The Ashimmy Blog

Dirty Vendor tricks done dirt cheap

Great article by Dan Tynan in InfoWorld about the 6 dirty tricks that vendors pull in selling IT to customers.  While I agree with most of these and will comment on them in minute, let me also say that as PT Barnum said, there is sucker born every minute.  Rather than blaming the sales guy or the vendor, buyers need to smarten up and fly straight.  Fool them once shame on you, fool them twice shame on them. Anyway here are the top 6 dirty deeds done dirt cheap according to Tynan:

• Dirty vendor trick No. 1: The magic demo – We have all seen or heard this one before.  The demo that makes the product look like it was made for you. Usually this is because it was made for you.  Frankly I like to see a demo on a live system and let me click around if I want to.  Personally I very rarely let a sales guy get beyond the first slide before I take the presentation where I want it to go. But if you are going to sit there like a lamb being led to slaughter, well you get what you deserve. Question, question, question!
• Dirty vendor trick No. 2: Underbid, then overcharge – Oh I hate this one! If the price is too good to be true, it usually is. There is nothing free in life. It amazes me how many people think they are going to get something for so much less than makes sense and then are surprised when the vendor sticks it to them. One of the things we do at StillSecure is a full SOW on any services and full schedule of maintenance and upgrades that are included.  Frankly as a vendor I hate surprises too. 
• Dirty vendor trick No. 3: The customer headlock – I call this one the “Cisco Maneuver”.  You know the story come in with your own people on site, own the network, make them totally dependant on your people to run the network. Oh while you are at it, turn on as many proprietary technologies as possible.  Make it damn near impossible besides cost prohibitive to even think about switching vendors.  Yeah, also give away one part like the NAC stuff for free to sell more switches and ACS radius servers.  You have never seen a vendor do that before have you?
• Dirty vendor trick No. 4: The billing "mistake" – You have seen this one. I go over all my bills with a magnifying glass.  It amazes me how many big companies make mistake, after mistake. But that is only half the story. How about the practice of reserving the right to boost yearly maintenance by more than the agreed %. Look at the fine print of your renewals. You will see the vendor usually has the right to a 5 to 10% variance over the agreed to maintenance %. I think it is just slimy and hate it.  But again you should be responsible enough to go through your own bills.
• Dirty vendor trick No. 5: The forced upgrade march – Another one that gets me going.  Why is it within three months of buying the product the new version is out. Worse yet is when the vendor says they will only support the new version, so you can use the old version at your own risk and good luck to you.  At StillSecure all upgrades and updates are included while you are under maintenance.  But certain network hardware vendors love to pull this one.
• Dirty vendor trick No. 6: The clueless customer – More accurate is the divided customer  Sales folks and vendors are very good at figuring out who to play against who and who signs the checks.  Playing factions off against each other is a way to slip a quick one in.

With all of these though, the you can fool some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time rule applies. Sooner or later people wise up.  But until they do, these dirty tricks will get you if you are not vigilant. So in honor of dirty tricks done dirt cheap, I give you some AC/DC:

Salesmen are from Mars, Security Geeks are from Venus

So Andy ITGuy picks up the gauntlet and fires back. We have Sam Van Ryder and some other sales folks in the peanut gallery with comments and on and on we go with the sales guys are idiots, security geeks don't know how to get anything approved, so we have to go over their head game.  Fundamentally, the problem is that for the most part neither side realizes or cares enough about what each is trying to accomplish and the pressures involved. 

We could go round and round on this topic forever and vent till the cows come home and it wouldn't change a thing. The basic problem that I see is that the security geek is dealing with trying to secure a network with not enough money, not enough time and not enough people.  He has to fight the battle up hill to justify what he needs. At the same time he is swamped with sales people trying to sell him products that he doesn't think he needs.  When he does find something he needs, he has to do it on the schedule and rhythm that his company is running under.  That may not be for the end of a quarter or the timetable that makes a salesperson happy.

The salesperson on the other hand is dealing with his own reality.  It is make numbers or die.  Those numbers are usually measured in quarters by the way.  Yes, if you had people falling over themselves to buy your product, you would not waste time with someone who says they are not ready yet. I don't know many salespeople who have that luxury though? They deal with people who view them as an enemy, don't know how to sell themselves and their agendas to their superiors and don't have a lot of respect for them.

