I’m Shy but I’m Still Good at Purchasing… Here’s How.

As I looked over at my wife, she and I both knew what one another was feeling at the same time.  We were sick with disbelief and pity as we watched six year old daughter, from afar, get picked on by one of her friends at a party we were attending.  It wasn’t the first time we had noticed this type of pattern.  We also had seen that she had a lot of anxiety when meeting new kids.

We said nothing, since our parenting philosophy is that kids need to figure these things out on their own, (unless someone is getting hurt), but we immediately started game planning in our heads…  especially me.

I immediately felt this parenting lesson was on me.  Why?  Because that’s exactly how I was when I was her age and my wife did not share this personality.  I have had to overcome this my whole life so I was the best person to help her.

Shyness and non-confrontational behavioral traits suck for the person it dwells within.  It has no benefit that I can think of but it’s a P.I.T.A. to weed out of yourself.  It also never completely goes away.

It’s been a few years since that day and my daughter is doing a fantastic job conquering this genetic hurdle I gave her.  From time to time, I have a heart-to-heart with her and remind her “Being shy will hinder you more than it helps you in life, so you’ve got to continually work on beating it.”          

Who, me?  Yes, you!  Couldn’t be?  Then, who?…  

One upside to this personality trait is that I feel like it helps me excel at my job.  How, you say?  Because YOU have it too.  It’s no secret that the majority of IT Professionals share this with me.  I GET YOU!…  at least in that regard.

But, let’s not go too overboard.  It has obviously not slowed you down much.  You’ve dominated that shyness!  I know this because you’re managing an IT Department, or quickly on your way!  Managing people, interacting with management, dealing with crisis, working with vendors – none that can be done by someone wallowing in their shyness.  You’re a champ.  Let’s have a beer to celebrate!  …ok, maybe later?

As a business owner of 11 years and salesperson for many years, I too have had to successfully develop strategies that minimize this weakness of mine.

That being said, I thought you’d like to hear little tricks I have learned on how to successfully negotiate with salespeople when buying a large item for your company.  As you know, if done improperly, negotiating can really hit a shy and non-confrontational person in their soft spot.  Therefore, I’ve had to develop a proven method that I feel works very well.

At some point, many people start to believe that they have to be super confrontational in order to get good pricing and I’ve found that to be totally false.  You just have to get multiple quotes so that you have a few to compare, then use a simple principle.

I touched on this subject in my video blog (*Episode 8 of Mike Smith’s Brain), but I’d like to expand on the concepts I mentioned.

Buyer Beware

Review:  Most sales professionals, (including telecom & cloud salespeople), do not need a license to sell.  Therefore, there is NO governing body to keep them honest so it’s “Buyer Beware.”

So how will I ever have time to research every detail and read the fine print on all agreements?  Let’s admit it… that’s great in theory but that WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

As a result, I’ve realized I have 2 choices:

• Pretend I’m asking all the right questions and make an educated guess on which vendor is presenting the most value.
• Buy on relationship.

I see number 1 happening too much.  That’s why I’m writing this.

You can probably guess that I choose number 2.  My feeling is that I will never go terribly wrong if I am buying from a great person.  A great person won’t typically be working for a bad company and a great person will also be much more likely to help me if things go sideways with their product.

I know you have a lot of “yeah, but” remarks so, here is a Q&A on how I do that.

How do I Buy on Relationship?

Q:  “What if you don’t have a relationship with any of the salespeople?”

A:  BS.  You can absolutely “feel” honesty, the second you meet someone.  If you are a horrible judge of character, find a colleague that is better at this and have them meet the vendors.  Which salesperson feels like someone you could be friends with?  Which feels like you know who they are and who they are not?  Our personality is especially good at observing people, so I know you can figure this out.  If none of the salespeople you’re working with feel this way, quote more vendors.  

Q:  “What if the person you like has a really high price?”

A:  This happens a lot.  Why?

• Because they are not liars and actually quoting you on what you need, not only on what they think is going to get you to bite.
• Their product also might be higher quality, since good people tend to work for good companies.
• The liar rep is probably about to lose their job, so they are trying to do anything to win your business, including dropping the price so low that they’ll make zero commission.

No matter what the reason, don’t just pick the crummy rep based on price!  At least give the honest rep a chance to enlighten you.  My piece of mind technique is that I go to the rep I like and tell them the truth.  “I really would prefer to work with you and your company but I have another bid that seems like the same product at a much lower price.   Can you please help me understand why your bid is so much higher than the others I’ve received?”  You might be surprised what you learn.

I’ve been selling to IT Professionals for many years and this is one thing that I rarely see.  I think many of you think it’s confrontational but it’s totally not.  From a salesperson’s perspective, it’s phenomenal.  Us honest salespeople have gotten burned so many times by clients falling for the old “smoke and mirrors” tricks of dishonest reps.  We love it when a client is smart and gives us an opportunity to compare apples to apples.  We are also never afraid to tell you when we’re beat and play the long-term game of “I can’t help you today but I’m sure I’ll be able to help at some point.”

Q:  “What if the salesperson is just nice but not good at their job?

A:  I agree that is a possibility.  That is why I always make sure to somehow slip in the question “How long have you been at insert their company name?  If it’s less than 2 years, ask to speak with their manager and ask yourself how you feel about them?  Is this someone you automatically feel connected with?  I would also ask them how long they have been with the company.  Good companies with good products tend to keep good salespeople for long periods of time.  Period.

That’s my trick to making great purchases and it works very well.  Buy on relationship, not pricing.  Don’t ignore the little voice, telling you the salesperson seems fake or strange or untrustworthy. Go with your gut!  Shy people unite!

About the Author
Mike Smith is the Founder and President of AeroCom and has been helping companies with telecom and cloud services since 1999. He has been the recipient of numerous business telecommunications industry awards and in 2011, he was honored as one of the top 40 business people in Orange County, CA., under 40 years old. Follow Mike on LinkedIn, Twitter or SpiceWorks.