[myself248]

By meticulously, accurately, and skeptically gathering ALL the requirements from the customer and bringing them to the engineers.

It sounds inane, but it's appalling how often that doesn't happen, and how it irretrievably dooms a project before it starts.

[sangnoir]

This is software sales, which has long cycles, ongoing relationships and is a tiny sliver of the "hires salesmen" industry. For commoditized markets like phone plans, cable TV / ISPs, paper, or roof repairs after a hurricane, the ones who get the most sales are the ones without scruples.

[JumpCrisscross]

> For commoditized markets like phone plans, cable TV / ISPs, paper, or roof repairs after a hurricane, the ones who get the most sales are the ones without scruples

You’re describing low value, low recurrence sales. Those are numbers, not relationship, games, with high churn at that.

[sangnoir]

I think low recurrence is the bigger factor for sleaziness: roof replacement aren't low value, same goes for the archetype for sleazy sales tactics: car salesman.

[JumpCrisscross]

> roof replacement aren't low value, same goes for the archetype for sleazy sales tactics: car salesman

They’re low value, comparatively speaking. High-value sales starts where your client can afford to do their own diligence and retaliate if you screw them; that’s typically around the $10+ million level.