Pretexting As A Selling Strategy

Composed in Peachtree City, Georgia--

     The buzz is subsiding about the ugly happenings at Hewlett Packard.  HP leadership allegedly conducted some covert spying on its board members and employees by using a technique known as pretexting.

     According to Wikipedia, pretexting is a form of fraud used to establish legitimacy in the mind of the victim.  Pretexting  is usually done over the telephone and involves lying or deception.  An example of pretexting would be if your boss called you on your "sick day" and pretended to be a representative from the gas company, while he tried to find out if you were really sick. 

     Yet, sales people have used a form of pretexting for a long time.  Have you ever received a call from an unfamiliar voice who sounded like she was a good friend?  She probably called you by your first name as you tried to recognize the voice.  Then, the caller turned out to be a salesperson who was pretending to be familiar to you. 

     Acting friendly with strangers is a basic and proven selling strategy, which could be one of the reasons sales people have such a snarky reputation.