Getting to No

Y2 Marketing is extra-picky about its customers---so picky that its sales staff often won't take yes for an answer.

1 | 2 NEXT

Not long ago, marketing pro Rich Harshaw met with a potential client, a real estate executive trying to sell a new software product. The client was concerned about the product's design, and wanted a marketer who could present some packaging options. Harshaw disagreed, arguing that even the prettiest product won't sell if it's not positioned properly. Here's how the sales call unfolded:

Harshaw: I'm just going to tell you this as plainly as I know how. Hopefully, this doesn't offend you. Any dumb-ass can come up with a logo and a color. But here's the key: What the hell do you do with that stuff?

Client: You need to have the product in a cover--in a CD sleeve. You need to sell the product.

Harshaw: No one gives a damn what the CD sleeve looks like...(Raises his voice) Holy crap, man, we're going to put all of this attention into building an identity that no one's going to freaking see until they've bought it.

Client: (Pauses) Hey...Rich, you need to tone it down some. We're trying to be professional here. Back off a little bit...

Harshaw: I don't care if we get this deal or not. But if you are going to buy into an ad agency that's going to put together this logo-identity package, I already know what happens. You get high expectations because this stuff looks cool. And it doesn't [sell]. I've seen it happen so many times, it makes my stomach turn. It makes me want to vomit.

No, Harshaw was not in a particularly bad mood that day. That's the way he always behaves on sales calls. In fact, he uses a recording of this very conversation as a training tool for his staff. The approach, he admits, is on the aggressive side. But at Y2 Marketing, the biggest problem is not finding customers--it's finding the right customers. The marketing-services firm, which is based in Irving, Texas, and has 1,000 consultants nationwide, is convinced that not every potential client is ready for what its marketing program demands. Remember the infamous Soup Nazi character on the sitcom Seinfeld who routinely dismissed customers as being unworthy of his business? Y2 Marketing isn't much different. "Our company is more interested in converts than clients," says Edward Earle, the company's president.

"The customer is always right" may be the oldest cliché in business, but it's not necessarily a good business plan. Smart entrepreneurs long ago figured out that some customers are simply too difficult to serve and make a practice of purging their less profitable clients. But few companies, especially in a sector as competitive as marketing, find it wise to threaten to "fire" customers before they've even signed a contract. After all, such an approach could mean losing potentially profitable clients early on, before a relationship has had a chance to develop, says Ruth P. Stevens, a marketing professor at Columbia Business School. "If you handle it badly," she says, "the fired customer may become a source of bad word of mouth."

1 | 2 NEXT

Try a RISK-FREE Issue of Inc. Today!

Renew | Contact Us | Current Issue

Select Services