3 ms·
Extremely long sales cycles. In the order of 2-3 years. We write software for the cultural sector. Most of the sector relies on government funding of some sort,
by Tharkun 10y ago
Extremely long sales cycles. In the order of 2-3 years. We write software for the cultural sector. Most of the sector relies on government funding of some sort, and we're often required to take part in tenders. Lots of annoying paperwork. Very slow and very opaque decision making. Tracking sales leads is hard like this. Making money is harder still. This problem worsens the year before and after an election.
Wearing another hat, I have the same problem in fintech. Slow decision making, long lead times and government meddling.
- cdiamand 10y agoFantastic answer! I wonder if there is software that could potentially improve some aspect of this cycle.
- Tharkun 10y agoIt would be nice if the various governments (local, provincial, communal, federal ,..) would use a common platform/approach for their tenders and paperwork. Edit: it would also be nice if there were a single source for new potential assignments. Currently we have to keep an eye on various (non-RSS..) websites, paper publications and bulletins. It's a pain. Especially because there's no way to filter/search paper announcements.
- ryanSrich 10y agoThis is very similar to large enterprise healthcare as well. The upside is the opposite of startups. If you successfully integrate with a large health system then you can count that revenue for the better part of a decade. The downside is the sales cycle. You might have that revenue booked for 3 or 4 years and not collect on it until year 5.