Almost as soon as you walk into a mattress store, a salesman will attach himself to you. This is what everybody hates. You smile. "I'm just looking, thanks."

But sooner or later, you will have to talk with him. You can't buy a bed without talking to him. So the tension mounts as you notice him following you around the store at a very discreet distance of eight feet. After just a few minutes, you want to get out of there.

Hey, this is not for you. You no longer need to fear the salesman. Let him do his thing. Answer his questions. Let him follow you around. Because when you find something you like, you'll need him. He's the one who's going to give you a discount.

But until that time comes, he'll follow you around and annoy you. He'll talk your ear off giving you every reason that you should buy from him and no one else. But don't be swayed by anything he says. Do not let him influence your decision. Because he's full of it. But still, let him think you believe everything he says.

Inevitably, the salesman will bring out a piece of a mattress that's been cut apart to show you what's inside. He wants you to see with your own eyes how good the quality of these beds is. They have nothing to hide.

Well, I don't know about you, but the insides of mattresses usually look about the same to me. They may explain how these particular coils are wrapped in a very distinct way that gives them a much better feel than all others. I must have skipped mattress-making class in high school, because this is all lost on me.

But my point is that you should not let anything a salesman says influence your decision to buy or not. They have lots of props and canned speeches to make you think their bed is the best, but don't place any faith in any of it. Make your decision based on your own impression of the bed.

Ok, to be honest, some of the things they tell you will be truthful and educational. But most of us just don't know enough about mattresses to sort it all out. So take it all with a grain of salt.

After you've shopped around a bit, one of the salesmen may ask you if you've seen any other beds you liked. And you'll say, "Yeah, I kind of liked the SpringTime Royal Majesty over at Super Beds Galore."

Now you've done it. He'll spend the next several minutes telling you how inferior that bed is to the one he's showing you now. The other bed you liked is the poorest quality bed, and it's shameful that they don't have higher standards than that.

And you'll say, "Well, it felt pretty comfortable."

To which he'll respond that you go ahead and buy it, but remember that he warned you. Because within a year, that mattress will be sagging and lumpy, and you'll be sorry you ever bought it.

Then he'll proceed to tell you how dishonest they are over at Super Beds Galore (that's where you saw the other bed, remember?). They buy cheap quality beds and mark them way up because they can't afford to buy the high quality beds you're looking at here. They have too much overhead.

And on occasion, he may even ask who you spoke to at Super Beds Galore. "Jerry? Oh, I wouldn't trust that guy as far as I can throw him. I've worked with him before, and he'll tell you anything to make a sale." And on and on and on.

It's funny though, because Jerry as Super Beds Galore would probably have told you the same things about the store you're in now.

Bottom line - don't believe what the salesman tells you. Sometimes they'll tell you something that's true, and sometimes they won't. Don't waste your time trying to sort it out. Instead, take advantage of it to get a better price for yourself.

If the salesman tells you how bad another bed is, make sure you insist that you liked it. No matter what he says, it felt pretty good to you, and that's all you know. And if the price was lower, make sure you point that out. That's important.

Once the salesman sees that you're sincerely interested in a bed at another store, you should see that price drop like a skydiver without a parachute. Which means you'll quickly get a better price.

And if the salesman tells you what a snake the salesman at the other store is, just mention what a good deal he offered you on the other bed (if there was a better deal). If he didn't already, he'll be cutting the price now.

Salesmen will do anything they can to keep you from leaving the store without buying. And the more you scare them with your other options, the harder they'll try to win you over to their side.

And one more thing to be aware of. Many times, the salesman will call his boss (or someone else with more authority) to see if he can give you a special deal. He needs to call and get the OK before he can go ahead and do it for you. If you get to this point, then you've done a good job.

When he does this, one of two things is usually happening:

1. He's not really calling anyone, but just pretending so that you'll think he doesn't have the authority to lower the price.
2. He really is calling someone, but only for show. He doesn't have to.

The salesman my wife and I bought our last bed from did this. We were pressing him for a bigger discount, so he finally excused himself, stepped away from the desk, and made a call on his cell phone.

I wasn't paying much attention to him, but my wife tells me that while he was talking into his cell phone, it rang and he answered it. Interesting.

So when he gets on the phone to try and get you a better deal, just know that he's not really trying to help you. He's just trying to make you think 1) his hands are tied, and 2) that you're getting an exceptional deal right from the big boss himself. Not likely.