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The opportunity would be golden if you were competing against other hackers. But you're not. You're competing against other companies' sales forces. And if you
by projectileboy 19y ago
The opportunity would be golden if you were competing against other hackers. But you're not. You're competing against other companies' sales forces. And if you think you're ready to go head-to-head against the sales forces of IBM, Oracle, SAP, etc. etc., then you may be in for a very bad-tasting dish of reality.
Having said that, if you can succeed, then there are millions of people using unbelievably crappy software in offices around the world that would thank you for your efforts.
- edw519 19y ago"think you're ready to go head-to-head against the sales forces of IBM, Oracle, SAP" Been there. Done that. For certain customers (mostly midmarket), it's like shooting fish in a barrel. Accountable people in small to medium size businesses see right through the B.S. and are desperate for alternatives. I wouldn't even attempt to sell to a Fortune 1000 bureaucracy. "millions of people using unbelievably crappy software in offices around the world that would thank you for your efforts" Hundreds already have. I'm planning on using more modern technologies to reach the millions.
- pchristensen 19y agoI'd like to hear more about what you're doing. I shot you an email.
- edw519 19y agoGot your email. Thank you. A couple things you said really got me to thinking. So I'm putting a little extra thought into my response, which I'll have sometime later today.
- projectileboy 19y agoGood on you, brother. When I said "...blah blah blah sales forces...", I had assumed you were trying to sell to Fortune 1000 bureaucracies. If you can eat away at the small and move up, then more power to you.
- cstejerean 19y agoWhy do you just have to compete against other hackers? I would rather compete against big established businesses that never seem to get anything done than race neck in neck with other smart hackers. At least you'll manage to annoy one of the existing players and they (or one of their competitors) can buy you out.
- pchristensen 19y agoI guess it depends on the size of the customer. Above a certain size, sales staff becomes more valuable than technical expertise. In that case, you're playing a game you can't win. But if you could bootstrap a reputation and sales force by selling smaller ERP systems, then you could position yourself well.
- cstejerean 19y agoI agree. Hiring a sales team takes money so it's harder than doing something yourself. But once you have a solid sales team (and a solid support team) being agile can help. Large customers always demand new features and being able to rapidly provide what they're looking for is bound to make them happy (and make or break a deal). Once you build a happy customer base the referrals can bring you tons of business. But I guess you can't take on this kind of work without some serious VC funding which makes it less attractive (you loose control and potential exits).