A Professional Courtesy

[MNicolai]

(I preface this by saying it's a small industry and that if you know of which company I speak, please keep the name out of this thread -- I don't want the purpose of this discussion compromised by people tarnishing the names of perfectly good companies or in this case, by ruining a new guy's first week on the job)

Last Wednesday I got a cold call from a certain audio company that normally gives out cold calls pretty regularly with the added note "Your subscription to our magazine has ended but if you just give us a call we'll re-up it for free!"

I don't remember actually ever buying anything from them, but it wasn't the guy I was used to speaking to and I will have a pretty large audio purchase coming up in the next 18 months that I'm working on laying the groundwork for, so I figured I'd return the call.

I had a pleasant conversation with the rep, told him about our venue and what we're shopping for, and he mentioned he's new and the guy I was used to getting those phone calls from had taken a position somewhere else. He said he'd email me his contact info, some information on some products and a program they're expanding. I thought, "Cool."

Within an hour, I had in my inbox what was clearly a scripted email where the rep had just filled in the blanks. I expect not a whole lot more from the new guy, but I guess I expected something that sounded a lot less like I had never actually had a conversation with him before, that I had no idea who his company was, and that I should send him all of my contact info for more information on products. Nothing in that main body of the email covered anything that wasn't already taken care. I've obviously spoken to him, his company has had my contact info for a solid two or three years, and I clearly know what they do at that company or I wouldn't be returning their calls or asking them to give quotes to me.

Then, at the bottom of the email, he tacked on the real purpose he was sending me an email, which was a single sentence saying, "Heres the info on (insert some gear here)." The only part of the email I think he actually typed himself was grammatically flawed.

A short while later, I sent the following reply, although I've changed the names for the purpose of this discussion:

Otis, this isn't a cold call anymore. I have acknowledged that you exist as you have acknowledged that I also exist. Furthermore, we've established that we have business you can provide input and pricing on.

I have better things to do than read a cold call script and I'm sure you've got better things to do than fill in blanks.

The people I call first when I have questions or new business are smart guys that do things that make sense. They point out when we're getting off track, will confidently point out when I can buy something somewhere else cheaper, and aren't afraid to tell me how I'm doing it wrong.

In turn, I don't mind spending a few extra dollars on something from someone I simply like more.

I've got (insert local company) an hour away. Any day of the week I can drop in and talk to Giraldo about something I'm working on and he'll let me know what he thinks and what the damage will be. They've never acted like car salesmen to me, generally have lower prices, and have a wider range of things I need.

Be smart, do things that make sense, seriously limit the number of scripted relationships you have, and you'll be treated a lot less like a guy selling cars and more like a cool guy who's got advice and expertise worth listening to.

Your prices aren't lower and your product range isn't wider, so the relationship and trust you and I have better be stellar if you plan to compete with a company down the road from us. I have to have some really good reasons to walk into a room and hand your quotes to someone who will want to know why I want to spend more money with you when I can get the same gear for less somewhere else. And I have to give far better reasons than "their website looks cooler."

This is a professional courtesy. It sounds asinine because I care about this kind of stuff. More importantly because the conversation I had with you on the phone was far more interesting than the scripted reply I got that made it seem we have never talked to each other before.

Congrats on the new job. Just remember you're a skilled worker selling cool things and not some guy selling junkers.

Also, I don't want any kind of apology you might feel you're obligated to give, and properly placed apostrophes do spectacular things to your credibility.

Best wishes,
MN

My point is simple. There are a lot of competitors out there. Some of them have better prices and give me less grief when I ask for an obscure product for a very specific application. They also probably have a solid face for their company -- a person I can go to when I have questions -- a "Doug" from Design Lab, a "Steve", "Kirk", "Ellen", "David", "Sarah", "Fred", "Spencer" or "Tracy" from ETC, a "Keith" or "Melissa" from Apollo.

They'll get my business any and every day of the week if you've got nothing else on them other than a strong, scripted consistency that gets me the exact same conversation if I call you or any of your fifteen other sales reps. I just like them better.

An Apollo DMX Iris is stuck? Keith's got you covered. Maybe he won't have some magical MacGyver tricks to fix it on the spot, but he'll make sure you get in touch with the people you need to so that you can get your gear working, fixed, or replaced.

