OT: Sales Rep Pet Peeves

Post here about your most annoying sales rep. The one you dread getting emails from, if they even bother to email you before showing up.

My biggest pet peeve for sales reps is definitely showing up at my office unannounced, expecting me to drop everything I'm doing to hear their sales pitch. Now, there are some exceptions to this. My Rockwell/A-B rep does drop by unannounced, but it's only ever to see how we're doing and if we need anything. If they want to pitch a new product, however, they always make an appointment.
There are two sales reps though who are notorious for cold calling. One is pretty bad, but the other really takes the cake.
This guy reps Unitronics. My first interaction with him was actually at my previous job. I'm extremely busy, at my desk and I get a phone call from the front lobby. I answer the phone and he asks if I have a few minutes to come down and talk about Unitronics PLC/HMI combo units. I ask "...who is this? How did you get this number?"
He says "I'm ______ from _______ and I'm the rep for Unitronics PLCs in your area. I was just driving by and thought I'd stop in and see what you guys do and what kind of products you use. I saw your name on the directory here and from your job title you sounded like the person to talk to."
I'm royally ****ed off at the moment. I have half a mind to hang up on him. I hate being interrupted, especially when I'm busy and especially by something that isn't a pressing need. Nevertheless, I go down and see him.
He gives me the pitch, acts like Unitronics is the only outfit to even combine a PLC and HMI, tells me how it's the bees knees and how it slices and dices and can do over 2,000 I/O points (if you have a project that big, you're NOT using a PLC/HMI combo unit, I'm sorry). He leaves me a bunch of material and I go back to work.
Fast-forward a few years and I'm at my new job. I walk around the corner and there he is with a colleague. He instantly recognizes me. He acts like I'm his long-lost best friend, pitches me and my colleague the Unitronics stuff again. We give the same lukewarm response we always give, and he leaves.
A few days ago my colleague spoke with him (we pass him along to each other like a game of hot potato). He starts with the pleasantries, asking if we're doing a lot of programming. My colleague says a fair amount. He looks up and goes, "so why aren't you using my stuff?" as if we're obligated to use Unitronics just because he wants us to. After answering that it's not our call most of the time, he then started lamenting the fact that he couldn't get into a local company, how he could save them so much money because if one of their A-B processors takes a **** he can sell them a Unitronics for $300 instead of $5000 for a new processor (which they're not, but you gotta love salesman hyperbole).
So my colleague asked him "so can you just download an Allen-Bradley program into a Unitronics PLC?" "Well...no," he says, "their engineering department would have to convert it." Keep in mind, this company he's referring to doesn't have an engineering department. They have maintenance technicians, who are extremely busy. So my colleague tells him about how there's labor to change wires, program, debug, not to mention the cost of downtime while you're changing out the entire PLC and I/O.
"Well, if you want to get into the nitty gritty details there's some extra cost, sure," he says. Clearly this guy has never touched a PLC in his life, and it's what really sours me on Unitronics as a brand.
This guy is not the only Unitronics rep I've had give me a sales pitch, and every time it seems like they hire a general sales firm to hawk these things and the reps can never answer any technical questions and has no idea that the majority of any automation project cost is not in the hardware, it's in the labor. It's almost as if they were selling used cars three weeks ago, mattresses last week, and PLCs this week. So you can save me a few hundred dollars on hardware, but it's going to cost me several thousand more dollars to actually implement and support. How can these guys not understand the concept of TCO?
Guys like him, they sell the hottest gadget of the week and then move on. It's easy for him to say "Oh just rip out the SLC and throw in the Unitronics" because he's never actually had to do it. A big reason why I buy A-B is that I have reps at my beckon call with decades of expertise available. They're not going to leave me high and dry and say "I'm just a sales rep, call this number for Tech support, but they're on Israeli time so you'll have to wait."

What a fun topic!

General behaviors by sales reps that really annoy me:

1. Insisting that their product is better than the competition simply because they manufacture theirs and the competitive product is made by a third party, as if private labeling is inherently evil.

2. Forcing me to take a free sample, then constantly pestering me to see how it worked out. "No, sorry, I'm sure your M12 sensor cable is very innovative but I just haven't had a chance to try it out yet."

3. Not taking the time up front to find out what my needs are, and instead wasting my time showing me products that I don't have any use for whatsoever. Do I feign interest just to be polite?

4. Having less knowledge about their product than I could acquire in about 5 minutes just by browsing the manufacturer's website.

5. Not providing pricing (even just ballpark) when asked. "Let me email you a quote on that."

6. Showing up unannounced or giving less than 24 hours notice. "Hey I was in the area and thought I might stop by."

7. Exaggerating about their previous dealings with our company. "We've worked with you before and just wanted to check in..." When I investigate this claim it turns out that "worked with" means their predecessor made one cold call 10 years ago to an engineer who doesn't even work here anymore.

