Paul, Yes, that is abhorrent behaviour and I always make notes, so as not to forget that. I note you say that the questions were "potentially dealbreakers". To me, that means this was an important aspect or feature or requirement that your product could not meet or provide. By ignoring this because you couldn't meet it you were serving yourself and your company (at least short term) and not your customer. This was, of course, your JOB and it sounds like you did it well. Mine is not to let sales people get away with these sorts of tactics.
I started my career long ago in a 500 person call center for a major automovite company that shall go nameless. We were "customer service" and we were there, in part, to "keep" the customers that salespeople over promised or mislead. During training we were told that it was easier and cheaper to keep a customer than find a new one. I think they should have emphasized that to the sales staff as well. Of course, by the time it's time for a new ERP, most sales people have moved on. You have confirmed, not refuted, my premise. Glad you came into the light! Leah ________________________________ From: Paul McTeigue <[email protected]> To: EDI-L <[email protected]> Sent: Sat, April 30, 2011 6:20:32 PM Subject: RE: [EDI-L] Stop Spending Time and Money Digging Through Outdated Trading Partner Data! << I have yet to meet the variety of sales person you speak of, Micheal. I have known many, worked with some and been mislead (at best). >> Leah, that’s a little harsh. Good salespeople are highly trained, experienced people, just like good EDI folks. Their training involves a myriad of techniques - most of them to do with psychology. They are trained to recognize buying signals, how to meet prospect objections, how to position their product against the competition’s, etc. i.e. One technique they use is the “acknowledge and ignore” tactic. Many moons ago, when I was selling a certain software product, I was trained to handle any questions that arose during the demonstration that were potentially deal-breakers by saying, “That’s an excellent question, I am going to finish up showing you this module and then address that at the end.” Of course, half-an-hour later, the question was forgotten. Now, you could say that this is abhorrent behaviour, but the simple fact is that the salespeople kids do not eat if they do not make the sale. Nothing happens in any company, including yours, until a sale is made. And, that is why salespeople are the ones who drive out of the company parking lot in BMW’s. Cheers, Paul _______________________________________ Paul McTeigue Icefan Systemhouse Inc. Montreal, Canada www.icefan.ca EDI - Bbx - Web Development - SQL Server - VB E-Mail: .............. [email protected] Cell: .................. (514) 262-9591 _______________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Leah Halpin Sent: April 30, 2011 2:18 PM To: Michael Mattias/LS; EDI-L Subject: Re: [EDI-L] Stop Spending Time and Money Digging Through Outdated Trading Partner Data! First, welcome back, I hope your absence involved a fun vacation. I have yet to meet the variety of sales person you speak of, Micheal. I have known many, worked with some and been mislead (at best). If you know a true, professional sales representative who has never, never, made a statement that he or she knows to be not quite completely 100% true which includes saying "yes product (or service) x can do that" when they mean "if you pay us enough money we can make product (or service) x do that in a fashion that might or might not exactly fit your needs" then I'll be impressed and amazed. Another trait I find prevalent is NOT mentioning something that they clearly should be able to understand won't meet the customer's needs, based on the explained business need and their supposed expertise with the product they are selling. I have learned to be very diligent, ask exact and detailed questions and get everything in writing, and even that doesn't always work. My favorite was the car salesman who once told me how much happier he was working for Toyota because Mazda's were really unsafe and he hated to watch people he'd sold them to strapping babies into car seats in the back. One way or the other, he was lying (or I suppose he could have just been a sociopath). BTW, I didn't buy either a Toyota or a Mazda and certainly not anything from him. Leah ________________________________ From: Michael Mattias/LS <[email protected] <mailto:mcmlserve%40talsystems.com> > To: EDI-L <[email protected] <mailto:EDI-L%40yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Sat, April 30, 2011 12:14:00 PM Subject: Re: [EDI-L] Stop Spending Time and Money Digging Through Outdated Trading Partner Data! > The most valuable thing you can learn is never, never, take the word of a > sales > person at face value. I daresay Mrs. H, you must have had a REALLY bad experience with one (or more) sales people. A true professional sales representative is as honest and hardworking as any professional EDI Person, present company included. Michael C. Mattias Tal Systems Inc. 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