Missing a bolt or knob from your brand new Source Four fixture? Steve's got a secret army of people tracking your address down so that it can be overnighted to you and so that it's in your hands before you even find out he had noticed your thread about his product somewhere on the internet.

I've been known to tell dealers, specifically Doug, to just sell me his gaffer's tape. I know I can get it from cheaper from Rose Brand, and he'll insist I get it from somewhere else, and I'll eventually give up trying to convince him to let me buy some from him and I'll buy it from Rose Brand instead. He's also been known to pick me up on my lunch break and take me out to lunch so that him and I can take some time to sit down and talk about projects I've got in the works.

He may have not made a few extra dollars profit at the end of the day, but he has my trust that he's not going to waste my money. I'm not some huge corporate rep that has hundreds of thousands of dollars to shell out; I'm a guy who's trying to keep a high school drama department on it's feet with a thin budget. He respects that. And the first opportunity I get to throw some large capital projects his way, I will because I know through the duration I'm using anything his company has sold, installed for me, or rented to me, he'll have me covered for. That's not some Clients From Hell attempt on my part to lure him into cheap work with deceptive, empty promises of future, lucrative work. That's me saying if I get a chance, I'll put a good word in for him the next time we do something big because he's earned it.

Scripted relationships don't work. As a sales rep, maybe they'll get your foot into the door a few times out of every couple dozen, but I guarantee if you just call up your clients every so often and say "Hey, we haven't really spoken in a while. How are things going with your theatre? How did that last show turn out?", you'll go a lot further in this and any other sales-related position than some guy who's been taught to read from a script.

Fortunately, I've got a lot of "Doug's", "Steve's", and "Keith's" in my address book already. They have already earned future work from us when we've got it available and others will just have to get in line for my attention and consideration of them as a supplier to us. That's how it is. You're not entitled a seat at the table because you learned your first week how to read a script. You're given a seat at the table because there's no one more appropriate to be sitting in your seat other than you. Period.

 

[NickVon]

Here here! I'm still young and new to the working and dealing/buying/renting from vendors. I've been very happy with my BMI rep who has steered me in some great directions and had some fantastic input and product suggestions from me. In addition to my "Audio Guy" that i speak with frequently and try out equipment and ask questions of. I would like it if Full Compass was a little less scripted, but maybe i jut haven't gotten to that level of purchasing from them.

 

[cpf]

This is why customer relations often trump the things like price or product range. When money and reputation is on the line you rely on the people you know and trust, and (assuming they perform) you remember that even when things cool down.

 

[Footer]

You always have choices in your distributor, however remember we are all trying to make a buck in this world. Yup, form letters sucks. So does spending a ton of time trying to build leads with someone who has zero buying power. Until you start sending out for quotes on letterhead, most places won't give you a second look. The super large retailers in this industry, especially in the sound world, don't have time to really build a relationship. They have low prices and because of that you might not get great services. Don't get down on a guy because he is trying to do his job as he was taught. This guy has quota's and right now you have not got him any closer to a commission. Money talks and and BS walks. You don't want you time wasted and they don't want to waste time either.

Also, all the people you mentioned but one are manufactures, they are not distributors. Any good manufacture will send you to their distributor in their area to do the final sale. Building a relationship with a manufacture is useless if you only buy at MSRP. Even demo units are sent through a distributor. You can call Keith at Apollo all you want, but all he is going to tell you is to call your guy at Designlab if you want something, and that is what he should do as a quality manufacture. Keith sells to them, they sell to you.

 

[MNicolai]

Valid points, but it takes just as long to fill in the blanks of a form than it does to write a simple follow-up. It takes him a full minute to fill that out, and my time is saved in not having to sift through a six paragraph email covering bases that need not be covered.

Hey Mike:

Here's that information you were asking for on those products earlier. You can give me a call any time if you have questions about professional audio purchases and I'll make sure we get you taken care of.

