Through the years, I have heard salesmen use the phrase "undersell and overdeliver" too many times to count. There are a number of schools of thought in the selling world. No matter what they are, they are all geared towards one objective...converting you into a sale.

Understanding some of the techniques and philosophies will help you level the playing field. The undersell/overdeliver strategy is typically one of the last commandments of selling and is part of a culmination of the overall goal.

It can be difficult to determine if this is being used on you. Doing your homework helps and knowing where they are coming from will only benefit you.

In the realm of the swimming pool industry, you need to understand that there is only one objective when it comes to a potential customer. That is to turn you from potential to actual customer. Sometimes it ends there and other times the goal is to keep you coming back for more.

Underselling means that you could have bought more pool than you got. There are two reasons this is done: One, the salesman thought he was only going to get the sale based on price. Two, the salesman thought that making as few promises as possible would allow him to overdeliver.

Overdelivering means that you are a happy pool customer. That is great but what happens when you find out that there were more options or you could have got more pool?

In fairness to the salesman, he has a tough job determining how much money you have to spend. Competition in the pool industry is fierce as well. Particularly in the current economy.

You may have seen a competitor before this salesman that is much cheaper. The salesman may have an uphill battle in convincing you that his product is worth more money and may feel that you are stuck on a number. Your budget is a big factor in why you might be undersold.

The other side to the story is that the salesman wants to make sure he overdelivers on his promises. Although this is an acceptable strategy, there can be underlying agendas as well. Those agendas can be time frames to build a pool, problems the salesman might foresee in delays and so on. By keeping promises to a minimum, he can reach his target of overdelivering on the pool. Your best bet is to get him to be on the level with you so you get what you expect and what you paid for.