Topic: Question for vendors? I want to start by saying I think we all appreciate the work you do, but…

Question for vendors?

I want to start by saying I think we all appreciate the work you do and the partnerships you provide to us at management companies. With that, when did it become appropriate to go on over load sales mode? I’m talking vendors who already have our business and want more, and vendors wanting new business? I’m up to averaging 5-10 emails a day and some people email 5 days a week. I understand some of this may be automated through your CRM, but I have to be honest it’s a HUGE turn off and really makes me think twice about those specific vendors.

Want your honest feedback. Am I the only one experiencing this, or is it becoming a global industry issue that really needs to be addressed?

I hate it! 

They are under corporate pressure to grab every dollar you have and every dollar you dont have no matter how much they have to stalk you!!

It doesn’t hurt to shop around you would be surprised how much over your current vendor is charging you.

I have literally recieved voice mails that say hi this is like the 9th message I've left you. Ok.. dont you get the point?!

May be that some vendors are struggling a bit lately. Some are probably turning to tools that over-automate.
I’m on the vendor side. I’m in marketing. I’m overwhelmed by some of the tools that are popular now… personally, I’m less than fond of a lot of the tactics that are popular in marketing right now too.
Even the marketing of marketing tools is just to the point of ridiculous. You should see how much spam I filter out of LinkedIn! So I kinda know what you’re talking about. It can be frustrating. Who has time for all the sales messages all - the - time?!

Not sure if anyone else has thought of this (have not read the whole stream), but it is budget season and vendors know we reach out to get bids. This might have something to do with it. Also we had a vendor who came to us and was reaching out. Business since COVID has slowed considerably for some. They ya re not back to where they were. Easier to hit up business’ then solicit neighborhoods. I’ve started to see an increase in good old fashioned marketing.. flyers left on cars in parking lots, more flyers on doors.

Yes, but I will take emails that are easily filterable into a junk folder vs sales calls, where you politely say ‘no thank you’ three times before eventually hanging up on them because they don’t stop with the sales pitch.

The post conference flood! It's also budget season so the vendors are out

I’m a vendor and I get flooded by others also. I don’t flood with emails however a reply back will probably stop any further communication. They can update whatever crm you are in. Like Salesforce. The next thing you can do is telling them to put you on a do not call list or remove the email from database. We aren’t all that extreme however we might need a response. Hope this helps!

If you’re a vendor in the multifamily space and you’re trying to sell by blasting out emails rather than walking in the door, getting to know people and actually having a relationship, you deserve your fate.

Brandon Harris well. They really don’t need to walk in the door either. That annoys us even worse. (Without an appointment)

Brandon Harris actually as a vendor, I have seen many post of properties complaining about vendors stopping by too. We have to do our job and we are not going to do it the way everyone likes it unless they communicate their expectations with us.

I am onsite and also a vender. I have clients all over the US. It is impossible for me to 'walk in the door'. My company is ME, just me! However, I don't blast out emails either. We all need to be respectful of each others time!

Sadly, their are Chief Sales Officers, Chief Commercial Officers and EVP of Sales Marketing who believe clickity click BUYING is how mult fam is trending. They believe a trade based on personal site visits and property showing doesn't want personal visits for selling.
They think you are too busy and if they ping you enough, frequently, eventually they will hit the moving target when you are ready now for engagement on their offer. A spreadsheet told them they can ping you 1000 times for $100 and a single site visit costs them $500.

As a vendor we are just doing our job. I personally would never reach out more than once in a week. Every day seems a bit crazy to me.
I can also tell you my most frustrating thing about being a sales person in the Multifamily industry. I would say about 10% of people actually respond and say that they are not interested. To me, if someone asks me for a quote and I get it to them, I would appreciate it so much that if it is too high, you tell me. If you are not interested, you tell me. Because if I hear nothing, I follow up. It doesn’t hurt my feelings to be told no. I appreciate it so that I can move on.
Many vendor companies set goals for their sales teams. For example, they may be told that they must poke you 5 times before they give up. So it might not always be the rep, it could be their boss micromanaging.

I agree with HD Supply and Lowes. I get at least 2 per day from HD. I know they are automated but it's still excessive

I have a few vendors that started sending 2 to 3 unwanted sales emails a day. I blocked them.

I’m a vendor and an on-site team member. We need the vendors and they need us.  The residents probably feel the same way about our scheduled emails that go out weekly about trash, maintenance, pest control etc.

Candidly, oftentimes we're given false promises or buying signals -- most often from prospects, not customers...but still some customers too.
Honestly, yes I can be a bit pushy when it comes to some deadlines, but those deadlines aren't quota-driven or anything on my end; they're often driven by promotion end dates, protection from price increases, etc. I literally just want to help.
My advice, go with any or all of these:
- if you're not interested, give permission to follow up based on your preferred timeline
- explain why you're not; very few of my prospect base understand ALL of what I do and why I'm different
- use us to get a free lunch for yourself or team by allowing us 15-minutes of your time
I understand, nothing is owed to vendors, but coming from outside this industry, I can tell you that we generally come from a good place! Treat your vendors the same way you wish your prospects treat your leasing agents

I am a vendor and I hit the streets, come visit bring a little trinket or something, but never the hard sell..I love my customers and build relationships with them. Very seldom do I send emails, I would rather talk to you if I have something you might need, and am always a phone call or text away

Listen, this is a really tough one because none of us likes having our inbox bombarded - and yet, suppliers are tasked with reaching out for new business in a variety of ways, and email is a legitimate tool. As a long-time supplier and sales leader, I have advice for both sides of the fence. Suppliers, don't lean too heavily on email marketing, and don't be afraid to try something new and creative (like having something delivered with a personal note, hand-delivering a card, etc.). And for heavens' sake, put in the work by networking at events, with fellow suppliers and with your existing customers who may know someone looking for your type of solution. Operators, the best offense is a good defense - simply answer the email, even if just to say "no thanks." This will end an automated email campaign (which are set up to stop once there's a reply) which can include 4-5 emails. Also, don't be completely closed off to looking at something new; I can tell you that email campaigns are prevalent because they work! A great deal of new business is acquired through email campaigns. Lastly, everyone needs to remember that we are all (suppliers and operators) trying to do our jobs, so be thoughtful and considerate.