Enjoy your day,

Otis

I had an online web app company contact me awhile back. They wanted to know how I was using their product and wanted to let me know how I could better use some of the higher level features they offer. I told him they were interesting and asked some very specific questions. He replied with a very generic form-structured email that answered none of my questions, hadn't shown we had actually already established a business relationship, and that's the moment I realized he didn't actually care about how his product was improving my work. He didn't even take the time to actually read through my email -- all he did was send back what would be his next "car salesman" step in the sales process.

That told me everything I needed to know about their interests in how I'm using their product and I haven't had any reason to pay for a subscription to their web app since. When push comes to shove, they'll sacrifice my comfort as an end user for a little extra profit margin. Mind you, if you make me a happy customer, I'll not have a problem spending the few extra dollars a month for the web app and you'll still hit the same margins.

That's fine if they want to choose forms as a business technique, I guess, but I don't see where anyone expects that'll lure me away from their competitors who are doing a fine job at keeping me satisfied as a customer. If it's so cut and dry about making quotas, don't bother calling me. Your competitors have already got me taken care of if you bring nothing new to the table other than an inability to have a genuine conversation that's unscripted.

The days of conventional marketing and sales are gone. Your competitor is the first hit on a Google search and you're second. Second is good, but it isn't first and there's a huge gap between the amount of hits the first search result gets and the second. As per Zipf's law, the #1 anything will usually get the ten times the benefit of the thing ranked in the #10 slot, and one-hundred times the benefit of the thing ranked in the #100 slot. City population is a good example -- the largest city is usually twice the size of the second largest city. The most common word in a document is often used about twice as many times as the second most common word. If your competitor is the first hit on Google, their getting twice as many hits as you.

So if you're happy not trying to make a legitimate attempt at competing directly with your competitors in the trenches of cold calls by taking an extra minute to make a real attempt at making the customer happy, that can have serious repercussions. On the other hand, if that extra minute or two goes well, you might at least make the consideration for being a part of the next big deal with that client. That's a small price to pay though if that's what it takes to bridge the gap between first place and second, because the rewards that come with being first far outweigh the cost a little extra time and attention here and there.

It's a big world, but little things still matter. If you showed me that couldn't you pay attention to what we were discussing on the phone, why on earth would I ever want to trust you with our next $30,000 purchase?

You might consider $30k small game, but just a couple years ago I had the purchasing influence equal to the amount of pocket change in between the seat cushions of a sofa, but who knows what I'll have in another several years from now. Don't think for a moment I won't remember the companies that treated me poorly as a little guy. I remember everyone, especially that rental guy at that company I won't name who when I was in high school directly told my director that he was eccentric to want a snow machine for A Christmas Carol. He's one of a few I won't forget.

There are ways to say things that are relevant to the conversation and there are ways to show clients you don't respect them. If you need to tell someone that they're too small for you to be spending lots of time writing up quotes for that never go through, that's respectable and dignified. If you choose to just one day start ignoring their emails and cease to return their calls, that's a really quick way to ensure they never consider business with you again.

 

[metti]

I tend to agree. I'm mostly buying gear for myself but I do give around $10-15k worth of business to my local dealer and I send many larger jobs their way. My personal policy is that I will go for the company I like if they can come within 15% of the cheapest quote on big items and 25% of the cheapest price on small items (tape, cables, etc). In reality, they are often are the cheapest quote or nearly the cheapest and they give me good service. This is worth a huge amount to me. I understand the concerns of big dealers which is why I choose medium-small companies since I am not a big time client to warrant the attention of a big time company. The little things often do not take much additional time but they can make a big difference. Last year I brought a $150k to my favorite sound company even though we could have done it for several thousand less with their obnoxious competitor. This is a people industry and I pay for people. While Apollo's gels are often pretty difficult to find compared to their competition, I put in the legwork to find and buy them because I like the people.

 

[bishopthomas]

I understand where you are coming from, but realize that in the sales world (and especially for new sales reps) scripts are pushed heavily by the higher ups. When my wife started in her sales position she had to memorize scripts and recite them to clients. Now she knows what to do and which clients respond to "off the script" so it's not a big deal to improvise and actually have a conversation with a client. But when she was first starting out she was expected to give those generic answers. You don't know that his emails weren't BCC'ed to the boss...

 

[MNicolai]

Just read this article written by Merlin Mann over at 43Folders that's completely relevant to this discussion. The context is more intended for software developers and graphic designers or freelancers of any kind that get brought on for projects here and there by clients who promise them future, very profitable work in exchange for this project being really cheap or free.

