Company X and the Sales Call
I’ve been involved in countless numbers of pitches and presentations over the years. Being involved in operations management and interactive consulting, we get a lot of “Company X’s” who give us a call wondering if their application, software product, hosting service, etc. is right for us. Some of the calls are very informative and insightful while others are just downright awful. In my opinion, here are some of the “gems” to avoid when pitching your product or service:
Company X: “My expertise is in (insert product or service here) but I can also provide (insert ANY product or service here).”
Translation: “Although I do something really well, I don’t have strength of conviction and will take any work that comes to my door regardless of the end result.”
Company X: “We have no competitors.”
Translation: “I don’t do any research and don’t understand my market, audience, etc.”
You should just assume that someone, somewhere, is doing exactly what you are doing (and that they are probably doing it better than you). Just because you might not know of another company that does what you do, don’t assume you are the only company on the planet. Do some research for your own benefit but also assume that the client does their homework.
Company X: “We have so many clients and are so busy that my team is having a hard time keeping up.”
Translation: “If you need support from me and/or my team, good luck.”
Let the work and portfolio of clients speak for itself. It’s better to have selected, quality clients and show that you can deliver than to claim you have every client under the sun and may or may not be available when I need you.
Company X: “Our clients are (insert major brand here)”
Translation: “True or false?”
If that’s true, show me some samples. If your portfolio doesn’t back it up, don’t name drop. You look like an ass.
Company X: “I’m a local company and provide hands on service but I live in Country X”
Translation: “I’m virtual” – Note: this can be a good thing but it really depends on the product or service being sold.
Company X: “We use Web 2.0 which includes thousands of integrated web servers with virtualized back up racks and incorporate Pearl scripting languages through the deployment of longtail methodologies and SWOT analysis”
Translation:” I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about but I use big buzz words and technology speak that you don’t understand to make me sound smart and I’m banking on that because you don’t know how the technology works.”
