Just continuously think about 1) how much value you product brings and why this is good for them 2) most sales reps are pretty mediocre at best 3) many other founders have gone through this before.
Companies who are potential early customers are also usually growth stage startups themselves (100-500 people) and want to help out other entrepreneurs. Email the founders to tell them what you're up to, and tell them you won't be a drag on productivity. A company like this almost certainly also has extra office space as they rent for growth.
I haven't sat and gotten deeply introspective about it, but when I think about all the trips and dinners and conferences etc I went to in order to build relationships to get a same, it feels deeply icky that the root of those relationships was a desire for a financial transaction.
I think we actually did as well as we did, in part because being rooted in a transaction felt so wrong that I actually tried to build relationships with the people I was trying to sell to, in a way that wasn't purely transactional. I'm actually still friendly with some of those people who bought from us today.
Did you believe the cost/benefit was in the purchasers favor? Or were you cynical about the solution/value of solution?
I’m a purchaser of enterprise software. This is something I try to gauge from the sales rep. There’s a lot of risk in buying software that doesn’t actually solve the problems you face and you typically don’t find this out until well into integration.
Yes, we had an amazing product and we could stand on firm conversion/engagement numbers - fundamentally it was a marketing/experience product for retailers. For reference I was the Founder/CEO and we were a computer vision company with mobile AR products for retailers.
Hi - Can I add you to my Linkedin Professional Network?
But in all seriousness, does this mean you are part of the procurement department? I would love to see some posts/thoughts on how someone in this position approach procurement of enterprise software.
Been using this for the past 4-5 months, ever since I saw a personal story of someone using it posted to HN.
It's been a game changer for me. I can WFH productively for the first time in my life, and have had 95% enjoyable experiences with the people on the other end of the chats thus far.
To those complaining about the pricing...they just started charging and I'm sure that's why it's not in the FAQ. Also, it's $5/mo, they aren't trying to get you hooked on something and then surprise you with $500/mo or something.
