Sell by listening

From this post on Corporate Engagement if found this post called “Selling by listening.”  From the author:

At a recent product pitch, a customer told me that we were the only remaining contender from an original short-list of three. One of the original vendors did not return repeated invitations to demonstrate their product; the other began the engagement by telling the company that they would be guinea pigs for the product in Australia. Later, at a demonstration of the product, a salesperson continually interrupted with sales spiel.

My reaction was disappointment for the customer. While advantageous to me, the behaviour of these vendors prevented the customer from being able to select the best from a range of competitors, although judging by the behaviour of the others I think they already have!

It is hard to understand the vendors' arrogance - how can they believe they can sell their product like this? If they weren't ready to sell the product, why were they wasting the customer's time offering it in the market? Having the best product in the world will not save a company than cannot - or will not - communicate honestly with its customers.

There’s more to read with good advice from the author.