8. Being part of a high turnover sales force. A certain direct-sales sensor manufacturer is the worst at this. It seems like every month I get a call from my "new" account rep, wanting to come in and introduce himself. I have a stack of business cards about an inch thick from this place.

I hate those types. Most salesman get my email or phone number, and I just let it go to VM. When I was travelling for a project and updated my VM to provide my cell phone...mistake on my part. If there is a good relationship and the guy just wants to see what we are up to and how they can support us, by all means I'll let them in assuming I can make time.

I briefly worked for an company trying to sell automation products, I came on board to provide technical assistance to the sales team. They brought a guest speaker in at the national sales meeting, it was an in-depth "How to find people and track them down", as I watched it was pretty much professional stalking. Showing all the tips and tricks to maximize google and linkedin searches.

Thankfully most on the team seemed to not to just drop in unannounced, but I'm sure some do. It's all about cash in their pockets, with some mild interest in what the customer is doing assuming its a very large PO.

They were pretty excited to have me on board, I soon realized they didn't know anything about a PLC, and why the cost argument was more than surface-level. After I explained the TOC to the team, they seemed to better understand but at the same time wanted to promote that we (well, me) could easily convert the program for FREE. A few of these got sales, pretty simple OEM type stuff that brute-force doesn't take much time but not all conversions will be 100%, and not everyone really knows how the original system worked in the first place! So who's to say the distributor won't mess something up.

Not to mention, everybody attacks the AB pricing as their entry into the market. But fail to understand that they aren't just competing against AB, they are now competing against Automation Direct, Wago, Siemens, Mitsubishi, GE, Beckoff, Omron, Modicon....etc. There are plenty of players that will beat AB on price, but among that crowd who really stands out as being competitive on TOC?

Side experience, I had a Wonderware Rep tell us that he wasn't interested in our smaller projects and that we had to deal with the pricing he was giving us. He then expected us to come to him for the really big distributed projects w/o question. He got angry when I brought up Ignition.

A sales rep, especially for a technology product, who does a cold call and expects to be seen, is one without a plan; i.e. no clue what he's doing. That to me always makes me think that if he's that bad at his job, why would I want to switch to using his stuff? I've been a sales rep and I know how tough it is to break into an account in which a competitor is entrenched, but them's the breaks and if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Not to make excuses though, one problem (because I experienced it first hand) is that companies with products like that to sell put a LOT of pressure on their reps to get orders, ANY orders, NOW. They often have no patience for long term or strategic planning. That makes me suspicious of the product itself then too, i.e. "We just gotta move units, don't worry if it's right or not!" I worked for a company like that, I hated it and got out after a year.

In my position now I'm a Tech Consultant for our sales team, the "Pro from Dover" so to speak on one particular segment of our portfolio. If I detect that one of our newbie salespeople is trying to drag me into a cold call like that, I'll refuse to go and give them suggestions on how to break into the account, over time, by making themselves useful. When I was in a position to select and buy parts, that's who I bought from (if I had discretionary selection authority); people who demonstrated that they understood my business and came up with things they could offer to make my tasks easier or my product better, not just stuff that was cheaper or prettier or trendier.

And how did they get to know my business and needs? Why, LUNCH of course!

Here's my pet peeve now; reps that answer questions without really understanding them fully. They either jump to a conclusion before I'm done and guess wrong, making me repeat myself, or they give me some BS answer out of a sales guide without really knowing what it means, rather than just admitting they are not the right person to answer that question and saying they will get an answer for me, then repeat back what they think I was asking to confirm it first. hardly ANYONE does that any more.

Anyone that bad mouths their competition immediately loses pretty much all respect from me. If your product is so good, you shouldn't need to bad mouth anyone else. If your pricing is so much better, then stand by that without knocking the competition.

OG

8. Being part of a high turnover sales force. A certain direct-sales sensor manufacturer is the worst at this. It seems like every month I get a call from my "new" account rep, wanting to come in and introduce himself. I have a stack of business cards about an inch thick from this place.

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Hi, I'm Jim from Keyence !

Ken,

You got my last salesman!

The thing I hate worst, is that they promise you the moon and as they talk, even you know they can't deliver what they promise.

Best salesmen I ever had was from an AB rep and a cognex salesman.
they would both pop in unannounced and if we were real busy, they understood and left saying if you need me, just give me a call.

