How to Detect a Toxic Customer (2010)
softwarebyrob.com
How to Detect a Toxic Customer (2010)
1–10 of 67 posts
Re: How to Detect a Toxic Customer (2010)
#2I presume this came up because it was auto-tweeted from swombat.com (this got retweeted today: http://swombat.com/2010/12/9/how-to-detect-a-toxic-customer ). If so, it's worth pointing to Joel Spolsky's response to this:
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1987223
Definitely worth a read alongside this article.
Re: How to Detect a Toxic Customer (2010)
#3We got one yesterday. Had a list of changes he expected us to make for our app. Most were really redundant and outdated ideas. I wrote responses to each portion of his email: yes, no, maybe...
I got to the last paragraph: if we made all of the changes he'd be happy to bump up his rating of our app to 3 or 4 stars. At that point I deleted everything I wrote and instead politely brushed him off and offered a refund.
Re: How to Detect a Toxic Customer (2010)
#4It looks like internal politics at the prospect were at play here. The guy didn't want to be doing this and decided to take his bad attitude out on the vendor he was assigned to deal with.
Re: How to Detect a Toxic Customer (2010)
#5The point about asking questions you can get from the website definitely rings true. We had a customer ask us about 15 questions, the answers to which were all on the website on our features page. He then asked for us to walk him through the installation of our app and a demo. After 30 minutes, we had to cut him off.
We'll definitely be on the look out for these types of customers going forward - and the cost definitely outweighs any sales we would get from these toxic customers.
Re: How to Detect a Toxic Customer (2010)
#6I presume this came up because it was auto-tweeted from swombat.com (this got retweeted today: http://swombat.com/2010/12/9/how-to-detect-a-toxic-customer ). If so, it's worth pointing to Joel Spolsky's response to this: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1987223 Definitely worth a read alongside this article.
It's not true that large companies will form the bulk of your revenue. It all depends on what you are doing.
If you are making something that every company in the world needs one of, than you will sell a lot more to the 501 through 5000th biggest companies in the country than to the top 500. (You might be able to charge those big companies a 50% or even 100% premium on various add-ons, but it won't come close to matching the other revenue.)
Re: How to Detect a Toxic Customer (2010)
#7I don't see why asking for a discount is so toxic. We ask for a discount on every transaction with a 3rd party our business makes and more often than not we get one.
It seems like most business to business transactions start with the "dummy price" out the gate.
Re: How to Detect a Toxic Customer (2010)
#8This kicked off a nice long discussion last time it showed up here:
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1987146
Well worth a read just for Joel Spolsky's comment at the top of the thread.
Re: How to Detect a Toxic Customer (2010)
#9Anyone who has worked selling...anything, can understand where you're coming from. There are some real d-bags out there, and some will end up as potential customers.
But as a guy who has been on the other end of these calls, far too often, I can sympathize with wanting some directness. I can't tell you how many times I write an inquiry to a company with some basic questions, and next thing you know I'm bombarded by requests to get me on a sales call. I don't have time; phone calls are inconvenient, emails are not. I've done my research, please answer my questions so I can decide whether to buy your product or not.
That's my approach now. I try to be as cordial as possible, but I ask direct questions, usually via email. If you can't answer them, I can't buy what you're selling.
Re: How to Detect a Toxic Customer (2010)
#10Never say no. EVER. I mean it. Not one single time, not under any circumstances ever. Make them say no. The way you do this is by determining just how much you would have to be paid in order to deal with the customer. It doesn't matter if it's a completely unreasonable number. Name it. Don't just presume they will refuse and turn them away. Tell them that your product which would normally cost $1k is going to cost them $50k or $100k. What have you got to lose? Worst case scenario they will pay you a giant amount of money, and you'll have a bit of a headache, but one that you have already determined you are willing to take on for the price you named.
This applies to customers, potential employers, and basically everything in life. There is ALWAYS a price. So take the gamble. Let them decide if it's worth it from their own perspective... maybe you'll get lucky!