How do you sell your software to big companies?
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I'm contractor for one of the wealthiest companies in the country. They have enough money to buy best in class software from biggest names in the industry. 2 out of 3 internal departments ( Eng. and Utility departments ) that I've worked with, know me and trust in my software. Now I'm going to introduce myself to the 3rd and most important department ( Maintenance Dep. ). Generally speaking, Management and engineers in this department go for the big names and don't waste their time and money on unknown vendors. I'm brave enough to host them in a meeting in coming months. I'm thinking about the ways I can assure them about my software. Management and Engineers from the first 2 departments have told me, If they are asked, will talk in favor of me. Literally, this is the only chance I have. Please share your thoughts, hints and suggestions for the meeting. Edit: The software I'm talking about is a critical mission software used in Oil Industry. Big players claim 7 nines Availability. My software is good ( enough?? ) in this regard ( 5 nines). TBH, It's a very fierce and tough competition. Thanks
Behzad
You find the "line manager" that will be most impacted, and pitch it to them (first). Costs and benefits and a "firm" timeline (?) Companies don't just "buy"; they "evaluate"; which can run weeks or months. Lunches, etc: the (imagined) "expense account".
"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I
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Look out for the dammed bus, the bane of every contractor/ single person development is the bus that seems to follow them into every office. "What happens if you get hit by a bus?" The number of times I ran into this question when trying to sell either myself or software to large companies was depressing. And I never did find a satisfactory response. You need a champion from each of your current department clients to push for you. Good luck!
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP
Mycroft Holmes wrote:
"What happens if you get hit by a bus?"
I have used several answers depending on the impression I had from them, but ending in only two options, depending on if I was consulting (a.k.a. I am alone) or if I was part of a team. First part of answer mostly joking: - The bus will get broken because I am like superman - Bus drivers are really nice, they won't hit me - My wife will celebrate a party - You will be screwed without me And then: "Jokes apart / no, seriously..." (something like that) Being solo: - I always document my work in a way, that a middly skilled person could follow my thoughts and take over the project after a certain learning curve Being part of a team: - One of my competent colleagues will take over and continue where I stopped
M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Mycroft Holmes wrote:
"What happens if you get hit by a bus?"
I have used several answers depending on the impression I had from them, but ending in only two options, depending on if I was consulting (a.k.a. I am alone) or if I was part of a team. First part of answer mostly joking: - The bus will get broken because I am like superman - Bus drivers are really nice, they won't hit me - My wife will celebrate a party - You will be screwed without me And then: "Jokes apart / no, seriously..." (something like that) Being solo: - I always document my work in a way, that a middly skilled person could follow my thoughts and take over the project after a certain learning curve Being part of a team: - One of my competent colleagues will take over and continue where I stopped
M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
I am using an Escrow solution. My sources with instructions are deposited at a notary service. I update the sources every 3 months. If something happens (Meteorite, Alien attack... there is no bus around where I live) the company can get the sources and take them to another company to be maintained/developed. You can instruct when a company can access the sources, and which company should have access.
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I am using an Escrow solution. My sources with instructions are deposited at a notary service. I update the sources every 3 months. If something happens (Meteorite, Alien attack... there is no bus around where I live) the company can get the sources and take them to another company to be maintained/developed. You can instruct when a company can access the sources, and which company should have access.
Interesting :thumbsup: But I am not a consultant anymore. If my company doesn't manage my backups properly... Not my fault, and speaking about what might happen so that those backups get relevance... I am not sure if I will care a crap about it.
M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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I'm contractor for one of the wealthiest companies in the country. They have enough money to buy best in class software from biggest names in the industry. 2 out of 3 internal departments ( Eng. and Utility departments ) that I've worked with, know me and trust in my software. Now I'm going to introduce myself to the 3rd and most important department ( Maintenance Dep. ). Generally speaking, Management and engineers in this department go for the big names and don't waste their time and money on unknown vendors. I'm brave enough to host them in a meeting in coming months. I'm thinking about the ways I can assure them about my software. Management and Engineers from the first 2 departments have told me, If they are asked, will talk in favor of me. Literally, this is the only chance I have. Please share your thoughts, hints and suggestions for the meeting. Edit: The software I'm talking about is a critical mission software used in Oil Industry. Big players claim 7 nines Availability. My software is good ( enough?? ) in this regard ( 5 nines). TBH, It's a very fierce and tough competition. Thanks
Behzad
Hello Behzad, I'm currently reading a book titled, 'Selling Value' by Mark Stiving. Because the only thing that software provides is value, this is good reading for any of us. An important message from the book is to present in the order of: 1) Problem 2) Value of Solving the Problem From Their Perspective 3) How Your Solution Solves the Problem to Create Value from Their Perspective When I started looking for customers I used to do the opposite - and just confused potential customers! 1) Problem - learn where their current software is different from yours where yours is better. Present that as a problem. 2) Value - describe how (and how much) things would be better for them if those problems could be solved. 3) Solution - Show them your solution and how it really can provide more value from their perspective. Good Luck! Dan
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I'm contractor for one of the wealthiest companies in the country. They have enough money to buy best in class software from biggest names in the industry. 2 out of 3 internal departments ( Eng. and Utility departments ) that I've worked with, know me and trust in my software. Now I'm going to introduce myself to the 3rd and most important department ( Maintenance Dep. ). Generally speaking, Management and engineers in this department go for the big names and don't waste their time and money on unknown vendors. I'm brave enough to host them in a meeting in coming months. I'm thinking about the ways I can assure them about my software. Management and Engineers from the first 2 departments have told me, If they are asked, will talk in favor of me. Literally, this is the only chance I have. Please share your thoughts, hints and suggestions for the meeting. Edit: The software I'm talking about is a critical mission software used in Oil Industry. Big players claim 7 nines Availability. My software is good ( enough?? ) in this regard ( 5 nines). TBH, It's a very fierce and tough competition. Thanks
Behzad
I think in most cases, companies only buy proven software that has been running for a year or so, generates large sums of revenue, and has a team dedicated to it. In this case you would have to release it to the world to consume first and test the reaction. Like Figma, it ran free to use, and proved to be a technology worthy of owning so Adobe bought it. Or that guy that used AI to remove the background of product photos, and sold his app on Apple Store, and now Adobe is looking at it as well, or they are trying to copy it. Most of these applications or software were backed by Venture Capital, companies like Softbank made investments and provided a staff of experts to make sure the investment pays off. I know a guy that knows a guy that created stamps.com, and the guy cleared $75M USD for it, sold it to a company. And the same guy created the base code and interface for Uber Eats after that. Got paid in stocks and some cash. I heard he created a white paper on his project, and pitched it to several companies that he saw fit to use the technology. It's pretty much an opportunity for someone with capital to create money out of thin air, and follows the rules that Adam Smith laid out for Capitalism. You would have to think about your vision or creation, and learn how to explain it in a simple way and document it on paper, and calculate it's profit or revenue potential, and learn to speak the language of money like an investor or capitalist, when you attempt to sell it. When you ready, send an email to the CEO of the company to pitch your software and see if the CEO has any interest, if not move on to the next company and keep pitching it until you sell it. Consider your next meeting a practice session because they don't have the authority to buy your software unless they need it to fill in a missing gap.
If it ain't broke don't fix it Discover my world at jkirkerx.com
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Hello Behzad, I'm currently reading a book titled, 'Selling Value' by Mark Stiving. Because the only thing that software provides is value, this is good reading for any of us. An important message from the book is to present in the order of: 1) Problem 2) Value of Solving the Problem From Their Perspective 3) How Your Solution Solves the Problem to Create Value from Their Perspective When I started looking for customers I used to do the opposite - and just confused potential customers! 1) Problem - learn where their current software is different from yours where yours is better. Present that as a problem. 2) Value - describe how (and how much) things would be better for them if those problems could be solved. 3) Solution - Show them your solution and how it really can provide more value from their perspective. Good Luck! Dan
I learned something new. Thank you.
