Before I Sell to You, Tell Me--What IS Your Immigration Status?

“We discussed that you have the budget, and that your purchase time frame is 30 days, but tell me, what is your immigration status?"

Don’t be offended. My question has nothing to do with your last name or your accented English. . . It’s just that . . . I’ll be honest: a sales problem I have is that not every prospect buys from me. If our sales team finds 10 illegal immigrants, our boss said we’ll be able to sue our local police department. Which is great, because at least we have another way to make money if deals don’t close. We’ve already planned for the revenue in the forecast. And I’ll tell you something else, since SB 1070 passed, we don’t get as many leads. Our prospects worry that their inquiries could lead to litigation, so they just don’t contact us as much. I don’t like it, but what can we do?

Above all, I want you to know that my company prides itself on building trusted customer relationships. Win/win. All of that. It's how we've always done it. I’m so glad you know this isn't personal. It's just due diligence. But enough about my business problems. Let’s move on to yours. What keeps you up at night, Mr. Gonzalez?"