How To Deal With A$$holes and Bullies in Enterprise Sales

The below email is real.

It was sent as a response to one of our salespeople

Three things I learned selling to (and around) a$$holes in 20+ years of enterprise selling. (and what to do to avoid being one of them).

1. Ignore them. If we had a nickel for every company where some bully told our team pretty much anything from the below list, we'd be retired. Especially the "don't contact us, we'll find you" part (And this came from a marketing person). Our ability to go beyond these objections are why we've had the success we've had. Be respectful and continue to professionally sell into the business. Even when they threaten you multiple times and make bold claims.

2. Their team usually doesn't like them either - which means there's an opportunity. When we come across a bully/a$$hole*, we tag them on LinkedIn to get an alert when they change jobs. The minute they leave, we call the team around them as there is usually an opportunity quickly. If someone is that mean to a total stranger who is just trying to earn an honest wage, they're even worse to those around them.

3. Defend your team against them. Every now and then, especially in the early years, one of these bullies will call to complain and ask your company not to contact them. It's clearly not anyone's intent to bother anyone - we'd make no money doing so. But, from time to time, the same person will hear from us a few times as people will forward what we do to them. Nearly every time, it is from a company who interrupts our days as well. A major bank did it to us twice. The same bank who interrupts the games I'm watching with ads, mails me weekly, emails me more often, and calls constantly. Be nice. Remind them this is how business gets done and nobody is trying to annoy anyone. And yes, we'll take you off every list we just can't guarantee you wont have a co-worker see value in what we're doing and send it to you. That we can't stop.

We all get cold-called and emailed. It's just a part of doing business. The great thing about cold outreach: they're really easy to ignore and there are tons of tools to do so. Being a jerk to someone just doing their job isn't going to accomplish anything. Be nice. And ignore those who aren't.

One of our most popular posts is "Why We Cold-Call Even Though It's 'Dead'". In it, we share the incredible friendships and opportunities which came from cold calling. Yes, it comes with downsides. And dealing with A$$holes is just one of them.

*There's a chance this person is not a bully/a$$hole but just someone who had a lapse of judgement - as we all do. Hoping that's the case.