Yesterday I could not reach the VP with whom I was to consult the stalemate over whether to allow XYZ corp to visit the factory or not. I spoke to him today.
him – yeah CEO told me that you will call me.
me – XYZ corp wants to see the factory and if satisfied will confirm 50 tonnes business.
him – Which XYZ Corp?
me – The one for whom you advised me that we would be offering some material, since MNO Corp are delaying the call-offs.
him – Oh..yeah. but remember MNO Corp is a reputed and large company. We should not be upsetting them.
me – Absolutely. But what do I tell XYZ Corp who has already shown interest on 50 tonnes that we offered?
him – You confirm that. What is the issue?
me – They would like to see the factory. I discussed with CEO on it and he said that I should speak to you.
him – I now remember. That’s not possible.
me – Why not?
him – The customer will come here and we have to make them stay in the Hotel. There will be expenses.
me – True. Pls remember the value of the order is Rs 2.5 million. Good profitability. No headaches. They will send their own truck to the factory for picking the goods.
him – Do you know how expensive the Hotel Tariffs are nowadays?
me – OK. I will tell them we cannot entertain the factory visit. They either confirm the order without conditions or we are not selling to them.
him – You cannot take such a rigid view when doing Sales. One has to be flexible.
me – ??
him – You have to be methodical when handling such customers. That’s what I did when finalizing MNO Corp deal. There was no glitch. Done deal.
me – ??
him – See we have produced 150 tonnes already.
me – But we took order for 500 tonnes.
him – It happens in processing industry. When the raw material is short, what can we do?
me – What about delaying the call offs?
him – It happens in business and we have to accommodate customers sometime. Remember, we get our salary because of customers. We should never forget that.
me – Well said. What do I tell XYZ Corp now?
him – Why don’t you discuss these matters with the CEO to whom you are directly reporting?
I could not get any decision from either of the two big-wigs. I should think of a strategy to get this business going. Any ideas?