I had an encounter this week with a Software salesman which reminded me of a topic in Sales that bothers me. Just give me the straight goods! Tell me how much it will cost and what is required of me as your customer. I’m a big boy. I can handle it.
The software salesman gave me all the features and benefits of his admittedly good product. He offered to build me a demo for $250 which, if I chose to purchase the entire product, would be deducted from my invoice. “Great, sign me up,” I said.
I’ve been in business for 20 years so I know how things work, so I offered my MasterCard as a deposit on the demo work. “Oh no, we don’t need your credit card, here at company XYZ if we’re going to work with a customer, we like to proceed on trust.” Odd I thought, but whatever. Ok proceed!
The next day I received an email from the Salesman with a .pdf attachment. The email read: “Please find our customer setup form which must be filled out in full and provide us with your credit card information. We cannot proceed with your demo setup without this form filled out.” Aha! Just as I expected.
Here at PBJ Merch Co., we endeavour to always give customers the straight goods. If you need to give us a deposit prior to work commencing, we tell you ahead of time and why. C’mon, we’re all adults here trying to make a living. I understand what’s required to run a good and solid business – one that will be here for the next twenty years. I’m not afraid to ask my clients to help me do that.