I recently found myself in a situation that required a tough judgment call. A prospect in was looking to replace a CANON 220s or something like that. It was about 5 years old and had a designated envelope drawer (optional drawer they purchased).
Obviously, the rep who sold it to them did a good job matching this clients needs with a product that would serve them well.
Being that they were used to having this" reliable" envelope drawer, as they looked into new pieces they wanted one again. They run a high volume of com 10's for a small office.
They brought in about 7 vendors, all of which couldn't offer that same functionality as the previous copier in regards to a specific envelope tray; but all assured them that theirs would work.
Well, what do you do, take yourself out of the running by being honest, tell them your equipment is not speced to do that at high volumes, say it does, like the other reps, or take yourself out of the race completly.
I hate to lose deals, but refuse to lie. I was honest, told them how it was specd' to run enveloeps, 10 @ a time through bypass. Not like the way they were used too.
I closed the deal and now have a somewhat unhappy client. Although I was truthful from the gate, perception and expectations can get you in the end. On top of that, a tech went in and told them it wasn't speced to run that medium at all, and my company wouldn't support it. I believe that a calm head always prevails, however, this didn't help matters. My words with that tech were unkind to put it nicely. He called RICOH, as did I, and got a nay from the service line, as to where I got the green light from pre-sales support, so I can't be that mad, although wouldn't you think that he should have enough sense to realizee that a rep sold a piece expressing the limitations og a piece an not to open their mouth in a negative manner. O.K. now I am venting.
I guess, at the end of the day, as you all face these types of decisions on your calls, how do you handle these situations. Of course envelopes are taboo, but document solutions encompass more than copy print fax scan. I'd love to hear your feedback.
thanks
brian
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