So what is the answer.  Are salespeople and security geeks destined to perpetually butt heads?  What does it take to make them mutually successful?  Good questions.  I think a healthy dose of respect for what each party had to deal with is a good start.  Try putting yourself in the others shoes to better understand what is involved.  Comm0n courtesy and respect would be a good place to start. 

Alas, there is a lot of bad water under this bridge and I think it takes some serious work on both sides to get by it all. However, the most successful folks I have seen on both sides of this are the ones who are able to bridge the gap and do what is best for all concerned.

When the salesperson goes over your head, what hurts besides your ego?

So I read with a smile today AndyIT Guy's two posts (here and here) on a particular salesperson pissing him off because he went "over Andy's head" to his CIO. The first post was short and to the point.  Andy told the guy he was not ready to buy until after the first of the year and he should talk to ANDY then.  Well the nerve of this sales person! He went over Andy's head to the CIO and tried to get the deal done now.  Andy had a bit of a hissy fit and blogged that if the salesperson was reading this, they could forget about ever selling anything to Andy.  Basically they were all washed up in this town.

At this point I was going to write and take Andy to task about the juvenile attitude displayed there. After all what harm did it do to Andy to have the salesperson call the CIO.  I really think it is more about Andy's ego than any real threat.  But I like Andy and since he has a quote from a StillSecure T-shirt on his front page (I like you, I just don't trust you), I was going to let it go.

Then based on a comment from Sam Van Ryder, Andy went on a further tirade about this salesperson and what they did. OK, now I have to step in.  Sam is right, how many times has a salesperson heard, call me after the holidays or next quarter or whatever, without any intent of the person to actually talk to the sales person.  But also who dropped dead and made Andy the single point of contact?  Is Andy not only making the technical decisions but the business and financial ones as well?  Is Andy the person signing the checks?

Here is what I have preached to sales people for years.  It is imperative that they multi-thread into an account. Knowing the Andy's of the world is not enough to get the deal done. A good sales person should have relationships with people up and down the organization, including the ability to pick up the phone and speak to the CIO (especially if it is not some Fortune 100 type company).  Does Andy really relish his role as the gatekeeper?  Is it an ego thing?  OK, in this case it appears the salesperson puffed what she told the CIO, but assume she hadn't, does Andy say no one can call the CIO without his permission?  Come on big fella give us a break.  Will you be collecting tolls to get through next?

Folks lets be real here for a moment. It is tough economic times.  Sales people live in a quarter by quarter world.  If this sales person doesn't get this deal done this quarter, they may not be there next quarter to sell it to you.  What harm really is done by calling the CIO?  Does the CIO come to Andy and say "Andy, you let one through and wasted my time"?  This salesperson was doing her job.  She was not getting anywhere with Andy to her satisfaction and was multi-threading into the account.  She could have been more up front with Andy about it, but my feeling is that anytime a security admin or manager "forbids" you from talking to other people in the organization they are overstepping their bounds and sending a message that this is not yet at the level of a real opportunity. 

If the case is that you are not interested in what a salesperson is hawking, just tell them.  I do it all the time.  Just as they are taught to multi-thread, they are taught to get to no as fast as possible, if no is the answer.  In the meantime don't crucify them for doing that which they are supposed to do.  Also, don't be so personally invested in your gatekeeper role and think that by going over your head it is now personal.

The top sales mistake: lying

Image via Wikipedia

Was reading an article in connectIT news today.  Colleen Francis recounts the top three fatal mistakes that sales people make.  Actually it was the same mistake made in three different situations.  In all three situations the sales person lied about their relationship with the alleged buyer.  Why a salesperson would do that is kind of ridiculous to me.  Do they not think they are going to get found out? 

My pet peeve is when I get calls that are clearly sales calls and I ask the guy point blank what is it he is selling.  I hate the guys who say they aren't selling anything.  They will tell me how they are working with so and so, dropping names.  Than that they have a great thing going on that they think would really help me.  Hey dude, cut to the chase.  What are you trying to sell me and what does it cost. If I say I am not interested, don't try to keep me on the phone with your objection handling script. 

So lying is definitely the top mistake, but wearing out your welcome is a close second!