This post originally appeared on TxMQ.com
Dear customer of mine…thanks for taking a few minutes to meet with me today. First, let me share some information about myself, if you’ll indulge me.
I’m a lot of things. I’m a dad, a husband, a son and a brother. I’m a friend and a runner. I’m a biker and a swimmer. I’m a geek, and a nerd. A Trekkie who also likes Star Wars, and a Dr. Who fan who loves Sherlock.
I’m also an avid reader, on all topics. I’m usually in the middle of two books at a time (I don’t sleep much), often one fiction and one non-fiction (currently finishing up Dalton Trumbo and Alexander Hamilton, yes, a rarity, both non-fiction titles).
I’m also a sales guy.
It’s fair to say as sales people go, I lean a bit more to the ‘technical’ than most folks. Partly due to my field of endeavor, and partly because of my background and training.
My company supports large businesses and their complex technology environments, yet that’s a bit off topic for this piece.
I spend a fair bit of time trying to reach customers and prospective customers via phone, email, linkedIn, and when possible, just visiting their office. If I have someone’s cell phone number, I’m usually respectful and won’t call, especially if I am not getting a response to office voicemails or emails. Though I will make a handful of rare exceptions to this rule, if I know the person is unusually busy and does mean to talk to me.
It can be a frustrating job at times. Scratch that, it can be wickedly frustrating the majority of the time.
If I have a call setup with you, which you confirmed, please make the call. If we have a meeting, please try to be on time. If I say I’m going to send you something, you can bet the farm, I will, and on time. It’s a courtesy, and it’s my word. At the end of the day, what am I if not true to my word?
Like you, I have a job to do. If I know I have nothing to sell you, chances are really high you won’t be hearing from me. If I’m pretty sure I can help you, I’ll reach out. One simple ‘leave me alone, I’m all set’ from you, and I’ll move on.
There’s a saying in sales…we LOVE the YES’s…we can LIVE with the NO’s, but the maybe’s will kill us. Please don’t say maybe to a sales guy.
Understand, like you in your job, I have huge responsibilities. I go through hours of endless training to stay current on the solutions we offer companies. I travel hundreds of thousands of miles annually to conferences, trainings, customer meetings and the like. My time is valuable, as is yours. And perhaps most importantly, my prospective customer, I know what your world is like. I too am approached by sales people all the time.
They might be offering me a product or service they are sure I need. They may have gotten my name as a referral, or perhaps I downloaded a paper or trial product from a website. I try to always treat these people with dignity and respect (I don’t always succeed, but I surely do try).
If their offering looks like it might work for me, I’ll give them some time. If I’m not interested, I’ll politely ask to be removed from any email or phone list.
If I agree to a meeting, I make the meeting. If I’m running late, I’ll let them know ahead of time.
Heck, if they are really interesting, I might suggest we hire them at my company…we can always use additional, good sales people.
You see, I try to remember that everyone is going through their day dealing with challenges I can’t begin to imagine. A rough home life, a nagging boss demanding more closed deals, or something else entirely.
I’m also an emotional guy. I worry that I might be too pushy at times. Not pushy enough at other times. Sales people only appear confident on the outside. Inside, we’re all mush, and over compensating. Most type A folks have hidden fears and worries. Let me restate that. All people have hidden demons they fear.
So my current or prospective customers, I appreciate the time you gave me today. I hope you take away from this something you might use when you are next approached by me, or some other annoying person, trying to sell you software, or frankly, anything.
Give them a yes.
Give them a no, thank you.
Just please, don’t say maybe.
Chuck Fried is, first and foremost, a sales guy. He also runs TxMQ, an enterprise IT solutions company, and IBM Premier Business Partner. He can be reached at TxMQ.com or via email: chuck@txmq.com