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Ask HN: We didn't get a single person to pay for our SAAS – what could be wrong?

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Re: Ask HN: We didn't get a single person to pay for our SAAS – what could be wrong?

#201

Post by SebastianFrelle »

jwilk wrote: post #198
niko001 wrote: post #148

1. Get a native speaker to proofread your website copy 2. The title of the page is "Sieve Pro - The best management tool for" (missing a "freelancers")? 3. Some people might like it, but I'm always turned off when websites are using SV characters as profile placeholders - makes the site itself seem like a joke 4. As others have said, develop your own signup form instead of using TypeForm - TypeForm always gives me an…

What's "SV character"?

A character from the HBO show "Silicon Valley", I believe.

Re: Ask HN: We didn't get a single person to pay for our SAAS – what could be wrong?

#202

Post by SteveGerencser »

johnwheeler wrote: post #50

To me, it is the product... You’ve essentially taken a bunch of things that are already free, bundled them together, and charged a steep price. * Your NDA could be replaced with a simple Google search * There are plenty of ways to throw together a quick, pro looking website. * Scheduling calls is done over email, and gmail and outlook already add appointments to your calendars. * Chat assistant can be replaced with T…

This is where I am with this. I already have an efficient onboarding and process procedure in place and it's as automated as I would want it to be since client needs vary so much and the onboarding needs to vary just as much.

I "really" don't need or want yet another website/portal for my business to deal with either. Having the onboarding on someone else's subdomain is not an ideal solution at any time.

This doesn't solve any problems for most freelancers that I know, they already have these processes in place. And it's very expensive IMO for what is essentially form processing.

Re: Ask HN: We didn't get a single person to pay for our SAAS – what could be wrong?

#203

Post by noobhacker »

niko001 wrote: post #148

1. Get a native speaker to proofread your website copy 2. The title of the page is "Sieve Pro - The best management tool for" (missing a "freelancers")? 3. Some people might like it, but I'm always turned off when websites are using SV characters as profile placeholders - makes the site itself seem like a joke 4. As others have said, develop your own signup form instead of using TypeForm - TypeForm always gives me an…

What grammatical or typographical errors prompt the advice to get someone to proofread the website?

I'm asking because I see this advice quite often, and most of the times I can't find anything wrong. Could someone point out specific errors that I miss? Perhaps I need to get an editor myself.

Re: Ask HN: We didn't get a single person to pay for our SAAS – what could be wrong?

#204

Post by novaleaf »

My thoughts: your core customer group is too small.

people new to freelancing don't have the cash to put into a subscription tool, and probably don't think they need these features you provide. (if only due to lack of experience)

Freelancer Pro's are already doing their lead generation workflows, and whatever it is it's working, so the majority of them are not going to be actively looking for new tooling.

So it seems like the core demographics that would be interested in your product are: 1) pro freelancers frustrated with their current workflow 2) junior (but not novice) freelancers ready to take their lead generation to the next level

both of those demographics is probably pretty small. probably you need to broaden the features, but as mentioned elsewhere, you should follow up with your potential customers as to why they drop off. maybe even offer 1 year of free usage to them, just to see if they can get value from your product, and learn from them.

Re: Ask HN: We didn't get a single person to pay for our SAAS – what could be wrong?

#205

Post by tnolet »

cod3boy wrote: post #176
tnolet wrote: post #174

I'm a "pro" freelancer in the tech space. You've already had many relevant tips and critiques here so I won't repeat them. Just wanted to add this one, as I've seen it firsthand with startups: you are focusing on you. You fail to make me, a potential customer pretty much exactly in the market you are targeting, believe you have any idea how freelancing works and where the pain and value adds are. Genuine question and…

I've freelanced on the side for a few years. I used to put together a google form for the requirement collection, then send the NDAs on DocuSign,I had a quite number of people asking me to send an NDA before discussing. Quickbooks for accounting and sometimes PandaDoc for agreements. While putting together this product, I wanted to reduce the friction of getting started with freelancing and put together all of these…

The only actual pain / needs I cover by a paid service are billing, invoicing and expenses accounting. Zoho covers this. Outside of that email and Google Docs does everything quickly and efficiently. LinkedIn serves as my "homepage".

