How Not to Sell a CMS

I got a cold call from a company trying to sell me a CMS. Here’s how our conversation went:

Salesman: “Are you looking into a web content management solution?”
Me: “Not really. We already have something in place.”
Salesman: “What are you using.”
Me: “MODX.”
Salesman: “Ah ha, open source platform.”
Me: “Yes” (I was impressed that he knows about MODX.)
Salesman: “Is it PHP or .Net?”
Me: “PHP” (So he doesn’t know about MODX. It was just a wild guess.)
Salesman: “How do you like MODX?”
Me: “It’s very flexible. I was able to do HTML5 and responsive web design out of the gate… What language is your CMS written in?”
Salesman: “Java.”
Me: “Oh ok.” (Red flag. Red flag.)
Salesman: “Unlike MODX, which developed by some sixteen-year-old kid in the U.K., our system is developed by professional developers…”
Me: “Wow, wow… Hold on. MODX is developed by a team with a great community backing it up.”

That was a deal-breaker for me right there. How can you trash something that you know absolutely nothing about it? He made it too easy for me to end the conversation.

Beacon of HOV