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Talking to my competitors? ...you should be.

In a conversation with one of the largest companies in town the other day, the following was discussed:

Me: "OK...small, but important call center. And you currently use...?"

Client:"AT&Z"....... (I've changed the providers name for anonymity)

Me: "And tell me again, your issue?"

Client: "We keep going down. It's an issue with the facilities coming into the building. We need some sort of backup."

Me: "Agreed. Who have you looked at for this backup?"

Client: "We talked to our AT&Z team."

Silence for a few seconds........

Me: "OK...how'd that work for you?"

Client: "Well the corporate IT team seems to prefer AT&Z, but you guys are more attentive, provide better service, are more nimble, and are a tad less expensive. Plus your fiber is in the building, which means we could eliminate the single point of failure by using you guys."

Me: "Agreed. So what are our next steps?"

Client: "I'l discuss it with corporate, but they'll probably push for AT&Z"

More silence again............interrupted by me giggling. OK, OK....I admit that I have paraphrased the discussion and slightly embellished it. But the core of the discussion was represented above very well. And, sadly, I've had many of these discussions.

So, if you are a buyer in the IT world you should get to know my competition. If you are my client, and you don't have other providers, I have already made an introduction to my competition. If you are my competitor, you probably already know me...so everyone listen up. This part will be simple.

Multiple providers. Period. Need a number for my competitor? Call me.

Comments

Knowles Shaw said…
John,

In case you have misplaced it, my direct number is 615.324.1847. :-)

Great stuff, John! I enjoy reading your blog -- have a great summer!
June 23, 2010 at 9:29 AM
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