Re: Ask HN: We didn't get a single person to pay for our SAAS – what could be wrong?

#206

Post by Freeboots »

I checked it out from product hunt a couple days ago, and I am your perfect target. Recently started freelancing, trying to figure out all the auxiliary shit I need.

I looked around, got a general idea what it was about, but what I really wanted was a demo site. Not a video, which I don't think I bothered to watch, but a demo site I can play with.

I am definitely not signing up for $300+ without trying it first. Your product seems like it could support a free trial, why not offer one? 30 days, one client, whatever.

Another thing that struck me as I watched your demo video just now: does form based lead generation like this even convert better than a simple, "hey why don't you flick me an email and we'll set a time to chat about your project"?

Is that something you should test before building a product around it? Myself, I would prefer a slightly more personal touch, but if the stats proved me wrong then maybe I would consider a system like this.

Just my thoughts

Re: Ask HN: We didn't get a single person to pay for our SAAS – what could be wrong?

#207

Post by got2surf »

cod3boy wrote: post #179
alangibson wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This plays more like an instructional video than a demo. You spend almost the entire time filling out forms. Consider doing a 30 - 60 sec explainer video that just shows off the sizzle if you really want to have a video. I would also loose Bighetti. You're pitch is 'be more professional' and the first thing you see in the video is a character who's famous for being a lazy idiot.

Noted, now that we are here, can you please take a look at this one too? We had an explainer as well :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S23V3LmRUb4

That's a much better video - gets the point across quickly, and looks professional. I'd replace the "demo video" on your home page with that.

As a side note, I thought the animated video was well produced. Would you mind sharing how you made it? (email in profile, if you'd prefer to do so off-thread). Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: We didn't get a single person to pay for our SAAS – what could be wrong?

#208

Post by one_creed »

tonywebster wrote: post #165

Here are some random observations and opinions. 1. The screenshot at the top of the page seems to show some features, but I have to infer what they are. It would be good to automatically cycle through annotations to show what the little "Expert" badge and all the other features mean. Sell your product in a captivating way. The headline "Become a PROFESSIONAL freelancer" is a good thing to A/B test, or to have rotate…

This is valuable feedback.

Re: Ask HN: We didn't get a single person to pay for our SAAS – what could be wrong?

#209

Post by erikb »

cod3boy wrote: post #63
erikb wrote: post #60

I'm a possible customer for this. And wouldn't give you a cent because I don't believe you can do what you promise after looking at your landing page. I need to see demos, I need to see real customers with quotes of praise and links to their websites. Give it away for free for 5 people, while building a clickable demo account that doesn't require a login, and make a youtube video to show more about your team and how…

Noted, we are working on this as we speak. Here is a quick video (raw) if you are intrigued https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7wAeenBe-c

That goes in the right direction. Now play it quicker, spend less time on the data entry (which nobody finds exiting) and more on the exiting parts. Show loads of customers signing on and how they are paying their bills, which makes Tony richer and richer.

Also the video shows clearly that you miss marketing skills. Consider going out there and finding a cofounder with marketing skills. He should be older than you, good looking and preferably have a degree in economy.

Re: Ask HN: We didn't get a single person to pay for our SAAS – what could be wrong?

#210

Post by ImSkeptical »

cod3boy wrote: post #162
alangibson wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Overall, I think your premise of “I know we have a decent product” is flawed. Yea, I'm not seeing $29 a month worth of value being added by this product over, say, just using stock templates on Google Drive.

Can you please take a quick look, here is the actual product in the show. I think we failed at showcasing it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7wAeenBe-c

I watched/skimmed the first two minutes of this video. The lack of audio seems off-putting and amateur (so does the Big Head). It also seems a lot like a video of someone filling out a form. I feel like most people will be able to fill out a form without needing a video walkthrough and the video walkthrough doesn't really convey the usefulness of the product - which should be in the very beginning of the product.

I'd expect an explanatory video to have audio, and to cover the core utility of the project.

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