cazh1: on Business, Information, and Technology

Vendor back and forth getting a little comical these days

It's definitely getting near the end of the year - the vendors / sales reps are just amazing these days with their tenacity. One was peppering me with voice mails - I give him credit for knowing some pretty effective ways to get past the "defenses", like leaving an email address to try and get around the voice mail tennis match. That started another back and forth, exacerbated by some email address misspellings ... frustrating.

Another example was an acquaintance from a prior life trying to get some face time. What is it about face time? I know the answer to that question, they are trying to establish a personal relationship, yada, but it's amazing how tenacious some of these folks can be. Another one has connected via LinkedIn - cool, I will admit, working the alternate channels - but still, the insistence on the face time gets tedious.

At the end of the day, it always pays for me to take the time to connect via phone - generally the "cheapest" route in terms of time commitment - and patiently yet completely explain that the budget is set, the cuts are coming, the policies prohibit external contractors, the vendor list is sacrosanct - whatever the limitations are. Get the fact (bs doesn't help here, so don't) out on the table fast and clear ... no matter what you might think, a sales rep is primarily interested in getting the next sale, not a personal relationship, so they will (or should) appreciate the fact that you are trying to save time for all concerned.

It's like project or customer management - manage expectations, and you can leverage your vendor relationships to benefit yourself and the rep.

posted by James P. MacLennan at 7:16 PM | Permalink | 0 Comments