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Quick rant.

Service Provider dropped in unannounced, which while normally a pet peeve of mine didn’t bother me too much because the company appears to be fairly decent and I did want to talk to them.

In the course of the discussion I mentioned that we had a relationship with another company in town that we do some business with. Basically they give me a second set of eyes into infrastructure changes and help with critical implementations.

The response was ‘I’m sorry’.

Really. That’s what you thought was going to get me to pay for your services? Questioning decisions that I have made?

Last couple of days I’ve gotten more and more frustrated with this reply.

26 Spice ups
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I’ve seen some people post that same statement here as a response to an OP’s question, and it annoys me to no end…

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I hear that once in a while. Sometimes it’s feigned sympathy, other times it’s snark.

Either way, I just politely end the call or meeting then and there with a polite standing up, hand-shaking, and walking out. All the while smiling and acting like I’m their best friend and future customer. They never know how to take that…

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That’s such a condescending answer. I don’t see why someone would say that like they look down upon your decision in shame like they’re above you somehow.

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They’re basically trying to lure you into saying “Well, why do you say that?” Then they can launch into their schpiel about how that company does XYZ incorrectly and how this company does that SO much better/more efficiently, thus attempting to convince you that him showing up was a sign that you were supposed to make the immediate change to somehow improve the infrastructure.

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If some companies spent half as much time trying to help its customers as they do bashing their competition, we would all be happy. Unfortunately, there are VERY FEW companies that truly practice this.

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Sales weasels “inhale Profusely”!

I am lucky that I got stuck with 2 good vendor reps so far. One at my last company and one at my current.

They are people that I can shoot the shi’f’t with and be personable. My current rep calls me to bust my balls about how BB is going down. And occasionally to try and steal me away to do Technical sales.

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The only time I use “I’m sorry” like that is when people say “I just got this iPhone…”

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I have to say that if you feel that his comment was directed towards you and your decisions, you sound like my wife. I say one thing and she gets something out of it that I could never fathom anyone ever getting out of what I said.

IMO that saying at that moment sounds like he either has had experience with them or (since you do not say if it was a competitor or not) it was a competitor. How you get that he was dissing you I do not see it. If he can get you to talk about any problems he has a better target to sell to.

Keep in mind they are human and trying to sell a product/service if they can get you to feel like you are not the only one with problems with a competitor that is a good thing for them. They can be the knight in shining armor come to save you from the evil competitor. If you do not like that kind of tactic then so be it but I would just direct the conversation somewhere else. One sales guy does not make the company.

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A number of years ago, one of our competitors sent out sympathy cards to the customers of all of the other companies in the industry for their selection of an “inferior” vendor. This backfired significantly, as most CEOs took it as a remark about their poor decision-making. Regardless of how it is intended, it’s really not a good sales technique. There are ways to get to the same discussion without risking coming off as offensive. Something like, “How has your experience been? I’ve heard other customers of theirs state they have trouble with _______ when working with company X. Has that been a problem for you?”

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You can disagree with someone’s decision while still respecting it. Express why you feel you have a superior product without bashing. The fact is that this is a fine line but one anyone in sales needs to learn to walk. Explain your stance in a firm and affirmative way without saying that the competition does this wrong. They do it differently. Learn to respect someone’s decision and they will respect what you have to say.

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AMEN!

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HA!

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Interesting reply, especially given that your post immediately above this one started with the sentence “You can disagree with someone’s decision while still respecting it.” I guess it applies to everyone except iPhone owners?

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