friendlyginge

Account Executive

Valued Contributor

This is a long one

Here is the timeline of events of this deal I've been working way too long -

Late 2020 - previous rep demos our POC (we will call him Joe) and Joe's boss, they like the tool but end up pushing off the project

May 2021 - Joe reaches back out and they are ready to seriously evaluate, I take over deal at this point as old rep is gone. My manager and I spend the first meeting educating Joe on why he needs the robust tool and not the cheap version (we are the Cadillac of our market). He agrees, says he will set up a group demo with decision makers. weeks go by and he can't get together a meeting because everyone is on vacation. he says, don't worry, once we decide it's easy for me to sign and buy, we aren't looking at anyone else.

June 2021 - He lets me know they now are evaluating two other tools. I push to get in front of his team but he says it won't be necessary. basically is gatekeeping.

July 2021 - I finally ask how we stack up against the competitors, he says we are right at the top, they are just finishing up evaluations and reference checks

August 2021'- he now says we are 50/50 with another vendor because they are working with someone that the team is friends with at another company. I send over our customer reviews, basically showing that we are the best in the space and don't take it from us. I've spent weeks trying to get an answer but they're always just "finalizing".

I really need this deal, but I can't get these guys to commit and it feels like we aren't the top choice. how would you respectfully tell Joe that it's been months and we want the answer?

👑 Sales Strategy

10

19 comments

Sort by:

Incognito

WR Officer

6

Master of Disaster

Question: are you able to physically get in front of Joe? Like, offer to take hIm to lunch?

Whenever I want to make a push, I get my ass there in person.

friendlyginge

Politicker

0

Account Executive

This is why I want to be in a field sales role, I’m in an inside remote role right now and I’m just not as good at connecting with people over zoom as I am in person

Incognito

WR Officer

2

Master of Disaster

Send him something?

CuriousFox

WR Officer

4

🦊

Try getting in front of the decision maker. Doesn't sound like Joe is the correct contact.

If Joe is the correct contact, don't be afraid to walk away. Value yourself and your company.

Incognito

WR Officer

2

Master of Disaster

Listen to @CuriousFox

She knows these things

friendlyginge

Politicker

1

Account Executive

Thanks Fox, agree and I’m thinking i will have to move on from this one.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

4

🦊

It sucks now I get it. You are valuable and important. Remember that. ❤🦊

Diablo

Politicker

1

Sr. AE

I feel business is all about being transparent and that transparency comes with the relationship you have built with Joe over this time. Knowing someone in the competition is good and its adds to the buying decision but if they are considering them, understand the factors apart from functionality --> is that the price, payment terms, annual or month-on-month service. I had the same situation before and I ended up signing up that customer for a 2 year contract with additional discount. Irrelevant example but you'll need to find a way to decipher more.

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

1

Bravado's Resident Asshole

I just came here to say "that's what she said" Then I read the actual part of the post and I want to say it sounds like Joe is just tugging you along. need to figure out the root cause of why they won't budge or move faster.

friendlyginge

Politicker

1

Account Executive

Is there a polite but firm way to ask? Like dude, we’ve been playing this game for almost a year now, what’s going on lol

SADNES5

Politicker

4

down voters are marketing spies

Hi Joe,

I understand you're in the home stretch on a decision. Choosing between us and X. What are the key drivers I can summarize for you and your team so you can do a true apples to apples comparison. Let me cut out the marketing fluff and get down to brass tacks about why we can provide the best value.

Let me know today,

Sadnes5

DataSlangah

Politicker

1

SAE

I would echo what @SADNES5 said and even look back at the pain points they expressed and match how your solution stands up to those.

UserNotFound

Politicker

1

Account Executive

Am I understanding that this is a committee decision, but the only person on the committee that has seen your product is Joe?

friendlyginge

Politicker

0

Account Executive

Right this was my main concern, but he’s assured me they’ve seen the demo with the old rep. This was last year and obviously we’ve made some changes so I tried pushing a refresher. So yeah, to me the buying signs aren’t there

alecabral

Arsonist

1

Director - Digital Sales Transformation

Sounds a lot like this guy either doesn't have the kind of power a champion should wield to actually be considered a champion, or he has a strong agenda of his own that doesn't necessarily depend on you selling your solution.

A couple of questions if you don't mind:

1. Have you mapped out the DMU? Other than Joe and his boss, is there someone else you could be talking to?
2. What about just calling out Joe? I mean you could literally just phone the guy and asked him "hey, what's going on"?
3. Back to the DMU, have you tried multi-threading? Maybe your manager can reach out to Joe's boss or even someone at a higher position?

Keep the cool dude, you'll get the deal, just need to get back to the top.

friendlyginge

Politicker

0

Account Executive

Appreciate your thoughts! No, my mistake from the beginning was trusting that this dude was the only one we needed to talk to. He strongly gave that impression, and still says that he will be the one to sign off (even though he’s a manager level.) I think he’s blowing smoke, and the wider team probably already have their decision while we’ve been out of the room. Thinking I’ll need to just call him out. Tried calling him Monday and he sent me to voicemail so next time I catch him I’m just going to have to lay it out there

Blackwargreymon

Politicker

1

MDR

Question: are you able to physically get in front of Joe? Like, offer to take hIm to lunch?

Error32

Politicker

0

ISR

Base your operational budget (including house payment, taxes, insurance, utilities, etc...) on your base salary rather than your OTE to the extent possible for your situation.

Clashingsoulsspell

Politicker

0

ISR

Yes, provided you gave accurate pay stubs and they call the workplace and HR verifies you work there you are good.

Bravado is a community of trusted sales professionals endorsed by their customers.

Products

The War Room Jobs Salary Guide Tech Sales U

Company

About Us How It Works Blog Bug Bounty

Contact

© 2024 Bravado Inc. All rights reserved.

Privacy Policy Legal and Privacy Center Sales Jobs

If you are hired as a contract sales rep by a Bravado customer, we may ask you to prove access to the employee email account provided to you by that customer. This data will be shared with customers to track your sales productivity; customers can use this data to confirm you meet the minimum activity requirements to pay out your ramp stipend and commission.