Neither of them would promise you anything, in fact the cognex rep asked to bring in his equipment and run some tests on a proposed project and then refused to quote the job stating there is no way we can do what I asked. He had rather be straight forward and honest rather than get the sale and loose future business.

james

My pet peeve is sales people who come to us with a pitch, and when we tell them that their product isn't suitable for our client, go directly to the client who has no technical knowledge. The client then thinks it's a great idea... and buys a bunch. They then come to us and say "can you install all of these?" With no idea what's involved.

The current pet project is a particular monitoring device. The sales rep had been calling me twice a week since making the sale to the client to find out how we're going with installs, like it's the most important project we're currently undertaking for the client.

The client then queried why it was taking us so long... the rep had installed one unit in their office in one afternoon! So i went to take a look. .. device screwed to dry wall, cables duct taped to wall, powered from a plug pack hanging from a socket outlet.

I suggested that maybe we weren't up to the task and the rep should go install the remaining 10 devices out at each of their sites (industrial environment), and sent through a photo of the professional install we'd done at a few sites so far, along with the reps install.

Unsurprisingly we still have the job to complete the remaining installs.

kolyur said:

What a fun topic!

General behaviors by sales reps that really annoy me:

1. Insisting that their product is better than the competition simply because they manufacture theirs and the competitive product is made by a third party, as if private labeling is inherently evil.

2. Forcing me to take a free sample, then constantly pestering me to see how it worked out. "No, sorry, I'm sure your M12 sensor cable is very innovative but I just haven't had a chance to try it out yet."

3. Not taking the time up front to find out what my needs are, and instead wasting my time showing me products that I don't have any use for whatsoever. Do I feign interest just to be polite?

4. Having less knowledge about their product than I could acquire in about 5 minutes just by browsing the manufacturer's website.

5. Not providing pricing (even just ballpark) when asked. "Let me email you a quote on that."

6. Showing up unannounced or giving less than 24 hours notice. "Hey I was in the area and thought I might stop by."

7. Exaggerating about their previous dealings with our company. "We've worked with you before and just wanted to check in..." When I investigate this claim it turns out that "worked with" means their predecessor made one cold call 10 years ago to an engineer who doesn't even work here anymore.

8. Being part of a high turnover sales force. A certain direct-sales sensor manufacturer is the worst at this. It seems like every month I get a call from my "new" account rep, wanting to come in and introduce himself. I have a stack of business cards about an inch thick from this place.

Click to expand...

Great list. About sums it up for us.

I'm going to the other side of the fence...
How about the customers that never use your products ,even bash them. Then when they get a specified job and have to use their products... They want special pricing. Haha

kolyur said:

What a fun topic!

General behaviors by sales reps that really annoy me:

1. Insisting that their product is better than the competition simply because they manufacture theirs and the competitive product is made by a third party, as if private labeling is inherently evil.

2. Forcing me to take a free sample, then constantly pestering me to see how it worked out. "No, sorry, I'm sure your M12 sensor cable is very innovative but I just haven't had a chance to try it out yet."

3. Not taking the time up front to find out what my needs are, and instead wasting my time showing me products that I don't have any use for whatsoever. Do I feign interest just to be polite?

4. Having less knowledge about their product than I could acquire in about 5 minutes just by browsing the manufacturer's website.

5. Not providing pricing (even just ballpark) when asked. "Let me email you a quote on that."

6. Showing up unannounced or giving less than 24 hours notice. "Hey I was in the area and thought I might stop by."

7. Exaggerating about their previous dealings with our company. "We've worked with you before and just wanted to check in..." When I investigate this claim it turns out that "worked with" means their predecessor made one cold call 10 years ago to an engineer who doesn't even work here anymore.

8. Being part of a high turnover sales force. A certain direct-sales sensor manufacturer is the worst at this. It seems like every month I get a call from my "new" account rep, wanting to come in and introduce himself. I have a stack of business cards about an inch thick from this place.

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I agree so much with this list, especially number 8. It's Keyence isn't it?

Paully's5.0 said:

Not to mention, everybody attacks the AB pricing as their entry into the market. But fail to understand that they aren't just competing against AB, they are now competing against Automation Direct, Wago, Siemens, Mitsubishi, GE, Beckoff, Omron, Modicon....etc. There are plenty of players that will beat AB on price, but among that crowd who really stands out as being competitive on TOC?

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This is SO true. Whenever someone comes to me with yet another PLC/OIT combo unit, it's as if they're thinking "Allen-Bradley doesn't do it, therefore, NOBODY does it but us!"

Side note: I don't like PLC/Terminal combo units. I don't like wiring I/O on the door. All that extra labor (you have to land it on terminals on the backplane anyway, now you're adding an extra run all the way to the door), plus the environmental concerns (I/O wires flexing and moving whenever the door opens and closes, wires and I/O connections closer to the environment), plus the fact that if the HMI dies, the PLC does too. Combo units are a solution nobody asked for to a problem that doesn't exist..

