Pet peeves! Everyone has them. My list is far too long to identify here, but I do want to touch on a few that might resonate with you.
Trade Show Hawks. Anyone who has ever worked a trade show exhibit knows exactly who I mean. If you leave a half-empty bottle of water or a used, eraser-end-chewed, scraggly pencil on the front table, somebody will walk by and pick it up thinking it might be a give away. I lost a cup of Starbucks at a recent event! I am still thinking about that one.
We all spend marketing budget on products with our brand in an effort to gain share of mind. How much value is the branded pen bringing you when it's being distributed to someone's granddaughter's third-grade class? Well, one could argue we are capturing attention at a young age, but reality is zero value.
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I suggest you do what has become a growing trend. Provide a small and very inexpensive, less than a dollar, give-away for the TSH and keep the good stuff under the table for those with whom you're having a meaningful conversation. Several exhibitors offered a very nice gift after meeting to discuss mutually beneficial business. I was impressed and think this is a great strategy.
The Slimy Salesperson. We all know this one–the one who won't stop calling and has nothing to say when they get you on the phone. They want to "have lunch" or "has great seats to a ball game," which you know will be a torturous few hours with more pitches than the All Star Game. Don't you love the question, "So what will it take for us to do business?" I would suggest a winning lottery ticket or something that enables retirement. That will do it for me because your product sure doesn't.
I spent a good deal of my career in sales and sales management and believe there is a fine line between persistence and pestilence. Insist on knowing the agenda before you agree to a meeting. It will be a good barometer of how much the salesperson has considered your best interests.
It is also the responsibility of the buyer to let the obnoxious salesperson know when enough is enough. If you know the product offered is of no real value to you, then explain it once and make sure he or she is listening. A professional will move on to another victim, and you will no longer need to keep checking caller ID!
–Thomas R. Greeve
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