HOW TO LOSE MY BUSINESS -101

People amaze me. Every day and in many different ways, I speak to people with a variety of gifts, challenges, and opportunities and try to align them with my world of challenges and opportunities, if possible. In a lot of cases now I get to speak with agencies as well, and the number and variety is seemingly endless. Recently I heard a story from a colleague about an agency that was doing some business development and as it happens frequently in the world of social media and technology it started with an anonymous email.

'Hey Ms. W, I'm Bob from X Agency. My company is in the world of recruiting, we have a ton of experience (fact check - not that much and not in our industry), and we would like to work with you on some of your open roles to help you find people. How close are you to filling these roles?'

'Thanks Bob, but at this time we are not looking for any new agency partners and as such, please remove me from your mailing list.'

'Thanks W, what would it take to become an agency partner to your company?'

-No reply for 60min-

'I'm sure others in your company will want to deal with us and so I will go around you to them. :-)'

'Certainly a different business development tact. I've asked you to remove us from your mailing list, and your choice is to ignore that request. Not what I would do...and by the way I am responsible for those decisions with my company. We have reviewed your company history, background and industry focus and have chosen not to involve you in our business. Kindly direct your BD efforts elsewhere.'

'I need you to stop being rude, Ms. W. You don't own Company Y and there are lots of people there that can approve using our agency, so stop pretending you have that power. I'm the founder of Agency X and despite being a big shot entrepreneur, I'm still the hardest working person you'll ever meet, so don't be rude. If you're not interested in dealing with us, we'll find another way in.'

Though this information is paraphrased, and the names and companies removed, it is accurate and I can tell you honestly that I will be going out of my way to tell people not to deal with this agency or its subsidiaries, ever. This serves as the most inappropriate, and ignorant (verging on misogynistic), attempt at business development I have seen in almost 25 years of business.

If you want to do business, great, let's talk, but be realistic and don't be an a$$hole.

Amaze me with your worst Business Development tale.