Have you ever asked yourself, now how did I let that guy sell me on something that I had no real need for at the time? Do you ever get a sneaking suspicion that your probably not going to really use whatever it is that your buying in the way that it was presented? If this is true which is often the case, then why in the heck do we give up our hard earned money for something that until we heard some sales spiel, we really had no need or want to have.

Please allow me to expose what marketers do to us on a regular basis in an effort to develop those perceived wants, needs and desires in us which drive us to buy what is being offered.

Let me first tell you that My wife Kimberly was at one time a true life consumer protection agent for Pinellas county Florida and I along with her have the same bent attitude towards protecting people as opposed to seeing them being taken advantage of, If you can let your guard down for a minute I think you'll absorb these keys to understanding better and you'll get more out of what I'm about to tell you.

Secrets that marketers don't want you to know!

(When you buy, use logic not emotion)

? A good marketer or salesman will always make it as easy as possible for you to buy whatever they are selling, check, cash, credit, fax, phone, mail or on line, That's fine we want that, but almost without question once you have decided that your ready to check out you'll find the up-sell pitch almost preventing you from completing the transaction. The up-sell is where once they have you sold on the least expensive item or package deal, they attempt to upgrade you to a more expensive premium feature, option or package.

A Variation of this technique is the cross-sell, this is where they start adding options to the item that you have decided to buy, cars are a good example with undercoating, floor mats, premium sound systems, Sport packages etc? these are things that enhance the desirability of the original product sold.

Key: Don't fall for the sale, after the sale.

? The next tactic relied upon by many is to prey upon your fears, there is a rule that says people will buy ten times more often to relieve fear then they will to obtain pleasure, insurance companies use this tactic by instilling fear and guilt in you by saying you will be leaving your family broke, destitute and homeless if you fail to provide this protection through the products they sell. Once they have the fear established then you would see the focus put into selling the benefits that would result from your wise decision to buy today.

KEY: Recognize when someone is trying to instill or plant fear into you and also remember who initiated the conversation. Did you originally need this protection or has someone made you feel that way through a mind altering sales script.

? Their next ploy is the take-away, here they employ the factors of scarcity, greed and time, you often see it used in the following manner; You must act now on this exclusive offer, we only have a limited supply at this price, this won't last long call now! In this case they make it appear there's not many, it's a great deal and it will be gone, you are about to lose the advantage, the edge, the deal, the benefit, the opportunity will be gone.

Again the fear of loss and the loss of pleasure are being used to get you to logically make an emotional decision based on fear, they want you to act fast so you don't have time to think!

Key: Know that the deal will most often be there tomorrow and think logically when making your decision on whether or not to buy, use time as your ally.

The ability to make quick decisions and stick to them is an admirable quality, but you must insure you indeed did make the right decision to start.

? You must be aware or beware of savvy salesman, one trademark quality of this type of individual is his or her ability to lower your resistance to their pitch, often you find them criticizing the product or service before you get the chance, this is known as Objection Resolution. Based on their experience they know what often will prevent a sale before they begin, so they bring it up first to effectively remove their biggest obstacle to the sale.

Key: Ask yourself if this feature is critically important to the products ability to solve, provide for, or deliver the results that you intend to buy it for, if not? Then you may consider dwelling awhile on the defect to get a price concession or discount based on that fact. Don't allow your resistance to be lowered through dissolving, disabling or disarming sales double talk.

? Another orchestrated event you'll often see is the use of the image plant or involvement device these are designed to get you into an ownership state of mind as if the product or service being sold is already yours and the benefit will now be achieved. By getting you to envision some great outcome or result they tout how much better your life will be, IE? Slimmer, stronger, healthier, happier, WEALTHIER! When dealing with hard goods they ask you to hold it, feel it and smell how nice it is, by getting you to investigate further they increase the odds that you will take ownership. How about a free test drive?

Key: Remember! A generous offer often comes with a hefty price tag, don't allow yourself to get involved to quickly in what seems to be the deal of a lifetime.

