As many of you know, I used to be in sales. All of my sales were over the phone, not the ideal way to sell anything complicated, but I made it work, killing it- quite frankly... ;-) I got out of sales mostly because personally I couldn't handle the pressure (wimp, I know) but I am so thankful for my experience in sales, because it makes me acutely aware of what sales people could/should/and do right...
Today, I had sat in a demo with a SaaS vendor who we are evaluating as a possible replacement for our current system. I did a lot of work on my end (spoke with a current customer of theirs that I found on LinkedIn, -just up and emailed her and asked if she had 30 minutes to chat about the product, got analysis from 2 -3rd party consultants, and put together a full page document of 4 use cases that I needed to see in the demo). I knew that this system has at least 2 critical features that will make my life SOOO much easier and better serve our company as a whole.
So, I am an ideal prospect... I did my work, without a lot of work on their end- I have had maybe an hour worth of calls with this sales guy. In the two calls, both times, as soon as I hung up, I have said to my pod mates "OMG, I want to scratch my eyes out! That guy is terrible!" But, again- functionality- they have it- I need it... So, I put up with him...
And, I was looking forward to seeing the product in action today. In the session he had 4 people on the phone. An SE from his company, a sales rep and an SE from the implementation partner. The call started bad and went to HORRENDOUS! He started out with a late SE, so he did a brief overview. We had to ask one question 3 times because we never got a straight answer. The first two times, we got answers that ranged from 30 seconds to a minute- wasting time. At one point, I had to yell into the phone "if this is a sales demo, you should be listening, not talking over us, we are the prospects, we are telling you what we need to see."
YELLING. I found myself YELLING! COME ON?!?!? YELLING?!?!? I shouldn't have to yell. No one should have to yell. I yell at other cars on the road, I shouldn't have to yell at a sales guy who is supposed to know my business, he had a LOT of documentation, he KNEW what I wanted to see. And yet, I had to YELL. I ended up ending the call because they weren't listening and I was just so broken hearted. I am practically a customer. I know this product does what I need it to, but guess what? Now, I am completely re-evaluating. I might even PUT UP with our existing system for an extra SIX months (and wait for them to build the functionality), because this guy was so terrible. I might create 2 times as much work for myself, because if you can't even listen to me on a pre-sales demo... how are you going to listen to me when I really need help and your SaaS solution is broken ( b/c I know I am going to push it beyond its limits, I'm that kinda user)?!?!?!
So, what's the point of this post? I just want you to remember that sometimes, listening is the BEST thing you can do. And when your prospect asks a question sometimes a Yes or No is all they need. Don't lie to them b/c that will only bite you in the a$$ later. If your product does it, then great, if it doesn't than maybe they were just asking to ask, maybe no other products do it. But you respected them by sparing them some circular answer with no real "yes or no." And people purchase from people that they like- they don't purchase if they HATE you. They either ask for another rep, and you lose commission (which is what is happening in my case), or they stick with what they have. We all love the sound of our own voices, I clearly do- look at the length of this blog post, ;-) but sometimes, your prospect or customer just needs someone to listen, and if you can be that person, you might win their respect, trust, even a smile...
Again:
• Listen
• Straight answers
• Honesty
Now, get out there and "Make it Work!"