £17k purchase they weren't planning on making in the first place. The customers for this kind of product will come on their terms, not yours. Besides that, once you've actually got them on the stand you need that softer approach and I've yet to see Alex demonstrate he can do that. He's a very good salesman, but not perhaps in that particular style.

Alex as the hook, Leah for the sell!!

Wouldn't work for me. I'd run a mile from those eyebrows!

Alex was being a bit of a tit in insisting that failure to sell the retro camper wasn't the key to the overall failure - two sales of those would have seen them win.

But he was right in some respects, Myles' hard-sell technique was not going to work with some of the time-wasters with no intention to buy.

Still not sure why they felt they couldn't sell one of the retro's the guy said he'd sell 6 during the show. They just didn't try.

I didn't think Myles' sales technique was particularly hard-sell. Quite the opposite, in fact - it was so soft that he wasn't asking any of the important qualifying questions first. ("Are you going to buy anything today or are you just wasting my time?") With the exception of Alex, none of this year's remaining candidates are particularly hard-sellers. Maybe Jordan (although he was utterly ineffective here).

Lousia's first attempt at selling a bike "would you like to buy an electric bike"
Customer "No"
1st rule of selling never ask a question that can be answered "yes or no"

But Jason's 'softly, softly' approach was seen as the way to go with this type of customer. You can't possibly ask straight out 'would you like to spend £17,000 right now' - you have to find a blend of both engaging and finding out if they're willing to buy...

The problem was, they were expecting 35-45 year olds and ended up with pensioners which they weren't prepared for.

That is true, although in this case, so far as we can guess from what the folding tent gadget guy said about selling since Tuesday and his expectations for the weekend, the show had been open for several days already so there may have been customers returning from previous days, having mulled overnight.

These days too, I gather a lot of car choices are made over online, so it is a far more informed -- and willing -- customer who walks into the showroom.

Whether this applies to caravans, I could not say.

So what you say is right, but perhaps it is not quite the iron law it used to be.

That's my point. On the spectrum of Jason (soft-sell) to Alex (fairly hard-sell), Myles was nearer the Jason end, engaging in long conversations with people and trying to listen. The problem was he should have just politely asked whether they were buying or browsing, much as Nick suggested - that's not hard-selling technique.

The problem was that they couldn't just drum up the customers they wanted, as you say. You can't just run around the show grabbing very 35-45 you find and tell them "Have I got a deal for you!!" Consequently they were always onto a bit of a loser on the day in question.

I'm not so sure about your first point about returning visitors - would many people travel to a show like this for 2 days? In my experience, only people in the trade or working on the show itself would.

Your point about online research is definitely valid and would have an influence for sure, but I would still maintain that you are unlikely to have made up your mind on a purchase like this until you have kicked the tyres, so to speak, on a couple of possible vehicles.

I've bought my last four cars online, but not without test-driving them in person at a dealer's first. Equally, the last two times we've moved house we've done all the research online, but we've still viewed the houses (twice in each case) before making a decision. I don't know for sure, but I imagine buying a caravan is similar - some people will undoubtedly do the research up front, but it still takes many people a while to come to terms with the fact you're going to fork out a large sum of money on something. Of course, that's not to say you won't get people who just walk up and slap a wad of cash on the table, but I suspect they're quite a small minority.

You might think you're patronising me but my personal working experience of sales environments is that 'almost sales' are considered by some businesses to be worse than nothing, because they waste time and can lead to you missing more viable opportunities. Emperor's new clothes, as far as I'm concerned.

Agree, I believe it's Leah who was responsible for their team losing the bikes and kids outfits with her sullen expression and lack of enthusiasm for both products . Contrast that with Luisa's enthusiastic approach and it's easy to see how she won both items for Evolve .

Kurt is similar to Leah in demeanour but he took a big gamble in picking the expensive retro camper van, which failed in parting any of the public with their cash .

Ok fair do's, and yes i fully appreciate what you're saying. A miss is as good as a mile and all that. I fully appreciates it's a results driven business, and I work in that environment also.

I was just trying to give a possible reason to those who questioned why perhaps it was even commented on, on the Apprentice that's all. I wasn't saying I agreed it really counted for anything, or condoning it.
Trust me, I too would give short shrift to a person on my team coming to me saying 'well I didn't actually sell x, but at least my sales technique was good'!!

It was more a general 'hope I wasn't patronising anyone', rather than directed specifically at your good self, so no offense intended either way.

What happened to Alan Sugar's ethos of "coulda, woulda, shoulda"?

Sorry for getting on my high horse. I was highlighting the influence on who should and should not be scape-goated, even if it meant a departure from 'real world' perspectives.

Yeah all goods points so fair enough! I can't say I disagree with anything you've said. Personally I'd have had Myles and Leah selling the big ticket item. Alex I agree could have been decent also but Kurt just never really seemed to have anything about him when it came to selling.

I'd have also had Leah and Myles there all day. Maybe they'd have sold something, maybe they wouldn't, but they looked to be the best for the job in terms of their selling styles.

Kurt was too keen to try and prove a point - that he could sell - that he didn't need to prove on this task. He should have been focussed solely on winning the task.

That's one of the reasons it was right to fire him. He put making a personal impression above what was best for the team.

Scouse was the furthest from selling anything.

Right on that he was fired as he was just soooooo weak.

Get the eye candy in. LOL What a loser.

BAM the scouser's gone.

shhhhh who's next to be fired ?

Only the other 4rooms has the answer............