5 ms·

Whenever I meet with any of the big(ish) players to to assess a product I spesifically ask them to send engineers instead of sellers. If they send sellers afte

by tyfon 8y ago

Whenever I meet with any of the big(ish) players to to assess a product I spesifically ask them to send engineers instead of sellers. If they send sellers after that we usually just ask them to leave and send the engineers. I've seen quite a few pouts but it's impossible to get accurate product information out a seller, they just tell you what you want to hear. I've never been in contact with IBM before but I'm not surprised about your experience.

Lt_Riza_Hawkeye 8y ago
What's the difference between a car salesman and a software salesman? The car salesman knows he's lying to you.
chrisseaton 8y ago
What do you do when the engineers turn up and know nothing about the prices, contracts, or anything else like that?
- munchbunny 8y ago
  You can usually negotiate that after you've confirmed that the product will actually do what you need it to do. When I took sales calls, I would usually sit through the intro pitch from the salesperson, and if it seemed in the ballpark, I would cut the call short and ask to be put in touch with product/engineering by email. And if I liked what I saw, I'd go back to the salesperson for pricing, etc.
- tyfon 8y ago
  First I want to know what the product actually does, then I can worry about prices and contracts. They are usually the least part of the problem. The biggest issue I've had in the past is that I ask for a feature and the salesman say "no problem" and when it's time to implement what I asked for is a custom feature that they can build for €100k.
j1vms 8y ago
Think you'll get a kick out of this scene from Halt and Catch Fire: https://youtu.be/XOR8mk0tLpc?t=54 https://youtu.be/XOR8mk0tLpc?t=54 [0] [0] Sales call scene with Joe and Gordon in Halt and Catch Fire: Season 1 Episode 1 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halt_and_Catch_Fire_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halt_and_Catch_Fire_(TV_series...
- the-dude 8y ago
  Blocked on copyright grants in NL.

by tyfon 8y ago

Lt_Riza_Hawkeye 8y ago

What's the difference between a car salesman and a software salesman? The car salesman knows he's lying to you.

chrisseaton 8y ago

What do you do when the engineers turn up and know nothing about the prices, contracts, or anything else like that?

munchbunny 8y ago
You can usually negotiate that after you've confirmed that the product will actually do what you need it to do. When I took sales calls, I would usually sit through the intro pitch from the salesperson, and if it seemed in the ballpark, I would cut the call short and ask to be put in touch with product/engineering by email. And if I liked what I saw, I'd go back to the salesperson for pricing, etc.
tyfon 8y ago
First I want to know what the product actually does, then I can worry about prices and contracts. They are usually the least part of the problem. The biggest issue I've had in the past is that I ask for a feature and the salesman say "no problem" and when it's time to implement what I asked for is a custom feature that they can build for €100k.

j1vms 8y ago

Think you'll get a kick out of this scene from Halt and Catch Fire: https://youtu.be/XOR8mk0tLpc?t=54 https://youtu.be/XOR8mk0tLpc?t=54 [0] [0] Sales call scene with Joe and Gordon in Halt and Catch Fire: Season 1 Episode 1 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halt_and_Catch_Fire_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halt_and_Catch_Fire_(TV_series...

the-dude 8y ago
Blocked on copyright grants in NL.