Am I in the wrong?

Got absolutely bitched out by a prospect today and am curious if they have any semblance of a point.


We spoke in October regarding a $7-$10k deal. Very average for my team. Got along swimmingly, its Friday, she tells me she is the DM and is moving forward but needs the weekend to decide what package.


Over the past 3 weeks she has ghosted me and I have no idea what happened. Okay, that happens no biggie. I call today and she picks up and I ask what happened and if anything has changed. "Oh no Former Startup Job Hopper I'm sorry I've just been slammed".


I ask what she needs from us to make a decision. She said she needs a few days to "look over the proposal". Keep in mind I kept it short and sweet with this lady and sent a brochure and 3 different pricing bands based on volumes. That's it.


My style is very assertive but I don't feel I'm impolite. Here is where shit goes down. I pause for a moment and say "respectfully madam customer, is there a reason it should be more complex to than you sitting down for 15 minutes to review the quote and deciding what package? Why does it have to take a week?" This is where she freaks out. Tells me how incredibly rude that was, that she did sales for years and would never ask that, that i need to work on my emotional intelligence, etc.


I backtrack a bit but not much and say something to the extent of "we'll agree to disagree" and she freaks out further. I backtrack a bit further and say "look, maybe that came out different than I meant it. Part of my job is to ask the tough questions but I'm sorry for upsetting you". Ultimately I say "look this call isn't going well so I'm going to stop digging a further hole but if I'm hearing you right you're still interested?" She says yes and we hang up.


I strongly believe I did very little wrong other than maybe misreading a fellow assertive sales person who had a day. Am I wrong?


EDIT


I appreciate the feedback guys and agree now that I think about it that I mishandled this one. I'm not convinced I'm wrong that she is bullshitting me, but there's an extent to which that doesn't matter and I have to play the game.


Looking back, "agree to disagree" on her getting upset was asking for it.


There's a part of me that wants to still defend what I said in that she should have thicker skin than to have such a hot reaction to that question. I truly believe that I would not balk at a sales rep asking me that in a buying situation. But I'm a blunt person. I can't always be so blunt and expect it to work with different personalities. I guess I am saying I still feel she overreacted, but I should have known better. The goal isn't to catch them in a lie its to close the deal.


I guess where I struggle is this. We get shitloads of tire-kickers and unqualified people. Are you all saying you can't push back on timeline? I understand she doesn't care about my timeline, but a key component of my job is keeping deals short and not living in the land of maybe.





👑 Sales Strategy
19
Pachacuti
Politicker
10
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Yah man, that crossed a line. It would have turned me off. You don’t know know what’s going on in the prospect’s life - personally or professionally.

Your job isn’t to ask tough questions. And you misread the conversation. I get that at the price point you sell it, it’s mostly transactional selling, but IMO you completely misread it.

I recommend you send an apology email and a $10 Starbucks card to mend the fence. Immediately.
SaasSlingin
Politicker
6
Sr AE
Im with this advice. While it might not be exactly what you said, starting with “respectfully…” is more than likely going to be at least somewhat offensive. Maybe switch to “So that I can be respectful of your time/process/eval…”
snacks
Opinionated
1
AE
@SaasSlingin loooove the "So that I can be respectful of your..."

Always comes in handy when a non-DM with zero power wants a 60-min demo and 3 proposal options yet can't articulate any pain and "just wants to see what's out there" 😅
SaasSlingin
Politicker
0
Sr AE
Haha exactlyyy
oldcloser
Arsonist
8
💀
Old school from an old schooler? You should have hammered her harder. But here's the thing... the tactical closing doesn't fly any more. If I were on the receiving end of that, I would have fallen over laughing. LIke... did you just try to jam me in a corner and slam my head into my desk? It totally would have worked on me.
Today's breed? You're fortunate she's still talking to you. Just doesn't fly any more. You have to make buying from you as easy as twitter from the shitter.
Good save though. Great story.
jefe
Arsonist
3
🍁
It's a different game now.
I think we all understand how @FormerStartupJobHopper was feeling, but that doesn't matter.
I don't have much to add beyond what's already been posted, but I respect your update and the self awareness behind it. A lot of us can't take criticism to heart and pivot accordingly.
oldcloser
Arsonist
1
💀
Absolutely this ☝️
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
7
Sales Rep
The tone of how you say direct questions is the biggest thing. But the clear thing is, you shouldnt have said "agree to disagree" when they are upset.

Thats when you needed to back track and say something about how you feel like you might be ghosted, use how they were a old sales rep so they understand how much pressure you are under
ChumpChange
Politicker
7
Channel Manager
I can definitely see how this comes off as adversarial. You're basically telling them "Cut the shit... why can't you just devote the time to give me a straight answer 'cause I'm tired of waiting for you." This is where emotional intelligence skills kick in and you have to navigate it delicately. Be a partner and not a pusher.
FormerStartupJobHopper
Tycoon
1
AE
That's probably my issue is tbh that is truly how I feel with many of my prospects. "cut the shit -why can't you just devote the time to give me a straight answer 'cause I'm tired of waiting for you." is almost a perfect encapsulation of it lol. Maybe I need a vacation
ChumpChange
Politicker
0
Channel Manager
Btw... emotional intelligence comes from experience. I also learned the hard way cause I was so hyper-focused on the outcome instead of the customer which is inherently flawed.

In reality, none of us know what's happening in people's lives... business or personal. Did one of their direct reports quit and now their workload tripled? Did their leadership team make fundamental changes that have thrown everything in flux? Are they going through a divorce, separation, or medical issues?

