RA 6: Encounter

Salespeople incorporate many persuasive tactics to pander their wares.  Gold's Gym in particular uses persuasive words, images and financial appeals to sell memberships to people like me. When I went into the gym to talk to a manager about a membership they asked me if I wanted to wait ten minutes to talk to Candy or talk with one of their male salesmen right then.  I knew that they would try to use the "sex sells" method if I waited for the attractive female so I chose to talk to a guy and see what methods he would use.  I'll call the enthymeme for his rhetoric- joining a gym will make you happy because joining a gym will make you healthier and look better and whatever makes you healthier and look better also makes you happy.  I was his audience and he a very good job specifying the reasons why I should join this gym.  At Gold's they have pictures up on the wall of picturesque men and women: cut, bronze, smiling and wearing very little clothing.  This appeals to the emotions involved in social interaction.  They also have hundreds of famous people's names who have worked out at Gold's Gym: Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Arnold Schwartzeneggar et al.  These people are an authority on looking good and fit.  If they go to Gold's, so should I.  Once he went to touch my arm after he made a joke and stopped himself because he was playing the macho physical trainer to a male client, not the hunky flirt to a female client.  He gave a lot of relevant and specific information about his products.  I am a skinny male so the treadmills and elipticals are not high priorites but he brought my attention to the weight training machines and even let me try some of them out.  After every point he made he told me that when I'm a Gold's member I will be able to do this and do that and see this... This gave me a sense of ownership in the product before I agree to it.  He asked how I would do the payments and whether i would put this much down or spread out those registration payments.  He gave me choices between different plans and had me make little decisions before he asked me to sign up for the membership.  He even tried to sweeten the deal with free tans if I did auto pay and signed up this weekend.