5 Supplier Comments that Turn Capable Suppliers into Loosers

Written By Ted Grigg
DMCG Results

To all of you who supply clents with services, listen up. You can loose a great client within less than one minute with these 5 comments.

1. "Send that request to me in writing."

Guess what. If I wanted to take the time to write down every simple request I have, then you can forget it. I'll give you the specs verbally with your input, then it's up to you as the service to come back to me with a written summary of what I requested during our phone conversation. Never ask me to do something you can do. I'm the client here.

2. After a thirty minute overview of what I want to see in terms of results and output, the supplier asks: "Exactly, what do you want us to do?"

What a dumb question. I told you, the service provider what I am trying to achieve. I expect you, the supplier, to advise me on what you can do for me to achieve what I want. You, should come back with a well-thought through recommendation of what you think I should do. Never ask me to develop the specifications in your area of expertise. Again, don't ask me to do something you should do for me.

3. When making a presentation for support, a supplier will give me their canned speech without regard to what they can do for me. They will say: "We will optimize your website for $XXXX a month..."

Even the word "optimize" turns me off become it is so general that I have no way of evaluating your service. What will you do and what will I get for the money you are asking me to spend? How about giving me the why, how, when and what you do to bring me more business on my website? Demonstrate to me how you will improve what I now have. And make that list complete. Why do you need a monthly fee instead of a one-time fee? Give me the 18 things you will do in a given time period and for how long and how often? What results will I likely see after what period of time? Give me examples or a relevant case study. Give me evidence of performance.

4. "What charge do you think your client will accept?"

If you ask me, $10 to zero. Now why should I know a fair price? I want you to tell me what you need to make a decent profit that will also give the client value. I want the most value for the money. Sometimes, I will go in with a budget for intangibles like creative development and certain types of research or analytics. But for a commodity item, the project ultimately goes to the company with the lowest price. Never ask me to price your services for you.

5. "Our company demands a Purchase Order. Your email order is not adequate even though you are paying our estimate to you in advance."

Give me a break. The only thing you will see from me is my email order and a check paying for every thing in advance. You are not the government. I selected you based on many factors, not the least of which includes "easy-to-work-with." Work with me the way I want to work rather than the other way around. Again, I'm the client -- then again, maybe not your client after this event.

It's a pity that suppliers can spend months or years developing a good working relationship only to kill it with such stupid remarks.

What other things have you heard that can turn clients instantly?

Ted Grigg

Ted Grigg is a direct response strategist who helps growth-focused companies reduce risk by identifying weak assumptions before they become costly mistakes.

Over the course of his career, Ted has evaluated several hundred million dollars in direct response testing across direct mail, digital, print, television, telephone, and other channels. His work combines direct response strategy, acquisition economics, customer analysis, creative evaluation, offer development, and disciplined testing.

Ted has worked on both the client and agency sides of the business. That experience gives him a practical understanding of the pressures facing executives, marketing teams, agencies, and service providers—and of the problems that arise when activity, media volume, or creative preference replaces a clear economic objective.

His consulting work helps organizations examine such questions as:

  • Are acquisition goals economically realistic?

  • Is the allowable Cost Per Sale supported by customer value?

  • Are targeting, offers, creative, media, and response paths working together?

  • Are tests structured to produce reliable business decisions?

  • Are unproven assumptions being treated as facts?

  • Is the organization measuring sales outcomes rather than convenient proxies?

Ted’s experience includes the development of direct mail and multichannel acquisition programs for insurance, healthcare, financial services, technology, nonprofit, manufacturing, retail, transportation, communications, government, and business-to-business organizations.

For a national direct-to-consumer insurance company, he developed a direct mail format that defeated established controls and helped expand the productive use of compiled prospect lists from less than 10 percent to more than 30 percent of total direct mail circulation within one year. He also planned Medicare lead-generation programs for more than 60 regional and national HMO and PPO organizations, with some programs exceeding sales projections by as much as 60 percent.

Ted founded Wyse Direct, a direct marketing division of Wyse Advertising in Cleveland, where he developed acquisition programs and helped launch a new technology product for Seiko Instruments by generating a predictable flow of qualified sales leads for its national sales organization. As vice president of new business development for the Grizzard Agency, he helped broaden the agency’s strategic capabilities and pursue new commercial and fundraising opportunities.

He is the author of The HMO/PPO Marketing Plan—A Step-by-Step Guide, published by Executive Enterprises, and has written numerous articles and conducted webinars on direct response strategy, testing, creative development, and marketing economics.

Ted earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Abilene Christian University and completed two years of graduate study at Texas Tech University. He is the founder of DMCG, LLC.

http://www.dmcgresults.com
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