? Moving on to the super smooth and accomplished salesperson we find an even more persuasive individual who is adept at patterning and mirroring you yourself! These people will move as you move, adjust the tone and dialect of their speech patterns to your type and style while getting you to respond with as many yes answers as possible, if they can get you nodding and saying yes to obvious questions that evoke that response then you could say that they are conditioning you to continue agreeing with what will come next, that question being: And how would like to pay for that? Will that be cash or charge? Would you like that in red or blue? That is the close or what is called assuming the sale.

As you can see these types are very well healed and they actually are using a little acting and showmanship on you, They use scripts to control the sales event and they don't leave much to chance, if your weak and unprepared then consider yourself vulnerable to being persuaded by this professional at work.

Key: Ask your own questions to take them out of their script, and when they prompt you for that affirmative yes answer, say to yourself: I'd like to think about that for a moment. Again slow the process down to see what's going on before it's too late.

? One last Character and we'll rap this thing up, this fellow presents the good ole boy image, the friendly type who spends a great deal of time conditioning you to buy through storytelling, he'll give you examples of others who received extraordinary results, benefits, satisfaction, performance, reliability or a hundred other favorable outcomes from taking his advice.

Key: If you find yourself being captivated by good storytelling then you should recognize that your tendency to buy is slowly being increased. Once you recognize the method you should immediately refocus on your specific needs and what the product or service actually delivers. Again you'll need to use logic to avoid the emotional images being conjured and implanted throughout the presentation.

There's an old saying that says the more you tell the more you sell, I can agree with that to some extent but I come back to the fact that if something is of great value at a low price, it sells itself! with only enough advertising to get word of mouth to do the rest.

By now I probably have you afraid to leave the house after telling you how these individuals go about their craft, fear not educated consumer we have a solution!

Simply by understanding and recognizing the simple tactics used in the trade we can effectively neutralize them and continue on our way to getting the best deals on the products and services that we truly need, want and desire.

Lets recap and create our own script or methods to counter the professional salesman's effort.

How can we neutralize Up-sells, Cross-sells, Fear of loss, Use of guilt and shame, take-a ways, pre-emptive resolutions, Image plants and involvement devices, Patterning and Mirroring, Assumptive closes, and good storytelling? Simply by recognizing that they are being used to stir our emotions in a sales situation!

Once you are aware of the tactic and recognize that it is being employed you can defend against it, now you know the rules of the game and can make an effective corresponding move to counter the well thought out strategy of the seller.

How can we make the buying events easier on ourselves other than just keeping our guard up for all these different emotional appeals?

I believe the #1 way to insure a great deal is to know whom your dealing with! By using referrals, reviewing unbiased testimonials and obtaining proof in cases where you don't actually know the person or company in question you will be one step closer towards feeling as though you will receive more than an average benefit from the transaction. Note: If you can cut out the middleman than I encourage you to do so whenever possible.

Try to buy direct from the source through friends or their referrals to people they know, reputations are put on the line and personal service with care is more often rendered, this is where having a large network to rely on will help you to achieve better pricing on guaranteed products and services

Again this is the first step in stacking the deck in your favor, once you have come this far its time to interview the seller to insure again that they aren't going to use those classic tactics we've become so accustomed to.

They may be friends, acquaintances, or rock solid referrals however we still need to ask tough questions to determine various levels of competence, product knowledge and proficiency to determine their credibility. As they say, actions speak louder than words, do they have integrity are they honest? Can they be relied upon as an authority regarding the business dealings you're undertaking? You need to ask tough questions in order to get the correct answers in these fact finding missions, this pays big dividends in the long run, because you strengthen your resources while gaining the respect you deserve as a paying customer.

In the end your not going to be able to use a single script like a person or company who sells the same products or services day in and day out but you can understand how those companies operate and thereby be an informed and educated buyer when your needs arise for the products and services they sell.

This report was written to help you buy right without being sold!

(By reading this you will become wiser)

Dan Auito is a dual-licensed real estate agent and appraisal assistant. Dan is a 20-year veteran of the United States Coast Guard. He has acquired over 1.3 million in real estate assets in 14 years while also founding a non-profit drug prevention corporation, a real estate consulting group and is the author of "Magic Bullets in Real Estate." This 300-page power-packed book comes with a website that further supports its readers.

Dan may be reached by visiting http://www.magicbullets.com