Have you met an irresponsible sales guy before?
I’m sure you have. So have I.
To me, a good sales guy is a person who never breaks his promise(s). This is very important and also something which a lot of sales folks overlook. Maybe that’s why some of us have this perception that sales people cannot be trusted?
Few years ago, a close friend of mine bought his first property – a condo – he bought it from a very friendly and helpful sales person….let’s call the sales person Albert. Albert told him about the buildup of the condo, what kind of facilities he’ll be provided with, the finishing of the condo and even the location of the 2 car park lots given to him. And within 1-2 weeks, my friend was convinced it was a good deal and proceeded to buy his first condo – RM 200k.
But when the condo was completed, things didn’t appear to be what Albert promised. The buildup was correct but the layout was a bit wrong. The finishing of the condo….nothing like what was shown in the showroom. More than half of the facilities were not built and the car park lots allocated were at the other end of the car park area (his was supposed to be next to the lift).
My friend got pretty furious and called up Albert. Albert didn’t change his mobile number. But he changed his job. He was no longer a sales person but a real estate agent. And he said he could not do much since he no longer works for the company.
And my friend was lost…disappointed.
What about the IT sales guy which promised the client to deliver a 6 month-long project in…3 months? I used to work for this company which was so desperate to win projects, that the company actually pressured the sales team to sell DESPERATELY. In the end, deadlines were not met…..and projects started to lose money……. but most importantly, the company lost the clients’ trust.
Sometimes, I do wonder…..should we really blame the irresponsible sales guys? Or the companies should be the ones to be blamed? In my opinion, I think both the sales guys and the companies should shoulder the blame.
Anyway, one thing for sure…..a sales guy who is able to win projects or deals will always be considered as a successful sales person – even though the project might have impossible time line or the deal is a deal which cost a lot more than the profit.
In the end…the sales guy still has a good portfolio…..a good commission…..and maybe a better paying job.
I don’t know how the sales guy could be at fault, unless he was the guy who also drew the floor plan and determine the types of facilities for the condo!
As a Marketing guy myself, I know how it works. Being the sales guy, you’re given the task to sell something, and most of the time you have no say on the product’s configuration. That’s all determined by the bosses. You take a leap of faith that your company’s producing something worthwhile, and try to maximise all of the product’s strengths when you sell it to people. Obviously, if the company’s selling a shoddy product, they won’t tell the ugly details to people, and not even to their own sales people. Imagine having 1,000 sales people out there with full knowledge of the product’s worst problems. It’s a PR disaster waiting to happen.
Bottom line, the sales guys are just doing what they’re paid to do – to sell the product the best they can. I’m sure if they’ve known that the product was that bad, most of them would not have gotten involved. If your friend wants to seek compensation, don’t waste time with the sales guy who was just doing his job. Go after the company itself. The problem was Quality Control, not customer service.
@ The Big Movie Freak
Good point you have there. Sales guys are just doing what they’re paid to do and the companies are supposed to be the one to blame.
But this is sort of like a cycle…or process. Sales people are not to be blamed. The sales mgr or director shld not be blamed to, since he is under pressure from other dept to do as he was told.
And the bad QC should not really be blamed too, since they might have impossible time line to do the QC.
And it goes on n on n on. But the issue here is ……. as a customer, i won’t see the QC people for sure. I won’t see the sales director nor the CEO for sure because all of them are shielded by 1 person – the sales guy who made the deal with me. He’s the sole person i know, and the only person that I would complain to.
They’re not to blame……..but that’s not how a normal customer would think.
I think a professional salesman knows better than to sell a bad product because even he wants to enjoy his evenings and weekends. Salaried salesmen are just soldiers working off the information they’re given. Who makes the decision to sell a dodgy product? The business owner. Now if a salesman is also the business owner, its a different thing altogether.
Having said that, I have encountered some salesmen who would promise a impossible timeline and when the project collapses, he blames the development team. In that instance I’d dock the salaries of both the salesman and the bosses who signed it off without doing a project risk assessment.
Just read your response to movie freak. The scenario you described appears not to have any proper sign-offs. A proper risk assessment process will eliminate most of the problems you mention.
@ Damien
At the end of the day, the salesman is just trying to earn a living by doing what he is hired to do – to market things with the information given. And when they’re given too much pressure…i think they tend to over-promise the client a little.
Proper sign-offs are very very important. But even that can be changed when things become desperate. And again, it’ll be complicated as to who should be the one to blame. Maybe as you said, all those who are involved in the “sign off” should be blamed.
Oh, tell me about it. I’ve been in the banking line long enough to know how the sales people work and they’re still the same sharks, sniffing out who’s “bleeding” so it’s easy prey for them to lie to.
@ seaqueen
if they hv a bad nose….then they cannot find food to eat already
Mmm, parts and parcels of being a salesman.