Behzad
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I'm contractor for one of the wealthiest companies in the country. They have enough money to buy best in class software from biggest names in the industry. 2 out of 3 internal departments ( Eng. and Utility departments ) that I've worked with, know me and trust in my software. Now I'm going to introduce myself to the 3rd and most important department ( Maintenance Dep. ). Generally speaking, Management and engineers in this department go for the big names and don't waste their time and money on unknown vendors. I'm brave enough to host them in a meeting in coming months. I'm thinking about the ways I can assure them about my software. Management and Engineers from the first 2 departments have told me, If they are asked, will talk in favor of me. Literally, this is the only chance I have. Please share your thoughts, hints and suggestions for the meeting. Edit: The software I'm talking about is a critical mission software used in Oil Industry. Big players claim 7 nines Availability. My software is good ( enough?? ) in this regard ( 5 nines). TBH, It's a very fierce and tough competition. Thanks
Behzad
I think if you have solid foothold in those first two departments, then referring to them is your best option. However, I would advise caution with pursuing that deal however. If they really require a 99.99999% availability (and you think you're only good for 99.999%) then this could result in a very slippery slope for you, if you are only a 1-man-show. I don't know the requirements for the other two departments, but 99.99999% seems to be exceedingly high to either exclude all entities but one that they have already chosen, or they might really try to nail you to the cross if something (anything) happens that jeopardizes that availability rate. There be dragons...
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I'm contractor for one of the wealthiest companies in the country. They have enough money to buy best in class software from biggest names in the industry. 2 out of 3 internal departments ( Eng. and Utility departments ) that I've worked with, know me and trust in my software. Now I'm going to introduce myself to the 3rd and most important department ( Maintenance Dep. ). Generally speaking, Management and engineers in this department go for the big names and don't waste their time and money on unknown vendors. I'm brave enough to host them in a meeting in coming months. I'm thinking about the ways I can assure them about my software. Management and Engineers from the first 2 departments have told me, If they are asked, will talk in favor of me. Literally, this is the only chance I have. Please share your thoughts, hints and suggestions for the meeting. Edit: The software I'm talking about is a critical mission software used in Oil Industry. Big players claim 7 nines Availability. My software is good ( enough?? ) in this regard ( 5 nines). TBH, It's a very fierce and tough competition. Thanks
Behzad
I have had some experience with this in a Government realm. One important thing is to "know thy enemy", meaning do some research on the other vendor's products and assess how they meet your customer's needs. Look for some of the shortcomings in those products and consider how much extra time they might have to put into setting up the off-the-shelf system for their use. One thing that also came up was a vendor overselling and overstating the system's capabilities. The integration they were claiming was vaporware. Integration may be a helpful selling point for you as well and the point is you're not an unknown vendor to the company, as a whole. And definitely work your contacts that you know to put a good word in for you. Good luck!
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Behzad Sedighzadeh wrote:
Please share your thoughts, hints and suggestions for the meeting.
You ever notice that the more expensive a product is, the less you see the price on the site? It's always call us. It'll be business speak because the business doesn't care about or even understand the tech speak -- and then contact us for sales. Ever wonder why that is? It's because the business side doesn't give two flips about the tech. What they care about is reliability, the cost, and what happens if something goes wrong. That's probably why they prefer big name vendors, you can trust they are reliable. A no name has no guarantee of quality or assurance. They never will. For instance, open source software is free and pretty good tech. Business doesn't care at all. Not unless they save millions and can hire someone to deal with it. For average stuff, they won't care two flips. They have the money; what they need is a solution they can _trust_. Which is to say, when you're going into sell this thing. Yes, talk about the software. But remember, you're selling YOU... not the software. If they trust you and/or your team you have a chance. If they don't, nothing you say about the software will make a difference - ever. Also, don't get cheesy when you're selling yourself. Just be genuinely friendly. Don't try and sell them. Just be their friend and honest. If there's a shortcoming with your offer SAY IT. It'll come out in the wash anyway. But, earn their trust. By now the word trust should be evident. :)
Jeremy Falcon