This is an awesome article at ZDNet, "Top 10 Reasons to Avoid IT Salespeople". Before I blast off I want to disclose I have been on both sides of the fence. I worked with and work with IT Salespeople. I even sold quite a bit of software in my time but never was I guilty of the sins, outlined in the article. Way, way back I sold life insurance too. That was a slimy business and it drove me into IT. However, little did I know that the life insurances salesman has a sleazy cousin the Enterprise IT Sales guy.
Shortly into my first IT job I met my first slimy IT sales guy. He was fit, wore expensive suits, and had sparkling porcelain veneers. He drove a BMW and had a fancy watch (an Omega) if I recall. He sold my boss a $5 million piece of junk that never worked as promised. He was gone the day the sale closed and after six months of cleaning up the mess I banned him from making any future calls.
I can related to most all the reasons but this quote from reason ten–The Lingo, is great. This habit of the slick salesman it’s one of my pet peeves. I call it jargonwocky. It’s the liberal application of trendy acronyms and jargon without context.
If you want to get on an IT manager’s nerves, say "business-process management" when you mean "workflow". "I hate it when salespeople talk about SOA [service-oriented architecture] like it’s something completely new, when it’s just the way any half-wit would architect a system these days," said Dunkley. "And, frankly, I’m not going to pay big bucks for Web 2.0 while it’s something your 12-year-old could do while watching TV.
If you have ever been an IT buyer, read the article, it’s good.
[Disclaimer: I don't hate all IT Salespeople, however this is one stereotype that exists for a reason.]
(via Matt)
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LOL – nail on the head
Hey – do me a favor – send an email to Fish and Seally telling them they’re the exceptions that prove the rule…
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