It's okay to be direct... hell it's even preferred to be honest. But don't jeopardize the buying experience because of frustration.
GDO
Politicker
0
BDM
Yeah good reflex bad execution on the EQ part
CuriousFox
WR Officer
4
🦊
Oof I woulda been red hot dude
HVACexpert
Politicker
3
sales engineer
Remember, customers don’t care about deadlines, pipelines, quota, KPIs, etc. customers have other items to take care of as well. so I’m sure this sale is important and you obviously want to follow up but you can’t be combative or pushy, you are frankly lucky she is still interested at all.

Be patience and empathetic and the sale will come.
2
Retired Sales Professional
There could have been many things on the other end of that call that could be the reason she came out like that, but I must say there are many different ways to ask the questions you asked without pissing her off.

In my opinion you left yourself wide-open for this one because, when said she needed the weekend to think about it you didn't ask for a date on when you should call back to follow up in case she took to long.

For example: Mrs XYZ if I don't hear from you by Monday or Tuesday would it be OK for me to follow up with you on Wednesday or Thursday? Giving her the option, which makes it seem like she is in control. Buyers love the thought of them being in full control when in actuality you are and she is expecting your call on the date that was decided.

I have to acknowledge that you were able to get yourself out of that call with her still interested. Nice job.👍👍
Sunbunny31
Politicker
2
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
I completely agree with this post and this approach, and was going to recommend something very similar. She's explained she's busy, she's interested, but she needs a moment. This provides an acknowledgement of her current status and gives you a reasonable time to connect again.
At this point, an email apology for the conversation is in order, and I like the idea of a Sbx gift card as well.
1
Retired Sales Professional
Nice!!👍👍
Revenue_Rambo
Politicker
2
Director, Revenue Enablement
Definitely crossed the line and basically questioned her intelligence. You’re lucky all she did was freak out.
snacks
Opinionated
1
AE
Calling someone out for being a tire kicker is not inherently a sin. But it's not what you say it's how you say it.

If you word for word said, "is there a reason it should be more complex to than you sitting down for 15 minutes .... Why does it have to take a week?" I would have told you to fuck off honestly lol.

The line I use is "hey sometimes people feel bad letting me down when something's been deprioritized, but I totally understand life happens and things get busy so I'm just wondering which one is the case here? No hard feelings either way!"

Sometimes people fess up like, "yeahhh actually maybe this will be better to revisit next quarter" or "no no, not at all it's just really been that busy"

60% of the time, it works every time
wolfofmiami
Opinionated
0
🐺
I mean you got rejected, it happens, but you just gotta change your approach. I mean if you go up to a girl at a bar and are having a great convo and there’s some chemistry then ask if she wants to go home with you and she says no, like you’re not just gonna bitch her out. You might ask her out for drinks instead, takes a little longer, but in the end you still bang her.
Phillip_J_Fry
Opinionated
0
Director of Revenue
Yeah, this might have been a bit over the line.

She told you she's slammed and need a couple days, and you basically told her "I don't believe you".

I get where you're coming from, as you're probably right. She could probably knock it out in the next 15 minutes.

An alternative approach would be an incentive instead of pushing back. I often told folks we had a marketing promo running this week/month (whatever timeline I was aiming for) and any deals that closed would get a YETI mug/gift card/etc. I'd throw in a "I know youre super busy, but if you're able to find 15 minutes this week to knock this out, I'll be sure to snag you a mug and see if I can talk marketing into any other goodies.
When the deal came in, I'd make sure to send what ever gift I promised and grab things like a company logo shirt, socks, stickers etc.

You'd be amazed at how many people will bump up the priority of their order for $15 worth of knick-knacks.
tulip22
Good Citizen
0
AE
has it occurred to you that whatever service you sell, someone else sells it and you just made that company a more attractive option to this customer?
007SlsRep
Personal Narrative
0
Sales Director
never agree to disagree. bad! maybe revisit the pain she spoke of 3 weeks prior, bring the value you and your solution or product has, and push ever so gently with a time value proposal "so, 3 weeks ago you said this, is that still true? over the next month the cost/pain/timeloss/risk/etc might be multiplied" ask if you missed anything, and besides time to think it over, does she need anything, and let her know that your time is also valuable, and that if she feels that what you have does not solve her problems, that you can part as friends, "this is business, and I won't take it personally" let her have an out. I totally agree with the mea culpa and buying her a doordash lunch or coffee too
KingofGIF
Politicker
0
AE
I had a similar exchange but over email many winters ago.I cracked a joke along the lines of, hurry to close this inventory since it goes to stripclubs every night and is on high demand by the ladies. It was a different industry that kinda sells people. Anyway, this California guy that later I found was hard on the left side of the spectrum was disrespected by the ladies reference that came across misogynistic. He had ignored my emails for 3 weeks and found something to be mad about that gaslighted and killed the deal. Looking back it probably was not my best email, although people say write as you speak, but I know from the bottom of my heart that this guy was not gonna buy anyway. I apologized and nothing happened, not even the sale haha. In your case I do feel it came across rude so probably a sendoso and apology will work, but if you know she is just clinging on this to excuse not buying, you know.
J.J.McLure
Politicker
0
Owner at *redacted*
Personally if I had been on the other end of that call it would have made me laugh and then either tell you I'm not interested or it's a yes right there. But I've learned not everyone is like me and I shouldn't try selling like they are. I don't have time for tire kickers either though, so if they're not moving through the funnel after a reasonable amount of time, I'll send them a break up email and then reach out again in 6 months to see if they're interested in giving it another go.
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