Without giving details, My job involves adding a new function to an existing system, and we decided to find an off the shelf product rather than “make it by ourself”.
This means that at the moment, I left the company basement, removed my lab coat and safety glasses and wear a nice shirt to go on the floor with nice windows (and weird hyper social persons) to talk with our purchasing department and meet suppliers.
I somehow feel bad to keep talking with B and C while knowing that they’re proposal/pricing isn’t as good as the one from A but that until purchasing closed the deal with A we cannot just tell them no. So how frustrating is it for you sales persons
At least when I break stuff in the lab it doesn’t make humans unhappy
EDIT : forgot language flag
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Not a sales person, but a former technician who is now a product owner and deals with this daily.
Your role is to find the best product that meets your requirements during your RFP. If products B and C are comparable or better than product A, a good procurement team can negotiate pricing. Also, nothing is a done deal until the MSA and SOWs are agreed to and signed. I’ve had a situation where product A would fall through due to legal disagreements, so we went with product B.
During my last RFP when we were releasing a vendor towards the end, they came back with a counter proposal that gave us the first 6-months of a 36-month contract for free, bringing the price to be competitive with the other vendors.
Let the process play out. Your role is to help choose the best product for the company, it’s your purchasing team role to handle the money aspect. These B2B reps understand this process too and are happy as long as you’re still engaging with them at least.
Know this isn’t the answer/perspective you were searching for, but I felt the same as you during my first RFP and felt bad for the vendors. Now they’ve become great network opportunities and I have more future job prospects lined up in the event I’m ready to make a move.
I’ve been in your shoes many times. They know the drill.
It only feels deceiving if you let them believe that they have a chance if they really don’t. I always make sure that they are aware that the conversation is about them giving a non-binding offer. It’s then entirely up to them if they want to potentially waste their time.
sales people aren’t surprised by a ghosting, or a no. its the most likely outcome. but they have thick skin and work what they can anyway, and evolve the approach. the actual ratios on win to lose depend highly on what it is you sell and how competitive your offering is.