A US-based entrepreneur is being trolled online over his LinkedIn post about his supposed learnings on sales after he proposed to his girlfriend over the weekend. Bryan Shankman, the owner of a California-based company that schedules sales calls with qualified leads, took to LinkedIn to share a photo of himself proposing to his girlfriend. The romantic proposal photo was also accompanied by a lengthy statement detailing what the proposal had taught him about B2B (business-to-business) sales. "I proposed to my girlfriend this weekend," Mr Shankman wrote in the caption before segueing into his business strategy. "Here's what it taught me about B2B sales..."
"Like a well-run sales cycle, key milestones must be met throughout the relationship to ensure a Closed Won status at the end," he continued, listing prospecting, discovery, demo-ing, pricing, negotiations and more as things he learned from his relationship that applied to B2B sales.
Take a look at the post below:
In his post, Mr Shankman revealed that the business "learnings" from his relationship included jargon, such as prospecting, discovery, demo, pricing, negotiations, handling objections and closing. He elaborated on each of the seven points. The entrepreneur concluded the post by comparing his relationship to the signing of a deal that had gone through, complete with corporate-speak.
"Reminder: After the deal is closed, there is a lot of work to do. The journey continues with planning and constant communications to ensure ongoing satisfaction," he wrote.
Mr Shankman shared the post just a few days back. Since then, it has accumulated more than 3,600 reactions. The post also unleashed a flurry of jokes and memes. Some people started writing their own versions of Mr Shankman's caption.
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"My girlfriend went with a competitor. Here's what it taught me about customer retention!" jokingly wrote one user. "I went to Ikea today with my wife and got 50% off the meatballs. Here's what it taught me about preparing for AI taking our jobs," wrote another. "I bought a toilet paper and here are my tips on project management," committed a third.
Some users also slammed Mr Shankman for "ruining" a special moment. "The post didn't go as planned but hope your relationship does. Some things are better left intimate and special. Hope it didn't ruin it for her. It definitely would have for me," commented one user. "I would be disappointed if my partner used a personal moment as a B2B sales comparison for likes on LinkedIn. Takes away the magic of getting engaged and married," said another.
