How to Get the Best Deal from your SnakeOil Salesperson (SOS)

I am about to spill the beans on how to get the best deal possible from your Snakeoil Salesperson (SOS). None of this should be news to the real professional purchaser (skinflint), but it is now told from the perspective of the salesperson.

We as snakeoil salespeople hate the traditional purchaser (skinflint). Their antiquated techniques and hard-nosed methodology for wringing every dollar out of a manufacturer/supplier are feared, dreaded and talked about at every sales conference and training session.

Here is an example: A few years back, I took a large customer back to my company's headquarters in an effort to establish relationships at higher levels and provide my customer leverage when requesting special consideration for projects. As the chief skinflint stood up to introduce their company, the following words were uttered:

"We expect you to make a profit, just not on us."

The room went silent as my management sat there in utter disbelief. We all suspected that is how purchasers really feel, but it was the first time we had actually heard it out loud. Let's just say that it reset the tone of the visit and made for a fairly antagonistic relationship, mediated by me. That meeting went down in Sales History.

I'd like to suggest that there are other ways to get a great deal from your SOS.

1. Learn when their End of Quarter is and take an interest in their success. Companies sometimes offer fast-start bonuses in an effort to flatten out the sales cycle. Your particular SnakeOil Salesperson (SOS) may be able to offer you a better deal earlier in the quarter in order to qualify for that particular bonus. Learn what pays them the most money and work with it to get your best price.

2. Understand that many of your salespeople are paid on Margin (Profit) or a blend of Margin and Revenue. The more you work them over on price the less they make. In the example above, yours truly lost all motivation to service that customer. There was no incentive to go the extra mile or fight for the best price. There was little customer loyalty above and beyond "Price", therefore service made little difference.

There are, however, ways to work price into the deal and still motivate your salesperson. Many manufacturers offer SPIFFS or incentives to sell a particular product at a specific time. These SPIFFS can compensate for low margins and provide more wiggle room on your price. Ask what products are paying SPIFFS or have more wiggle room and be flexible in your requirements to take advantage of these offers.

3. Deal Registrations are another sales method you should be aware of. Manufacturers protect the resellers or SOS companies that bring them business. They offer additional discounts to companies that "Register" a Sales Opportunity. This can range from 10-50% in additional discounts over their competition. This may not be your SOS of choice, but if you have met with them, they can register your opportunity. Only you, the customer can change that and some companies are pretty strict about it. You have to make a compelling point that you want a particular SOS to have your business if it is already registered to make a change. Some resellers are more flexible on their markup than others. Learn who they are or establish a relationship with one that is flexible and understand the registration process. The registered reseller is getting a significant break on pricing over the competition. Make them share that discount with you and not just pad their wallets.

4. Good old fashion negotiation is fast-becoming a lost art, but has some huge advantages in today's market. Give a little and get a little. Many SOS have forgotten this art as well. You may have to learn what they want and what is of value to them in order to make this work. They may not be forward thinking enough to know what to bargain with. If you want a price-break, be willing to offer something in return. Many SOS need reference accounts that will take a call or present in a lunch meeting. Offer that up for a couple of extra points of discount. How about these other points of negotiation:

1. Customer Case Study - article published on your particular success with the SOS's product. Be aware that this my be pretty time-consuming.

2. Referral letter to a potential customer that you know. SOS are always looking for meetings with the "Higher Ups". If you want to offer up a referral or appointment with someone they want to know, it should be good for a couple of points of discount.

3. Long-term purchase agreement. Offering up your additional business for a longer period of time will make up for the additional discounts you are requesting.

4. Sole-Source Vendor offer. Lock them in as your only provider for their product for a set period of time with no threat of competition is good for some of the most aggressive discounting.

5. If you offer a service that their company or that SOS is interested in, offer it up for some additional discounts. If you offer Web Analytics, offer your services up to them to help their business. If you have ties to a local sports team or arena, perhaps they want a couple of seats to take clients to.

Remember, everything is negotiable and while we seem to have forgotten this skill and try to just play the "Heavy" by dictating the terms, if you will work with your SOS you will get the additional discounts without completely demotivating and taking away all profit. You will find them working harder and fighting harder for you, rather than shuddering at the prospect of having to meet with you.

If it can't be done in an hour...shoot me now!

I have a problem! My wife would say I have many problems, but she overlooks them. I have A.D.D., Particularly in meetings. Here is my list of pet-peeves when i get a meeting request. Don't be guilty of any of them if you want to hold my attention or any sales-person or customer.

