The
happy 90's were all about speed. Speed is still
important, but it has taken on a different meaning.
Where speed is most important today is in proving your
solution to potential buyers. I call it Accelerated
Proof.
Put yourself in the customer's shoes. When you make a
major purchase, you want to try it out first. Purchasing
enterprise software is a major commitment with
financial, operational, and strategic implications. Fear
of failure could be the number one reason for people not
to buy your product. How can you help them overcome
their fears?
Customer testimonials and references are big help,
especially when they are closely related to the buyer's
world. Still, most buyers believe their environment and
needs are unique; so how can they be confident your
solution will work for them?
Wouldn't it be nice if they could actually try your
product before they buy it? This is hardly a new concept
- many "shrink-wrap" software vendors offer an
evaluation package you can try for a limited time. Many
others offer money back guarantee for a limited period.
Enterprise software companies are mostly reluctant to
take this route. Some are afraid that trials and pilots
delay the purchase decision and lengthen the sales
cycle. I would argue that sales cycles are longer and
closure rates are lower when buyers are plagued by fear
and uncertainty. Anything you can do to remove the risk
for the buyer works in your favor.
A common reason vendors hesitate to offer such trials
is that enterprise software products require heavy
customization and integration before they can be
operational at the customer site. The challenge is to
reduce the effort required to prove your product, so the
customer is willing to make the investment in time and
resources, and you can afford to do it within your
limited means.
The basic premise we operate from is that you have a
good product that delivers value to its users. Assuming
that's the case, here are some steps you need to take in
order to make Accelerated Proof work:
- Start small: carve out a portion of your
product functionality and make it easy to implement
quickly - within less than 30 days, preferably
closer to one week. This dictates that you remove
any unnecessary complex functionality, and provide
templates and simple user-configuration options for
everything that requires customization.
- The functionality must be simple enough so training
requirements are kept minimal. You should strive
for completely self-explanatory functionality; if
training is required, it should be limited to one
day or less.
- If integration is a pre-requisite, it may be
necessary to limit integration options to certain
common packages (e.g., MS Exchange, SAP,
Siebel).
- Providing such simple, easy to implement solution
may require a focus on specific verticals or
segments thereof to begin with. Don't worry about
capturing a large portion of the market; select
those segments that can be provide the quickest
return on your investment, and expand from there.
- It doesn't have to be hosted solution, but it can
certainly help. If possible, provide an ASP
option to further shorten the implementation
cycle and reduce the burden on customer IT
resources.
- Last but not least: don't keep it secret!
This is your competitive advantage, and you should
actively promote it to get the most out of your
investment.
Accelerating proof requires some upfront investment
on your part, but if you take a practical approach, it's
one that is within your means and pays itself very
quickly. Enterprise software companies that allow their
customers to test their products prior to making a
purchase commitment have fared well, even in (and maybe
to a degree due to) the current economic environment.
One example is RightNow, whose sales approach is
covered in a case study you can access from this
newsletter. A company that has brought the "try and
buy" approach to new levels is Salesforce.com. Both
companies have seen their sales increase, at a time when
most other enterprise vendors have suffered.
The more self-sufficient the customer can be in the
evaluation effort, the better you are and the happier
your customer is. Not only does it reduce your cost of
sales; the truth is that most people prefer buying
rather than being sold to. They like to
experiment, but only if it's easy enough. And if the
experience is positive, they are happy to buy.
As if helping sales is not enough, Accelerated Proof
has a number of significant side benefits:
