Good Afternoon EDI-L list members:
I have seen the remarks concerning sales reps and I would like to point out
that the knife cuts both ways here.
I am no longer in Sales but I was trained by one of the big three computer
companies to sell their products back in the very early 90's. I had a
programming background, programming experience and industry experience and
hands on experience in the software package that I was selling and was asked
to go into Sales in order to be a better salesman who could understand the
needs of the customer, could talk their language, and could better
understand the problem that the company was trying to solve.
Let me tell you that after 6 mo of Sales school I was not prepared for the
request that I received from customers and prospects for the following:
Tickets to sporting events, wine, cases of booze, trips to other cities at
the expense of my company, ladies of the night, etc..
Most of the time the customers and/or prospects were not concerned with
solving a problem but in having a good time at my expense. I was not part
of this lifestyle and I made the smart move and departed the Sales
environment and returned back to customer support and programming.
I can tell you that I was shocked, maybe to new a "kid", but I never saw the
point in all of this and how business decisions were being made. The straw
was when I was handed an envelope and told that I would know what to do with
it in order to get the business for a new computer system. Needless to say,
I'm not into charity of the personal kind.
Are there salespeople who will attempt to make a sale at any cost, even the
run arounds, you bet! Are there customers/prospects who would try to
benefit from the experience of the sales process, you bet!
That's my two cents worth on this subject.
J. Knight
Bowling Green, KY USA
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