Just Say No To Cheapskates
I was a salesperson before I was a software engineer; now that I’m starting a company, I’m once again a salesperson. I’m happy to say that I’ve learned quite a lot in my hiatus from sales; being on the receiving end of the pitch has taught me quite a bit and I’ll be a much better salesman this time around.
There is one lesson, however, that I’d like to communicate to anyone that is listening: don’t do business with cheapskates.
Cheapskates will hammer you on price until no profit margin remains. Cheapskates will raise absurd post-sale objections and insist that your pre-sale answers were different. Cheapskates will fill your voice mail with ludicrous questions and complaints about your product. Cheapskates will create a negative association with your name among post-sale support staff and when you need a favor from them (you will) you’ll be out of luck. Cheapskates will never be happy with your product and at best you’ll have a marginally satisfied client from whom you will never receive referral business…and if you do, it will be the undesirable business of other cheapskates.
To differentiate between a cheapskate and a reasonably price conscious prospect, ask yourself, “does this prospect focus on the ‘I’ and ignore the ‘R’ in ‘ROI?’” This is key: cheapskates focus on the ‘I’ and no matter how much ‘R’ you bring them, all they will ever see is the ‘I.’
If you find yourself dealing with a cheapskate, gracefully extricate yourself from the situation and move on to another prospect. Don’t waste time that you could be spending with a quality prospect.
