I was talking with my dad over the weekend. He has worked in pharmaceuticals his whole career and did a stint in sales leadership. He told me a great story about a sales rep I think you all will like.
So, this was in the mid 90s I believe. A customer called a meeting due their concern over being overcharged. They had market information and data to back up their claim and wanted to renegotiate. This was a large customer so there was some concern, and they didn't want to lose them, but the sales rep didn't think much of it. During the meeting my dad had to step out to put out another fire. When he came back apparently not only did the sales guy negotiate and get a new deal in place, but he also got it for a HIGHER price than he did before. At the end of the sales rep told the customer "now thank me for selling you the product" and they DID!
Apparently, this rep had created this idea in customers heads that who he sold to was very exclusive and only the best customers got the product (which wasn't true, he sold to everyone I guess). According to my dad the product was good, but certainly not the only one on the market.
I just love the arrogance of the rep, but he created the idea of value, high demand, and exclusivity, and got a lot of sales out of it. I don't think you could pull a stunt like this today.
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