3 ms·

Yes, you are a terrible business guy. You're letting your mindset (business guys = BS) and personal preferences (anti-phone) cloud your judgement. I'm a develop

Yes, you are a terrible business guy. You're letting your mindset (business guys = BS) and personal preferences (anti-phone) cloud your judgement. I'm a developer foremost but I've overcome my fear of the phone and understand that success requires meeting people around you halfway, on your terms. Nothing in this exchange was BS. All they were trying to do was get you on the phone, and then you immediately jumped to aggression ("You already told me that."). Perhaps that's not your preferred medium, but it is theirs. And, for the record, there might be very legitimate reasons for them wanting to keep this initial conversation on the phone (ex. they're thinking of ditching a contract). Of course, it's generally a bad idea to take a meeting without any agenda at all. But it's important to emphasize your cooperativeness something like this: "If you can send me a brief outline of the agenda, I'd be happy to take your call." It lets you get a better sense of what's going on without pushing them away. Also, by irrationally acting out ("No, you didn't even fucking tell me what you want to talk about.") you're likely losing significant opportunities. If someone wanted to, say, acquire your company the first step would be a phone call exactly like this one to make sure you're not insane.

SilasX 13y ago
I don't see how that's any defense of the salesperson: >All they were trying to do was get you on the phone, and then you immediately jumped to aggression ("You already told me that."). They refused to answer a question or even acknowledge they were doing so. How is that not itself hostile, or at least disrespectful? >And, for the record, there might be very legitimate reasons for them wanting to keep this initial conversation on the phone (ex. they're thinking of ditching a contract). That doesn't mean you can convey nothing about what the conversation would be about; there has to be some level of abstraction at which you can talk. >Of course, it's generally a bad idea to take a meeting without any agenda at all. But it's important to emphasize your cooperativeness something like this: "If you can send me a brief outline of the agenda, I'd be happy to take your call." It lets you get a better sense of what's going on without pushing them away. But he did that! He just didn't use some of the particular terms you used. If someone isn't going to answer "what is this about", why are they going to be any more forthcoming with a request for an outline of the agenda? They'll just reply, "oh, the agenda is to talk about an opportunity for your product...". >If someone wanted to, say, acquire your company the first step would be a phone call exactly like this one to make sure you're not insane. They want to buy a venture in which the leader drops everything to take any random call from someone with no idea of the purpose? Sure, it works to rule out potential acquisitions...

SilasX 13y ago

I don't see how that's any defense of the salesperson: >All they were trying to do was get you on the phone, and then you immediately jumped to aggression ("You already told me that."). They refused to answer a question or even acknowledge they were doing so. How is that not itself hostile, or at least disrespectful? >And, for the record, there might be very legitimate reasons for them wanting to keep this initial conversation on the phone (ex. they're thinking of ditching a contract). That doesn't mean you can convey nothing about what the conversation would be about; there has to be some level of abstraction at which you can talk. >Of course, it's generally a bad idea to take a meeting without any agenda at all. But it's important to emphasize your cooperativeness something like this: "If you can send me a brief outline of the agenda, I'd be happy to take your call." It lets you get a better sense of what's going on without pushing them away. But he did that! He just didn't use some of the particular terms you used. If someone isn't going to answer "what is this about", why are they going to be any more forthcoming with a request for an outline of the agenda? They'll just reply, "oh, the agenda is to talk about an opportunity for your product...". >If someone wanted to, say, acquire your company the first step would be a phone call exactly like this one to make sure you're not insane. They want to buy a venture in which the leader drops everything to take any random call from someone with no idea of the purpose? Sure, it works to rule out potential acquisitions...