Fungibility is a fun word. I look forward to beating several CIOs and IT Directors over the head with it. Fungibility seems to be the defining word for what makes a commodity. The nut-shell definition for fungibility is "the same regardless of who creates it." Every telecom provider has a multitude of differences, therefore they are not fungible.
Since most people tend to LOVE to talk about the negative, let's focus there. Ask any IT professional about their telecom provider. They will generally grumble and whine (typically these people hate their lives) and tell you about EVERYTHING that is wrong with their telecom providers. Each story will have different issues and problems. Each will show the weaknesses of a given provider. Logically this shows that we (telco's) are all different and not fungible. Also if each provider has different weaknesses, we must have strengths.
There is an old telecom mantra "Everybody sucks, we suck less." In future blogs I will discuss this mantra, and explain why it's people that suck.
Since most people tend to LOVE to talk about the negative, let's focus there. Ask any IT professional about their telecom provider. They will generally grumble and whine (typically these people hate their lives) and tell you about EVERYTHING that is wrong with their telecom providers. Each story will have different issues and problems. Each will show the weaknesses of a given provider. Logically this shows that we (telco's) are all different and not fungible. Also if each provider has different weaknesses, we must have strengths.
There is an old telecom mantra "Everybody sucks, we suck less." In future blogs I will discuss this mantra, and explain why it's people that suck.
Comments
Sure, all companies are different and can be differentiated from a 10K view, right down to the granular level. However, if the client or prospect doesn't "get it" and views all providers as the same, then the sales rep has failed to deliver at some level.
As much as I understand and empathize with the situation and comments, the winner is the rep and provider that is able to present a compelling enough positive difference to get the deal done.
Whether undermined by circumstance or just plain outsold, the end result is the same. There is no crying in sales and sour grapes leave a bad taste.
I understand that my comments may seem a tad prickly, angry, and irreverant. The title under the monkey pic says "The thoughts of a fed-up, angry telecom rep" One of my primary goals is to create a humorous environment where we salesfolk may vent, but would not consider it crying or sour grapes. Just good fun from OUR side of the argument.
I need to disagree with your first statement. Perception may be "reality", but truth is truth. Truth is empirical and not subject to perception's whim.
Your second and third statements, I agree with whole-heartedly. As a sales professional we are trained that the cause of success or failure looks us in the mirror every morning. To reach our true potential we must strive for absolute accountability.
However, it is a sad condition of our industry that many of the final decision makers will never sit in a room with a rep. It is my job to get to them to anyway, and if I don't shame on me. But it is not sour grapes to desire a decision maker that approaches accountability in the same manner as I, or to lament the fact that it exists in the first place.
I do see two comments in this post that could have influenced your "sour grapes" comment.
The first being the "typically these people hate their lives" comment ...this was a slight sucker punch, and could be perceived as petty. I chose to use it anyway for the laugh, no regrets. There is enough truth to my comment for it to be usable, especially since this blog is self-deprecating enough to expect the same of any reader (the mascot is a monkey in a suit, c'mon)
The other is possibly the "it's people that suck" comment. This comment is easily taken out of context, as I have yet to set the actual context. That will come in a future post and may be a tad more palatable. But....you'll have to check back periodically to find out.
Either way, I thank you for taking the time to not only read, but reply to my blog.
Johnny