What's the difference between a computer salesman and a used-car salesman?

[rslade]

Over on Twitter, it was noted that you should never hesitate to ask what a computer salescritter means by a term he/she/it uses.  He/she/it may not know.

Once upon a time, back when Babbage was a lad, I was considering buying a computer.  A store had one that I was interested in, so I went to have a look.  The salesman fastened onto me almost immediately, trotting out all kinds of stuff he considered selling points, and ending just about every stream of pitch-talk with "... and it's got two RS-232 ports!"

At the time, I didn't know what an RS-232 port was.  (If you don't know, you might think of it as the USB of the day, except for being a lot harder to work with.)  And didn't want to parade my ignorance.  But I figured that if I didn't want to go on being ignorant, I'd better ask.

"What's an RS-232 port, and why would I want one?"

You'd have thought I'd hit him with a plank.  He got a completely stunned, blank look on his face,  and just stood there.  "I don't know ..."

But not for long.  Give him credit, his sales skills kicked in in a matter of seconds, and he came back with, "... but if you want one, we've got two!"

[Caute_cautim]

"What’s the difference between a used car salesman and a guy who sells tech?

The used car salesman knows he’s lying."

Regards

Caute_cautim

[Shannon]

Assuming these are good salesmen, the only significant difference is in what they're marketing. The objective in both cases is the same --- to sell the product / service by any means. 

The means can differ from perspective. The salesperson's skill may be seen by the customer as guile, but what finally matters is whether it suffices to get the job done.

[Caute_cautim]

This assumes a lot, a sales person, even in security has a different set of motives than a practitioner.

Normally involving salary, monthly figures and often they are have a lot of pressure on their shoulders - which borders on bullying in the workplace.   But often a lot of workplaces don't want to bring that subject at all, even openly.

Regards

Caute_cautim,