Intimidation tactics. Buyers sometimes use them, so seller beware.
Once I was making an extremely delicate call with a sales rep who had sold a large customer several packaging machines that were failing to live up to the customer’s expectations.
Even though the customer was largely responsible for the problems, they were becoming exceedingly frustrated because things were not getting resolved. SIDEBAR LESSON – Problems don’t get better with age.
The sales rep and I had rehearsed carefully and were confident we could take control of the meeting. How wrong we were.
Just as we were getting comfortable in the buyer’s small, windowless office, the high-powered plant manager unexpectedly walked into the room. We did not know him very well, but it was plain to see he was several stages beyond mad. The first words out of his mouth were these.
“I’ve had it up to here with you *$*&@# people. You sold us machines that didn’t work, you’re not taking care of it, and we’re not going to deal with it or you any more. You can talk it over because we frankly have more important things to do right now, but we expect these machines out of here before the end of the week.”
With that he and the buyer marched out of the office, slamming the door behind them, leaving us there to ponder. We were stunned. Neither of us had seen anything like this. We just sat there staring at each other for a minute, saying, “What just happened?”
We suspected it was an orchestrated negotiating ploy rather than a fit of temper, but we couldn’t be sure. The explosion itself was stressful enough, but not knowing what would happen next added even more pressure. When were they coming back? What did they expect us to say? What would they do if we didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear?
All this tension might have been pleasant enough for a skydiver or a bomb defuser, but it’s not the kind of thing you sign on for when you’re selling packaging equipment.
Finally, after making us sweat for fifteen or twenty minutes, they came back into the room. This time the plant manager was subdued, but we weren’t sure whether to expect another eruption. In any case, we decided to stick to our guns. We’d do everything we could to get the machines working, but a return was out of the question. They weren’t happy, but the meeting proceeded on a more relaxed, professional basis and eventually, about a month later, the machines were working properly.
Buyers Test Sellers
Upon further reflection we became convinced this customer orchestrated our experience very carefully, in order to see how committed we were to our position. Although the customers didn’t go about it in the right way, they were trying to resolve a problem as quickly, directly, and advantageously as possible. Doing the unexpected, stripping away the facade of professionalism, and getting emotional threw us off balance and might have led us to abandon our position. They probably came away from the meeting believing we believed we were treating them fairly. Sometimes achieving a meeting of the minds isn’t pretty.
So what do you think – fair or unfair?
Yikes, Brad! This sort of thing really happens out there in the real world? It’s amazing the different ways people come up with to deal with issues – quite the continuum, from calm to volcanic. This is why I never imagined myself in sales!
To be honest, Brad, this sounds like my worst nightmare! I’m not one for confrontation, and I don’t think I deal with it very well. I’m impressed that you guys managed to keep your cool and maintain your professionalism, even when the plant manager had clearly abandoned his. I don’t respond well to manipulation, which this clearly was on the company’s part, and so I personally believe it to be unfair. I’m more than willing to listen to a different take on it, though!
Unfair, that’s the kind of thing that got me out of sales. Granted, it didn’t happen often, but I’m better in other areas.
Hi Robert, Amy, Please let me reassure you, I thought to write up this story because it is so unusual, not the norm (for me, anyway). We were trained to treat others professionally no matter what — training that sure came in handy here.
Like Amy, I am completely not one for confrontation. That’s why, like Robert, I could never imagine myself in sales.
Like Chuck, I could imagine the unfair treatment would cause many to leave the sales and marketing profession.
Bullying tactics like the above are unfair, but they are an unfortunate reality.
Your example does, however, raise an interesting question as to whether bullying behavior is effective (not to mention the ethics involved) in negotiations.
I can understand why some may see bullying behavior as an effective means to negotiate advantageous terms. Such behavior may certainly cause more timid counter-parties to back down in fear.
However, in the above circumstance, you guys did not give in to that rubbish. Moreover, their behavior ensured that you guys could not give any ground at all without a very severe loss of face.
In any negotiation, I would have thought that if you want your counter-party to give any ground at all, you have to provide a face-saving way for them to do it.
In the case of your buyer, because they did not provide you with a face saving way out, they virtually elinated any chance they may have otherwise had for you to give any ground at all.
Good on you guys for sticking to your guns!
Cheers
Andrew
Hi Andrew, In industrial sales, there’s sometimes a fine line between bluffing and bullying. Taking a hard line stance in a negotiation is an OK tactic, but when professionalism goes out the window, you lose even if you win in the short term. After a while, reputable companies simply won’t deal with you.