THE PARABLE

THE OSTENSIBLE CUSTOMER enters a deli and saunters up to the counter. The deli is tended by its rakishly handsome owner, THE SANDWICH GUY.

“Hi,” says The Sandwich Guy. “What looks good to you today?”

“Slow down,” says The Ostensible Customer, as THE LUNCH RUSH starts trickling in. “Lots of delis want my business, so, first I need to really understand what you can do for me.”

“Well,” says The Sandwich Guy, “I guess I can try to do what I do for everybody here and make you a customized version of any of the 15 awesome sandwiches you see on my menu. What’re you hungry for?”

“Easy, easy, Ricky Roma! Before I make any decisions here I’m going to need to know a lot more about my options. Why are you so obsessed with ‘what I want?’”

“Okay, sorry,” says The Sandwich Guy, uneasily eyeing the growing queue of The Lunch Rush now piling up behind The Ostensible Customer. “What else can I do to help here?”

“That’s better,” says The Ostensible Customer. “Let’s start by sitting down for a couple hours and going over all the ingredients you have back there.”

The Sandwich Guy laughs congenially and hands The Ostensible Customer a menu. “Friend, I can make you whatever you want, but, if it helps, the 15 sandwiches listed here show all the ingredients–right there between the name and the price…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! The price?!? Already you’re reaching for my wallet? Jeez, I barely just arrived.”

The Lunch Rush is getting restless and grumbling audibly.

“Well. You know. I do sell sandwiches for a living,” says The Sandwich Guy. “Did you have a certain budget in mind for your lunch?”

“Oh, God, no. I’m nowhere near that point yet. I still need to learn a lot more about how you work, and so, obviously, I have no idea what I want to pay. Obviously.”

“Okay,” says The Sandwich Guy, “but…I can’t do much for you here without knowing either what you want to eat or how much money you want to spend. You get that, right?”

The Ostensible Customer is miffed.

“Listen, here. What I ‘get,’ so-called Sandwich Guy, is that you’re not going to rush me into some tricky lifetime sandwich commitment until I understand precisely who I’m working with. And, so far, I do not like what I see. Still. I intend to find out more. So, meet me in Canada tomorrow to talk about this for an hour.”

The Lunch Rush begins waving their wallets as they lob their completed order forms at The Sandwich Guy’s face.

“Sorry,” says The Sandwich Guy. “I can’t do that. How about I just make you a Reuben. It’s really good, it’s our most popular sandwich, and it only costs eight bucks.”

“WHAT! EIGHT DOLLARS! ‘Dollars’ with a ‘d?’ That’s way too much!”

“I thought you didn’t have a budget,” says The Sandwich Guy.

“Well, I don’t. And, besides, I don’t really ‘need’ a sandwich at all. Now, kindly fly to Canada.”

“That’s not going to happen, sir.”

“Also,” says The Ostensible Customer, “if I do decide to get a sandwich from you–and it’s looking increasingly less likely that I will–I’ll absolutely expect your deeply discounted price to reflect the fact that I’m not particularly hungry right now.”

The Lunch Rush begins lighting torches and chanting a guttural chant, not unlike the haunting overtone singing of Tuvan herdsmen.

“Look,” sighs The Sandwich Guy, “it sounds like you need a little more time. Here’s a free Coke and a complimentary bowl of pickles. Please have a seat, take all the time you need, then just come on up whenever you’re ready to order, okay?”

“‘READY?!?’ TO…‘ORDER?!?’ Are you out of your mind?”

“Mmmm…apparently.”

Presently, The Ostensible Customer turns beet-red.

“This is an outrage! I can’t even imagine how you stay in business when you treat your customers like this.”

The Lunch Rush grows silent as The Sandwich Guy slowly leans over the counter and smiles–his nose one slice of corned beef from The Ostensible Customer’s nose.

“Sir. First off: you aren’t my customer yet. Right now, you’re just some dude holding a bowl of free pickles.”

“Buh?” fumbled The Ostensible Customer.

