The 10 Scariest Things a Customer Can Say to a Small Business

For the sake of an entrepreneur’s sanity, it’s a good thing Halloween comes but once a year. But come to think of it, some beleaguered entrepreneurs have customers who go trick or treating every day. Here are 10 of the scariest things customers can tell a small business:

1. “We’re issuing an RFQ.” BOO! This is the equivalent of ”We don’t want to do business with you anymore.” An RFQ (Request for Quotation) is an overly formalized and frequently ineffective method of procurement that ignores the value of relationships and destroys any vestige of goodwill in the transaction. At worst, the supplier loses the customer’s business; at best, retains it at a much lower price and on much less favorable terms.

2. “We’ve hired a new director of purchasing.” New personnel can quickly turn a purchasing department into a haunted house. The new buyer may have pet vendors from a previous job. He or she may decide to make a mark by securing a better deal from a competing supplier. Either way, the incumbent can look forward to a horrific few months trying to solidify the new relationship.

3. “We’ve been acquired.” If new purchasing people can spook a business, a customer being acquired makes for a Texas chainsaw massacre. An established vendor must work feverishly to carve out a role with the new parent company – or watch its business get carved up like a pumpkin.

4. “We can get this anywhere.” This customer has reduced your product or service to a commodity. The horror! The horror! Either what you sell truly has no distinctive value, the customer perceives this as the case, or the customer is bluffing to obtain a lower price. Until sellers ascertain the true meaning of the statement, they will be chasing ghosts trying to respond.

5. “We didn’t know you sold that!” When a seller hears that a customer ordered an item the company sells from a competitor, either through ignorance or inattention, chills go up his or her spine. A new competitor has flown in through the window like a vampire bat, a potential Dracula that will suck the incumbent’s business dry.

6. “We haven’t heard from you in months.” Owners always get spooked when they hear this; it means the sales rep has fallen down on the job. The statement is a not-so-subtle hint that the customer is annoyed and is either contemplating taking the business elsewhere, or has already done so.

7. “We need extended billing terms.” It’s unsettling when a customer wants to make its cash flow problem the vendor’s cash flow problem. More frightening, the statement is an ominous creak in what was thought to be a sturdy business relationship. Time to scare up some new customers!

8. “We had to give their product a try.” Vendors can scream bloody murder upon hearing this, because it means a competitor has developed a superior value proposition. Price objections, service issues, and relationship problems can always be overcome … but an inferior value proposition? Not so much.

9. “We needed a back-up supplier.” The nightmare scenario for a small business is that it will be deemed too small to handle the workload. The vendor must find out whether the customer’s decision to bring in a second supplier is based on an actual breakdown or shortcoming in its service or technical support. Any such flaw must be repaired or the business will face a cascading loss of revenue.

10. Silence. As any horror film fan knows, silence is terrifying. When the customer stops talking to a vendor, that vendor has been replaced or eliminated. The vendor, unaware of its terminal status, wanders around like a zombie until it takes the initiative and breaks the silence.

Any one of these statements can haunt a small business for years. The trick: Avoid hearing them, which requires staying keenly in tune with every move the customer makes. The treat: Sustained, profitable business relationships!

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