1. Hours scheduled for more than an hour. It is a proven fact that people have about a 20-minute attention span. Meetings over an our require thumbscrews or waterboarding to keep me focused.

2. Meetings with no agenda or clearly defined purpose. This is a sure-fire way to get absolutely nothing accomplished. It is rude and shows how little you plan. It also show how little you respect others and their time.

3. Not inviting the people that can actually make a decision. If you want meetings to be productive, instead of just an excuse to look busy, invite the key people and make sure they have the ability to make binding decisions.

4. Allow your meeting to go over the allotted and scheduled time. No agenda will immediately result in a meeting going long.

5. Coming unprepared to a meeting. If you are the organizer, make sure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities before the meeting so that they can come prepared to add value and make decisions. Nothing worse than blank stares or crickets when you ask a question or request input.

6. Don't assign someone to take notes and record decisions and action items. That way, we can meet again in a week and go over the same information again and again, week after week.

7. Read the slides you have prepared while showing them on the screen for all to see. This is my favorite. I can read! Send it to me ahead of time and we can scrap the hour-long meeting with you reading it to me.

8. Don't have an objective to the meeting. Let's all just show up and talk. Try letting people know ahead of time that it is a brainstorming, informational, decision or sales presentation.

9. Invite all your competitive vendors into the same room. That way they can completely ignore you and stare at the competition instead. They can wonder who is the preferred vendor or has the inside track instead of listen to your bid request. They can ignore everything you say and wait for the formal RFP.

10. Make sure you go through your entire presentation, no matter what the other people in the room feel is relevant. Ignore the blank stares or anxious glances during your presentation. Glazed eyes and snores will never deter you from finishing the 56 slides you have in your deck.

Meetings SUCK! Be creative and respectful.

Top Objections and How I Respond

As I review the objections that I hear on a regular basis when trying to peddle my wares, I have come to the conclusion that there are only a few valid ones and the rest are just excuses for "this is just not worth my time." I will address that excuse as well.

"Our Budgets have been slashed and we have no money to spend on new items right now" - by far the most common these days. This is one can be particularly painful when I have done all that I can to outline the ROI benefits and explained the way in wich my product will make their life easier. One of the main reasons that I get this one is when i have failed ot tie my product or service to a key business need or driver. This excuse requires a discussion at a higher level and at times, may require a discussion with the Key Financial decision-maker. It will slow down my sales cycle, but not necessarily kill it. I must eleveate my discussion and root out a business driver that I can tie my product or service to. Find something that generates revenue for the company, retains paying customers or significantly reduces expenses, thus allowing them to lower costs to their customers. Tie your product clearly to that business driver and beat it into your higher-level discussions.

"I have other projects that are taking up my time...we can revisit this in the fall." - This one may be a valid excuse, but I always ask them to list out the projects that are taking priority so that I can determine if I have just done a poor job of outlining the importance of my project and tying it to a business driver. If the customer cannot easily list it out, then I know I have failed at explaining the value-proposition of what I sell. Time to try and rescue the sale by clearly listing out the value and tying it to the business driver. If I can, I have them list out the value-proposition and expalin it back to me. If they can do that and list out the hot-projects, then I make a note to get back with them in the fall.

"Silence....."- More and more often, I get nothing. That's right, no return phone call, no email...nothing. They fall off the face of the earth and refuse to return messages. This is becoming more and more common in the technology field. I know these folks are not known for their social skills or professional etiquette, but when they "go dark" I know there are problems to be addressed. I have found that there are only a couple of reasons I get this one.

1. Embarassment - I and the customer have worked hard to show value in my product and service and they have assured me they could get it approved. Only to find out, they could not "sell it" internally and got shot down. They are too embarrassed to talk to me. They did not want to waste my time and they have. Now they don't want to admit it.

I send them a postcard after I lose touch with someone for a couple of weeks. If I still get the Cold-Shoulder, then I continue to try and get them on the phone every 2-3 weeks until I catch them and make me give them one of the two reasons outlined above. At least now I can address it with them. If I need to go higher, then I volunteer to help them put together the internal proposal and even present it.

2. Just being a unprofessional "Richard" - Nothing I can do about the "Richards". I go higher up and find a new contact that has some professional courtesy. I try not to burn the bridges, but I have to admit, I have laid a few giant blocks of C4 at a few of them and walked away smiling. I always remember that when I do this I have probably locked myself out for years. At least until the "Richard" dies, retires or hopefully, gets fired.

Remember - TIE YOUR PRODUCT TO A KEY BUSINESS DRIVER

The Vendor-Client Relationship

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2a8TRSgzZY

Do you ever feel like this is how your vendor-client relationships go?