“And, second, the way I ‘stay in business’ is by making great sandwiches and having as few conversations like the one we’re having as possible,” The Sandwich Guy coos.

“Because, the truth is, my real customers are actually all those nice people standing behind you. They’re the people who buy my sandwiches with real money over and over again. I really like them, and so I give them almost all of my attention.”

The Sandwich Guy waves at The Lunch Rush. The Lunch Rush waves back. The Ostensible Customer looks stunned.

“Sir,” says The Sandwich Guy “enjoy your Coke and your pickles with my compliments. But, please step aside. Because right now, there’s a whole bunch of hungry people trying to buy sandwiches that won’t require me flying to Canada. Next, please!”

The Lunch Rush roars approval. The Ostensible Customer is still stunned. Which is unfortunate.

Because, several men from the back of the line spontaneously rush forward to drag The Ostensible Customer, screaming and grasping, onto the busy sidewalk outside, where they proceed to devour his flesh like those street urchins who eat Elizabeth Taylor’s cousin in Suddenly, Last Summer.

Meanwhile, The Sandwich Guy goes back to making sandwiches. And, The Lunch Rush goes back to eating them.

THE MORAL(S)?

1. The Sandwich Guy can’t do much for you until you’re hungry enough to really want a sandwich.
2. Once you’re hungry enough, you still have to pay money for the sandwich. This won’t not come up.
3. Few people become “a good customer” without understanding both 1 and 2.
4. Few companies become “a smart business” without understanding 1, 2, and 3.
5. Basing his business on an understanding of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 doesn’t make The Sandwich Guy a dick; it makes him a smart business.
6. If you vacation with Elizabeth Taylor? Seriously. Avoid provoking the cannibalistic rent boys.

THE HOPE

Me? I just very much hope it takes you far less than 15 years to see and accept these sorts of things. Both as a customer and as a business.

Guys, avoid working for anyone who’s not hungry enough to compensate you for your sandwich. It literally doesn’t pay.

I try to be a "good customer". My dealer knows I don't make as many purchases as I ask him to make quotes on. To date, I've not spent more than a couple thousand dollars at a time with him. In exchange for still asking for pricing on fairly large projects, I make a point of asking him how much actual time he has to put into something just to crunch the numbers on it, and if it's significant I'll ask him to make rough approximations on prices instead of exact numbers and that if he has to put some extra room for error into his pricing to compensate, I'll completely understand.

But this sandwich shop metaphor fits perfectly in line with what others were saying, and they certainly have a point worth listening to. Sometimes the bottom line is really important and penny-pinchers won't be the ones paying the bills. I don't believe that warrants several-paragraph scripted emails, but it certainly changes how sales reps will work with the people who clearly don't have much money to spend or who provide an absurd amount of hurdles before even really turning an idea into a "a thing" with an actual budget that might actually get paid for some day.

 

[Anvilx]

He's also been known to pick me up on my lunch break and take me out to lunch so that him and I can take some time to sit down and talk about projects I've got in the works

After All that!!!

 

[MNicolai]

Yup. I'm a bad customer. I'll own that. I joke with him that one of these days I'll actually start spending real money over there.

Wherever I am in two or ten years from now, I'll definitely remember who treated me well, though. I'll also remember the companies that didn't return my calls because I was 'some guy' working at a school district.

That's not really any kind of threat, because for all I know in a few years I'll be working at a gas station, but maybe I'll be someone with a big budget for a theatre stuff.

I can say this, though. He's got two projects he's just about finished pricing out, both that we really want to make happen. Naively, I'd like to think they'll happen in the next 6 months, but realistically it's more like 18. Still, $50k is $50k if they go through.

 

[Sayen]

As an educator, my beef is with dealers who won't take me seriously, or write off my requests because they're just for a high school. I have two vendors I love, but neither is on the state contract, so I'm constantly looking for a new company for high ticket items. Just last weekend I tried talking to a new company face to face at a conference, even tried exchanging cards, but the guy basically gave me a cold call sales pitch to my face. That's fine, but when I start spending my grant money next year I'll head to a vendor that actually listens, and I'll go through the hassle of multiple bids for every order since they aren't on contract.

My contacts always listen, tell me when I'm buying the wrong gear, and frequently steer me cheaper when necessarily.