11–20 of 41 posts
There are many reasons one would do that.
I find these things horribly annoying too, but here’s what they’re for: They’re there so that the sales person can extract a variable amount of revenue from you based on how much value you’re getting from their system, and how much you can afford to pay. Utility pricing assumes that service volume is high and can mostly be recouped at slightly above infrastructure costs. In that case, utility pricing is a win for mos…
Usually when this happens to me I write off the service and never interact with them again unless I absolutely have to. If I have a gun to my head I’ll make peace with it but otherwise I’m not going to talk to your sales rep to try your product. Period.
I had this happen with loggly when we first started out and the first sales rep was pleasant enough. I even felt like I got a deal because he customized a plan and was working with us to help our little company succeed. Nice work!
Time passed and they changed who our rep was 3x in one year. Each time it happened they wanted to have a 30 minute call to “get to know me”. I did that twice then told them to get lost and cancelled my contract. Get the notes from the previous sales rep!
I hope that the economics studying folks account for lost sales while trying to maximize their profits because I bet they lose a lot of business this way.
I find these things horribly annoying too, but here’s what they’re for: They’re there so that the sales person can extract a variable amount of revenue from you based on how much value you’re getting from their system, and how much you can afford to pay. Utility pricing assumes that service volume is high and can mostly be recouped at slightly above infrastructure costs. In that case, utility pricing is a win for mos…
Does this actually work? Usually when this happens to me I write off the service and never interact with them again unless I absolutely have to. If I have a gun to my head I’ll make peace with it but otherwise I’m not going to talk to your sales rep to try your product. Period. I had this happen with loggly when we first started out and the first sales rep was pleasant enough. I even felt like I got a deal because he…
I find these things horribly annoying too, but here’s what they’re for: They’re there so that the sales person can extract a variable amount of revenue from you based on how much value you’re getting from their system, and how much you can afford to pay. Utility pricing assumes that service volume is high and can mostly be recouped at slightly above infrastructure costs. In that case, utility pricing is a win for mos…
Does this actually work? Usually when this happens to me I write off the service and never interact with them again unless I absolutely have to. If I have a gun to my head I’ll make peace with it but otherwise I’m not going to talk to your sales rep to try your product. Period. I had this happen with loggly when we first started out and the first sales rep was pleasant enough. I even felt like I got a deal because he…
It’s a simple way to extract the most value from a customer, as well as filter out customers they don’t deem viable for their business.
I find these things horribly annoying too, but here’s what they’re for: They’re there so that the sales person can extract a variable amount of revenue from you based on how much value you’re getting from their system, and how much you can afford to pay. Utility pricing assumes that service volume is high and can mostly be recouped at slightly above infrastructure costs. In that case, utility pricing is a win for mos…
Does this actually work? Usually when this happens to me I write off the service and never interact with them again unless I absolutely have to. If I have a gun to my head I’ll make peace with it but otherwise I’m not going to talk to your sales rep to try your product. Period. I had this happen with loggly when we first started out and the first sales rep was pleasant enough. I even felt like I got a deal because he…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Does this actually work? Usually when this happens to me I write off the service and never interact with them again unless I absolutely have to. If I have a gun to my head I’ll make peace with it but otherwise I’m not going to talk to your sales rep to try your product. Period. I had this happen with loggly when we first started out and the first sales rep was pleasant enough. I even felt like I got a deal because he…
Of course it works, otherwise they wouldn’t continue using it. It’s a simple way to extract the most value from a customer, as well as filter out customers they don’t deem viable for their business.
I’m sure a lot of people that feel similarly command millions if not billions of budget.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Of course it works, otherwise they wouldn’t continue using it. It’s a simple way to extract the most value from a customer, as well as filter out customers they don’t deem viable for their business.
That’s a load of crap sales folks tell their leaders. Who’s out there measuring that the value created by this strategy exceeds the value sitting on the sidelines because it grinds their gears? Maybe it doesn’t? I’m sure a lot of people that feel similarly command millions if not billions of budget.
Some of the mechanics of that is that if you're doing very large contracts, a lot of the software buyers expect things to be that way. For a lot of businesses, a couple expensive accounts are worth more than all of the small accounts put together. I've seen lots of companies start to disrupt a particular market with utility pricing only to fall back to enterprise sales when they realize that there's a reason everyone else in their industry does that.
Sales is a process. If I (as the salesperson) control the process, then I am more likely to win the deal. On average, my company has shown that doing these 3-5 touchpoints in this order leads to the greatest success, so I want people to follow this order as much as possible, and so does the rest of my team.
I'm glad to meet someone who is very capable of working with new software. They're smart and they pick up on things very quickly. Not many people are like this. If they can evaluate and sign an order form without me doing anything, I call that a big win.
But, given an average prospect, if I let them kick around and then they tell me "Nah this isn't it." do I assume that they actually evaluated the way that maximizes my likelihood of winning (or, put another way, that maximizes their chance of finding something valuable)? If I didn't talk to them, then I'm not sure if they saw X feature or could see the Y value that I typically can tell a story around. So I'd rather work through the gated process. Heck, it's even better for them because they have a higher chance of solving their problem.
Now, if you're really insistent, then I'll notice that and find a way to make the process fit your style. But on average it's better for both you and me if we do it my way.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That’s a load of crap sales folks tell their leaders. Who’s out there measuring that the value created by this strategy exceeds the value sitting on the sidelines because it grinds their gears? Maybe it doesn’t? I’m sure a lot of people that feel similarly command millions if not billions of budget.
I've known more companies start with utility pricing and move to "high touch" sales than companies move the other way. Companies don't want to have that kind of sales process. They usually have to . Some of the mechanics of that is that if you're doing very large contracts, a lot of the software buyers expect things to be that way. For a lot of businesses, a couple expensive accounts are worth more than all of the sm…
I’ll call you when I want to upgrade my plan. You aren’t “selling” me anything. The product sold itself. At that point let’s have a steak dinner and figure out the details.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've known more companies start with utility pricing and move to "high touch" sales than companies move the other way. Companies don't want to have that kind of sales process. They usually have to . Some of the mechanics of that is that if you're doing very large contracts, a lot of the software buyers expect things to be that way. For a lot of businesses, a couple expensive accounts are worth more than all of the sm…
For the higher level tiers absolutely, for a trial just take my credit card and get out of my way. I’ll call you when I want to upgrade my plan. You aren’t “selling” me anything. The product sold itself. At that point let’s have a steak dinner and figure out the details.