Good points Jeff...
My problem was always getting any kind of commitment -- you know, "I can build
you this, for $$$." Never could get an actionable response except the dollars
kept going up and the size transformer kept going down, with never an intercept.
It's simple -- when someone shows up at your door with $$$, tell them what you
can and if the like it, a deal can be made. Two months later, I still never
got a price and performance commitment.
Leeds me to conclude he does not want this sort of work.
Sure would have liked to know that weeks ago...
-S
----- Original Message -----
From: Jeff Blaine
To: Jim Monahan
Cc: amps@contesting.com
Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2009 11:46 AM
Subject: Re: [Amps] Open letter
Gentlemen,
For context, let me say that I am a sales and management teams trainer
by profession, and an engineer by training. Which means that I do have
long experience from both the viewpoints of sales and engineering -
typically these viewpoints are not the same.
And I would like to say that Carl has a point - in that Jeff is very
good at telling you what cannot be done.
However, I beleive the issue here is that this approach, one of a
somewhat conservative outlook, is very typical of the engineering
outlook. In my case, it's justified because I'm trying to get 20 pounds
of goodies to fit into a 10 pound space. It could be characterized as a
"under promise and over deliver" outlook.
Jeff spent about 50 minutes with me on the phone the other day without
asking for the order, or even a follow on. [Bad boy, from a sales
standpoint.] But from a confidence building standpoint, following that
discussion I am 100.000% sure that what he were to supply me would meet
(and by a stretch, far exceed) the specs he is willing to sign up for.
The guy clearly has his engineering hat on and was not looking to close
the sale. I have corresponded with him on quite a few other subjects
over the last year and found his replies informative and timely.
The trouble as I see it is when a guy is in the marginal area, as I am,
where the union of conservative design and desired performance just
cannot match due to the space restriction. That can lead to frustration
simply because we as buyers want to hear that our dreams can be manifest
even if it means disregarding the physics we are constrained by. Jeff
will just not give me the "to get to x, you need to be willing to
sacrifice y and z" kind of answer. He is strictly conservative in his
comments, construction and discussions. Again, reflecting a pretty
traditional engineering view point. In my case, the $$ are mid range;
but I really can appreciate the trouble guys who want to buy a "big boy
sized transformer" are running into. The cost of entry onto the dance
floor is really high...
Having pontificated on those points, my suggestion to end the arguing
and come back with facts would simply be to identify a competing company
that can meet Carl's performance and price goals. So far I've not found
another guy that was willing to chat me up about my requirements as Jeff
did. Absent another vendor who is willing and able to provide "a
better deal" (be it price, performance, delivery, etc), the benefit of
the doubt has to go to Jeff. He's like the local hardware store in a
small town. The selection and price may not fit your needs exactly, but
he's a known entity and has a proven ability to deliver.
Despite not being able to get the answer from him that I wanted
(yet...), I do find his straight-forward approach refreshing in an era
where "over promise and under deliver" is more of the typical case.
My two cents...
73/jeff/ac0c
Jim Monahan wrote:
> I would like to add my testimony to indicate the satisfaction
> I have had in my dealings with Harbach Electronics and Jeff.
>
> I have purchased several components for my older Heath equipment
> and a spare 8877 pull tube for my AL-1500 which came with a 30 day
> warranty at a very good price.
>
> All were delivered in a timely fashion and I had no problems with
> any defects.
>
> Jim, K1PX
>
> K1PX at msn.com
> _______________________________________________
> Amps mailing list
> Amps@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
>
>
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