Sometimes it Feels like This is Necessary
This post is kind of a post that I think will be cathardic. I am sometimes frustrated when a customer calls me and wants information on copiers, sometimes taking up to 45 minutes of my time with questions and then when you call back they say, “I am not interested, bye.” OK, I understand I can’t win every deal, but this is just frustrating. They had no problem taking up 45 minutes of my time to ask questions, but once they decided to work with someone else, they can just blow off the reps they used to get information. So why would they do this, I had to ask… Why would they make it hard on their Tarrant County copier sales rep?
My only answer is either they are rude and selfish OR they have had bad experiences with copier reps in Tarrant County before. If it was the latter, it makes sense as they had circumstances where they probably had to debate why they went a certain direction. But couldn’t they offer something different, like this:
CR – Copier Rep // C – Customer
CR – Just wanted to follow up on the copier in Tarrant County I quoted to you last week.
C- We decided to go with someone else. If you had a few questions, I can answer them, but we have already made a decision so if you ask questions, please understand we have already made a decision and I am offering because you did try to help in our decision.
CR – Who did you decide to go with?
C – ABCDEFG Copier in Tarrant County.
CR – Were we close in price?
C – Obviously not close enough, I do appreciate your work though in getting me a quote and we’ll keep you in mind for the next copier we buy in Tarrant County.
CR – Well, I talked to my manger and we can come down $600 in costs on what I suggested.
C – It’s too bad you bring that up after you lost the deal, next time I would suggest you give us your best pricing up front. Any other questions?
CR – No. Thanks for the opportuntity.
C – Thanks for the work.
a conversation like this would let the copier rep know what he wants to know without taking 45 minutes. It is a simple courtesy after having asked for 45 minutes of the reps time. Food for thought.