Paully's5.0 said:

Side experience, I had a Wonderware Rep tell us that he wasn't interested in our smaller projects and that we had to deal with the pricing he was giving us. He then expected us to come to him for the really big distributed projects w/o question. He got angry when I brought up Ignition.

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I've heard similar stories about Wonderware reps. Talk about a company resting on its very rapidly aging laurels. Their software is so laughably primitive compared to the competition now. It's a "Wonder" anybody still buys it.

they are better than us

jraef said:

A sales rep, especially for a technology product, who does a cold call and expects to be seen, is one without a plan; i.e. no clue what he's doing. That to me always makes me think that if he's that bad at his job, why would I want to switch to using his stuff?

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This particular guy also comes in reeking of cigarette smoke. Now, I grew up around tobacco smoke. It doesn't bother me or offend me, but when you're in sales you REALLY have to pay attention to your appearance, because not everybody is as tolerant of cigarette smoke as I am. Some people are downright offended by it. Maybe they're just snobs or maybe they have a breathing issue and can't stand it. But when you're in sales you can't afford to be politically incorrect when it comes to grooming. If you smoke, fine, but there are ways to cover that up or not even get the smell on you to begin with.

jraef said:

I've been a sales rep and I know how tough it is to break into an account in which a competitor is entrenched, but them's the breaks and if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Not to make excuses though, one problem (because I experienced it first hand) is that companies with products like that to sell put a LOT of pressure on their reps to get orders, ANY orders, NOW. They often have no patience for long term or strategic planning. That makes me suspicious of the product itself then too, i.e. "We just gotta move units, don't worry if it's right or not!" I worked for a company like that, I hated it and got out after a year.

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They don't understand that automation components are not like Refrigerators or programmable thermostats. You don't just buy the unit, throw it in a panel, and go. Someone has to ENGINEER that little box you sell into something that actually works. This is not the kind of industry you can expect to sell Super Widget A as if you would a Microwave or a Washing Machine: just collect the money and move on to the next customer.

jraef said:

In my position now I'm a Tech Consultant for our sales team, the "Pro from Dover" so to speak on one particular segment of our portfolio. If I detect that one of our newbie salespeople is trying to drag me into a cold call like that, I'll refuse to go and give them suggestions on how to break into the account, over time, by making themselves useful.

Click to expand...

So much this. My favorite reps are the people I can use as a RESOURCE. People I can call and ask questions about implementation. This is why I love my A-B reps and continue to use A-B products, because not only do they sell the products, many of them have practical experience installing and implementing them, and have incredible experience. There was this one job I would have been incredibly lost on without my A-B drives rep, who sought ME out because my customer had bought the parts and he wanted to make sure I knew about Add-On Instructions that they had developed for the particular application I was doing. Say what you want about Allen-Bradley and their prices, but where else can I get this level of support at every level from vendor to manufacturer? These fly-by-night guys don't get that. They call themselves sales engineers but all they engineer is the sale.

jraef said:

When I was in a position to select and buy parts, that's who I bought from (if I had discretionary selection authority); people who demonstrated that they understood my business and came up with things they could offer to make my tasks easier or my product better, not just stuff that was cheaper or prettier or trendier.

And how did they get to know my business and needs? Why, LUNCH of course! :beer chug:

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Absolutely agree.

jraef said:

Here's my pet peeve now; reps that answer questions without really understanding them fully. They either jump to a conclusion before I'm done and guess wrong, making me repeat myself, or they give me some BS answer out of a sales guide without really knowing what it means, rather than just admitting they are not the right person to answer that question and saying they will get an answer for me, then repeat back what they think I was asking to confirm it first. hardly ANYONE does that any more.

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I had a different Unitronics rep come in. He wasn't a PLC guy, but from some kind of salesman-for-hire firm and it was like last week he was selling mattresses and this week he was selling PLCs (I don't think that's literally true, at least I hope not). I had to explain to him what 10-bit analog inputs were and why they can be problematic in applications that require high precision. I will never buy from a salesman who knows less about his own product than I do.

Ken Roach said:

Hi, I'm Jim from Keyence !

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I literally read that post thinking "Oh, he's talking about Keyence." I like their laser sensors, hate their cameras. The IVs I used had the most pathetic tool set of any manufacturer I've ever seen. And a Keyence rep will say LITERALLY ANYTHING to get the sale. If they all had a tagline, it would be "oh that's easy, no problem!" It's easy to say that when by the time the customer tries to get your camera to work, you're no longer repping for Keyence.