Guide
They replied "we already have a vendor": what to send back
Most of the time this is a no, said politely. Occasionally it is the start of a conversation. The skill is telling them apart without pushing.
Short answer
Thank them in one line, do not argue with the vendor, and either stop or ask one honest question about what they wish was different. Ask for nothing else. A reply like this is a decline, so do not keep the sequence running [1], and remember that pressing on raises the risk of spam reports, which move your standing with the mailbox provider [2].
What it usually means
- "We are covered, thanks." A no. Most of these should end here.
- "We use X." Slightly warmer. They have told you who they use, which is a courtesy, not an invitation to compare.
- "We have a vendor, but the contract is up in spring." A later, not a no. Note the date.
- "We already have a vendor, what makes you different?" A real question. Answer it briefly, with one concrete difference.
Three replies you can send
A plain acknowledgement, no pitch
Hi Maria,
Thanks for telling me, and good to know you are covered. I will not write again about this.
Sam
When you have one real question
Hi Maria,
Thanks, that is useful to know. One question, and no need to answer if it is not worth your time: is there anything you wish it did differently? If not, I will leave you to it and will not write again.
Sam
When they say the contract ends soon
Hi Maria,
Thanks for the reply. You mentioned the contract ends in the spring. With your permission I will write once, in February, with a short outline you can set beside what you have. If you would rather I did not, say so and I will not.
Sam
What not to do
- Do not criticise the vendor they named. You do not know their experience and they chose it.
- Do not say "we can do that too, cheaper". It is the line they have heard most.
- Do not send a comparison table unasked.
- Do not reply "are you sure?". They were.
- Do not keep writing on the original schedule. The follow-ups should stop once they have answered.
When to stop
Stop after one reply of yours, unless they have asked a question or given a date. If they say they are not interested or ask to be left alone, that is an objection and you should not write again [1]. Only write at a later date if they named one and you said you would. Pushing past a polite no tends to turn a quiet decline into a spam report, and Google says that "if messages from your domain are frequently reported as spam, future messages from you are more likely to be marked as spam" [2].
How Honest Intros handles it
A plain "we already have a supplier" or "we are all good" is read as a decline: the follow-ups to that person stop and the reply is filed. A reply the reader cannot place, such as a longer message that mentions a vendor, is left for you to read, and the inbox offers a short starter reply that you edit before sending. Replies that name a later date are treated as "later" rather than "no". Nothing is sent without you.
Questions
Should I reply to "we already have a vendor"?
One short thank-you is polite and costs nothing. Do not try to switch them. If they gave a contract date or asked a question, answer that and nothing more.
Can I ask what they use?
If they volunteered it, you can acknowledge it. Asking what they wish was different is a better question than asking for the vendor's name.
When can I write to them again?
Only if they gave a date or said they would like to hear later. If they said no, do not write again.
See what it would write for you
Paste your website. Honest Intros learns what you sell and shows who it would write to, and what it would say.
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