I need to make a long story short. A few years ago there was a slug of a copier salesperson/owner running around New Jersey selling equipment, doctoring leases, not returning equipment, not paying buy-outs on the equipment, and who knows what else may have transpired. Eventually you get caught, that person did get caught and was indicted for several offenses. I believe one of the counts was wire fraud.
Me, I was lucky enough to get an appointment with one of the clients that had been taken to the cleaners by the slug of a salesperson. Well, at least I thought I was lucky.
After my presentation, the client asked what is Stratix/Ricoh going to do for this non-profit? My response was, what would you like us to do? Logical, right? Wrong!
First, they wanted a service contract, no minimums, no increases, and then no overages. The client then stated, “Well some months you’ll win and some months I’ll win. I thought, “This is going to go over well with my manager.” However, I continued to say nothing and to listen. The last demand was that they wanted free service on 15 different A4 devices. If the system required a part we could then bill them for the repair. I asked, “What happens when one of those devices can’t be repaired?” The client stated that they would take our recommendations for replacement. I then asked about supplies for those A4 devices and was told that we would need to match their current supplier.
Right, and one more item, they needed a replacement copier for another location and thought that machine should be placed for free (it could be new or used).
Thus, for a deal that would have generated two 55-ppm color devices, I had to figure out how I could accommodate this customer. I did figure out a way, and it was to simply say no to their demands and give them a proposal based on our terms and not their terms.
At the final meeting, I presented our equipment, along with our T’s & C’s. I could sense the uneasy nature of the client. The final chapter was to present, my A4 solution for them. At the end of the meeting I was told there were multiple proposals and we’ll have this sorted out in a week.
After the meeting, I sat in the car and reflected about the entire process. I then sent the client an e-mail that we are removing our proposal from consideration and hope that everything works well for them.
In the back of my mind, I believe that all of these “wants” were to flush out additional vendors. I’m thinking they already had a new vendor in mind and did not have the guts tell me. Instead, they opted to put something on the table that they knew no other vendor would provide a quote on.
You know what, walking away actually made me feel better.
Good selling!
