The Swamp

Looking for some feedback for you enlightened swampers: I've had a vendor (from VMWare) reach out to me proposing a bet. He must have found me on LinkedIn, because he's saying that we bet on the PAC-12 championship game tomorrow night. If the Utes win, he'll send me some Utah swag, and if Oregon wins, I come for a demo of VMWare stuff.

I haven't responded, but I'm really tempted to tell him a) I don't bet, b) I don't watch football, and c) I'm not in a position to make any purchasing decisions regarding VMWare, and d) its a wildly inappropriate way to try and land a sale.

Thoughts?

All four of those are reasonable responses, but I would agree it's a wildly, wildly inappropriate way to try and make a sale.

Report and ignore?

I'm guessing he's just fishing and you're not the only person he's proposed this to.

ETA: What the hell? Since when do vendors ask customers to travel to them for a demo? This guy sucks.

I decided to go with the 'I have no purchasing authority' response (which is true. I write code...I don't even know how to do a purchase request here).

Still strikes me as really bizarre.

While I do respect the hustle that's creepy as fuck.

Anyone else noticed a spike in vendor cold calls or emails in the last year? Maybe my email address found its way onto some shit marketing email list, but damn, I get anywhere from 3-5 unsolicited vendor emails a day. I blame LinkedIn because some of these emails reference something my LinkedIn account.

Sabo wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 1:47 pm Anyone else noticed a spike in vendor cold calls or emails in the last year? Maybe my email address found its way onto some shit marketing email list, but damn, I get anywhere from 3-5 unsolicited vendor emails a day. I blame LinkedIn because some of these emails reference something my LinkedIn account.

That's probably it because I get them too and there's no good reason why I should. I always report the emails as spam which fucks with the sender score for the person's email address and the sending domain.

Sabo wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 1:47 pm Anyone else noticed a spike in vendor cold calls or emails in the last year? Maybe my email address found its way onto some shit marketing email list, but damn, I get anywhere from 3-5 unsolicited vendor emails a day. I blame LinkedIn because some of these emails reference something my LinkedIn account.

That's how this guy found me. How else would he know that I went to Utah?

And...for an update: I sent him the 'I have no purchasing power' email, and he replied saying that he still wanted to make the bet, and that VMWare would be so great for our company!

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 3:18 pm

Sabo wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 1:47 pm Anyone else noticed a spike in vendor cold calls or emails in the last year? Maybe my email address found its way onto some shit marketing email list, but damn, I get anywhere from 3-5 unsolicited vendor emails a day. I blame LinkedIn because some of these emails reference something my LinkedIn account.

That's how this guy found me. How else would he know that I went to Utah?

And...for an update: I sent him the 'I have no purchasing power' email, and he replied saying that he still wanted to make the bet, and that VMWare would be so great for our company!

Tell him you're Mormon and are offended you're asking him to bet.

You'd probably have to get your boss in on it, but take the bet, renege if you lose and then see what he tries to do about it.

Sabo wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 3:52 pm

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 3:18 pm

Sabo wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 1:47 pm Anyone else noticed a spike in vendor cold calls or emails in the last year? Maybe my email address found its way onto some shit marketing email list, but damn, I get anywhere from 3-5 unsolicited vendor emails a day. I blame LinkedIn because some of these emails reference something my LinkedIn account.

That's how this guy found me. How else would he know that I went to Utah?

And...for an update: I sent him the 'I have no purchasing power' email, and he replied saying that he still wanted to make the bet, and that VMWare would be so great for our company!

Tell him you're Mormon and are offended you're asking him to bet.

And then bet him a night with one of your wives.

EdRomero wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 5:09 pm

Sabo wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 3:52 pm

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 3:18 pm

Sabo wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 1:47 pm Anyone else noticed a spike in vendor cold calls or emails in the last year? Maybe my email address found its way onto some shit marketing email list, but damn, I get anywhere from 3-5 unsolicited vendor emails a day. I blame LinkedIn because some of these emails reference something my LinkedIn account.

That's how this guy found me. How else would he know that I went to Utah?

And...for an update: I sent him the 'I have no purchasing power' email, and he replied saying that he still wanted to make the bet, and that VMWare would be so great for our company!

Tell him you're Mormon and are offended you're asking him to bet.

And then bet him a night with one of your wives.

And stick him with your ex.

The Sybian wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 9:44 pm

EdRomero wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 5:09 pm

Sabo wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 3:52 pm

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 3:18 pm

Sabo wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2019 1:47 pm Anyone else noticed a spike in vendor cold calls or emails in the last year? Maybe my email address found its way onto some shit marketing email list, but damn, I get anywhere from 3-5 unsolicited vendor emails a day. I blame LinkedIn because some of these emails reference something my LinkedIn account.

That's how this guy found me. How else would he know that I went to Utah?

And...for an update: I sent him the 'I have no purchasing power' email, and he replied saying that he still wanted to make the bet, and that VMWare would be so great for our company!

Tell him you're Mormon and are offended you're asking him to bet.

And then bet him a night with one of your wives.

And stick him with your ex.

I wouldn't wish that on anyone....

I replied with this: "Hey…I appreciate the hustle…but its not going to happen. I don’t bet, I don’t follow football, and, to be honest, I find your sales approach to be highly inappropriate."

I mean...I tried to be nice....I ignored his first email...then told him I didn't have purchasing power...but he kept bugging me.

Why not post his email so we can troll him?

edwzipper wrote: ↑Fri Dec 06, 2019 1:31 pm Why not post his email so we can troll him?

Is this a service we are offering now? Because if so I have a number of technology staffing folks that could use a lesson on etiquette (or sell a camaro).

I have the perfect victim...my wife's ex-boss. She's one of those really annoying Vegans, so maybe Omaha Steaks cold calls?