“Nobody gets fired for choosing the big name”
Director of IT · Challenger vendor
When a Director of IT says nobody gets fired for choosing the big name, they're being honest about career risk: if the big name fails, it isn't their fault, and if you fail, it is. Don't call them cautious. Make the safe choice visible: ask what the big name would cost them in time, flexibility and attention, and what playing safe has cost before.
Practise it before the real call
Free to start. No credit card.
What the buyer says
Nobody gets fired for choosing the big name. Why would I stick my neck out for you?
How to handle it
Listen
Hear "stick my neck out". This is about personal risk and accountability, not about your product.
Acknowledge
Agree that choosing a smaller supplier puts more on the buyer personally, and that it's sensible to weigh that.
Explore
Ask what the big name would cost them: how long until they're live, how much the product would bend to their needs, how much attention they'd get. Ask about a time a safe choice didn't work out.
Respond
Help them build a case they can defend: what they'd get from you that the big name wouldn't give them, with references and a lower-risk way to start. Make it easy for them to explain the decision to their own leadership.
Say this
“That's honest. Choosing us puts more on you personally.”
Say this
“What would the big name cost you in time and flexibility?”
Say this
“What would you need to make this a decision you could defend?”
Variations
- CIO: “If I choose the market leader and it fails, nobody blames me.”
- Procurement Director: “Our default is the incumbent unless there's a very good reason.”
Questions people ask
How do you respond when a buyer says nobody gets fired for choosing the big name?
Acknowledge the personal risk. Ask what the big name would cost them in time, flexibility and attention, and about a safe choice that didn't work out, then help them build a case they can defend, with references and a lower-risk start.
How do challengers compete against the safe choice?
By making the hidden cost of the safe choice visible, and by reducing the buyer's personal risk: references, clear commitments and an easy way to start that they can defend to their leadership.
More objections in Challenger vendor
- “What if you go out of business?”
- “You're too small for a company our size”
- “I've never heard of you”
- “Nobody in our industry uses you”
Practise it before the real call
Free to start. No credit card.