Don't accept a vendor's "no" without learning something

When you’re dealing with vendor negotiations and tech evaluations, miscommunication is a big problem. It can lead to an incorrect evaluation of possible solution, and it can cost you money. In today’s podcast I will explain five scenarios where a vendor might initially decline a client's request, and how both parties can turn this into an opportunity.

1. Misunderstanding the Request: This should be your go-to explanation. The odds that someone has understood a problem and then spoken clearly and precisely about a solution are very low.

Often, miscommunication occurs due to different interpretations of tech- or business-related terms. For example, if you ask if a platform “manages paywalls,” the vendor might home in on the fact that they don’t process payments, where that’s not necessarily what’s being asked.

Before you settle for a no, ask probing questions to make sure you're speaking the same language.

2. It’s Outside Our Scope: Vendors may specialize in very particular areas, or emphasize their unique value proposition in a way that excludes other ways of approaching a problem. Dig deeper to find out.

But when a client's request actually does fall outside the vendor's expertise, this is a chance for the vendor to behave like a human and point the customer in the correct direction. It doesn’t win the sale, but it creates good will. And it proves you’re not an asshole.

3. We're Working on It: A vendor may have lost a lot of business because too many prospects were looking for a function that the vendor doesn’t provide. So they put it on their roadmap.

This gives the prospect an interesting choice. If you need a solution today, you have to move along. But if you have some time, you can partner with the vendor and help them create a solution that works well for your business. That’s a win for both of you.

But if you do this, be sure to stay in contact. It's a big disappointment when the vendor says, "Hey, we built that thing you've been asking for," and it doesn't do what you wanted.

4. We Think That’s the Wrong Approach: I love Reuben sandwiches, but I prefer mine open-faced. Once I made the mistake of allowing a cook who does Reubens closed face to make me an open-faced sandwich. It was a disaster.

Most of the issues we face in marketing, publishing and related technologies are not matters of right or wrong, but sometimes you have to make a choice. For example, some Customer Data Platforms only do deterministic matching, while some do deterministic and probabilistic matching. Some Email Service Providers allow you to attach PDFs while others do not. There are arguments to be made each way.

This is not an opportunity to start an argument or evangelize for your point of view. If the client’s and the vendor’s approaches are truly incompatible, it's time to part ways amicably, preferably with some recommendations from the vendor on other services that meet the client's needs.

5. Legal Restrictions: Not everything is a matter of preference. Sometimes the law does have a say, and often that will involve privacy protections.

Sometimes this is a matter of jurisdiction. A European company might require privacy protections based on European law that don't apply to every U.S. company. Other times, the law isn't as clear as people might think, and vendor A might think something is illegal while vendor B does not. It's important to review these things carefully. If you decide to go with the more lax interpretation, check with a lawyer.

If the vendor's lawyers have decided to take a particular stand on a law, the client isn't going to talk them out of it, and shouldn’t try. But the vendor with the strict approach should have the courtesy to provide references to other companies who see things the client’s way. It's not the vendor's business to enforce the law.

Learn something

Sometimes a vendor isn’t a good match for a client's needs, and it's time to move on. But don't jump to that conclusion, and don’t leave it there. Use the opportunity to learn something from the encounter.

If you need help working with technology vendors, give me a call. I’m pretty good at that, and I can help you work through the process and implement an effective solution.