Be fearless. You're NEVER "bothering" someone. You're asking them to do their job.

Warning: B2B post. Also not tech. Or is it?

This might not apply to all of you killers, but I wanted to wax poetic with a few of you. I hear *all of the time* from salespeople that they don't want to "bother" buyers. If you think you're "bothering" a Buyer, Purchasing Manager, Supply Chain Manager, Category Manager, Sourcing VP, etc, you need to switch companies/products, or continue reading. You don't believe in your product or capabilities.

It's literally their job to analyze your offering, and other potential vendors. Any asshole in Purchasing that doesn't return phone calls, open emails, take meetings, etc is simply not doing their job. My goal is to either NO or PO. Both are great. The former is more time on the next lazy asshole and the latter is rubber bands. Their job is to evaluate their current supply chain, and evaluate potential upgrades or areas where there are deficiencies. We all have lazy supply chain people that are the bane of our existence, but pull your fucking pants up and tell them that you will make their life better.

You will make their life BETTER. You're helping them accomplish their GOALS. Define their goals. Understand them. If you don't, ask them. Be frank. They don't care about what you sell. They care about their metrics. Repeat that shit before you pick up the phone. Nothing dries up panties more than a meek youngblood starting the conversation with "sorry to bother you".

Nut up and say: I am DustFrog and I'm going to either make your life easier today if you give me a solid evaluation, or I'll fade away and support your competition.

The second lesson I'm going to teach you today is that there's a difference between confidence and arrogance. Remember, you're helping them. You're not doing them a favor. A buyers biggest ally on the other side of the fence is YOU. Talk to them with your chest out, but don't talk down. These people feed you and your family, but they also need you to buy bread too. It's a symbiotic relationship.

The third and last lesson (for today) is that I want all of you who have made it this far is to know you are already living the worst case scenario. What's the worst that can happen if that dude doesn't buy from you? The current state you are in. They don't buy anything from you right now. That's literally the worst thing. So, try everything. Anyone can leave a voicemail or send an email. Write a letter. Send some pizza to them at lunch. Buy a singing telegram for fucks sake. Nothing is off limits aside from showing up at their house (although I do have funny story about that). There IS a line between persistence and harassment, but approach them like you're saving their job, because you might be. Remember, your product/service is better than those other guys, and their job is to optimize their vendors.

Have "you're welcome" at the tip of your tongue, but keep that shit behind your teeth.

I'm hungover. I'm not a guru, just a man in the trenches, with you.

Thank you for attending my TED talk.