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Regarding pushy salesmen...

When I was about to enter the hobby 4 years ago, a friend of mine who was a friend of the lone GW salesman, brought me a single Space Marine as a gift to the pub.
I kept fondling it, looking at it, feeling the excitment build... So I got up, walked over to the store which was just on the other side of the street.
Got in, learned about primer, was confused about the price of about 13€ for a can of spray, but buckled down and got a can of Chaos Black.
Which was all I intended to get at that time, really.
Smelling blood however, Mr. GW Salesman tried to get me to buy the white primer too. While that would not be unreasonable in itself, mind that I had no fething clue why I would need that at that time. And at 13€ for a can of spray? Uhhh.. Also, he was pretty pushy about it, rising my hackles already.
But thats not where it ended.
So this guy had a new customer in front of him that did have ONE single space marine and a can of chaos black, which did not want white primer. Obviously no clue of the hobby yet, never assembled a single model himself... and he decided that I need to buy the last box of that "Entire GW Paint collection" for about.. whatsitsface... 350€? The old one before the restart of the line, that is.
So fully knowing he had a newb before him, he tried to sell me the most expensive item in the GW store that already has been replaced by newer version of that item.
If he'd pushed a Tac Squad? Yes, maybe that would've worked. Dark Vengeance? Harder sell, but maybe. But a box of paints at that price, pushy as he was?
I walked out of the store and never came back. Management has changed in the meantime and seems to be way more friendly, but that experience has pushed me out of GW stores for life.
I got to the FLGS down the road, shop there for an 8% discount on everything and enjoy the way more laid back atmosphere, the friendly banter with the staff there and, for a time, even had one of the sales guys there in my Dark Heresy group.
I still purchase pretty much everything there to support them and will continue so despite them fething up with orders from time to time.

Trying to push the complete paint set? That is ridiculous. It's not a good buy even for most veterans.

I've only got a full set because I was able to get it for less than half price. Haven't opened at least half of them.

Just a little anecdote, I was in the local GW playing a game (other guy's (might have been girl I forget) turn so I wasn't doing much) and this guy walks in who quit during 7th and is coming back to tale a look at 8th. The store manager clearly knows him and they're talking for five minutes and the store manager takes him over to the side devoted to starter sets and explains what comes in them. They move onto rules, and the store manager is talking about the brb and leaflet in Dark Imperium and the customer wants a look. I think, hey, good deed time and offer him my core rules leaflet, "here you can have this." Customer looks down and I see the store manager mouth at me "ALEX feth OFF I'M TRYING TO MAKE A SALE!" The customer looks back at me and goes, "can I keep this?" and being the good repeat customer I am say, "no, just to look over it for a bit." He ended up buying two boxes of geanstealer cult stuff I think and said he'd be back so all's well that ends well.

Then the store manager tells me a story of another store where two regulars pissed off a new customer in the middle of a big sale, so the store manager got nothing. The store manager banned them both for a year. The guy running my local GW wouldn't ban me over it (I don't think) but point is these sales matter to the store managers, from other conversations he's talked about all the monthly targets, the store birthday target of £5,000 (that's this particular store) and the overall target of at least £90,000 a year, which is just to break even.

As regards company sales policy (which he discusses with regulars because he knows we're too hooked for sales techniques to work or be needed) he said it used to be hump the customer once they're through the door, and especially if it's a kid, tell them to buy X, Y and Z. Now it's much more letting the customer decide for themselves and encouragement, e.g. oh you think orks are cool? Well here's our start collecting box, which gives you everything you need to start an ork force, you'll also need some glue, clippers and paint, etc, etc.