5 ms·

Discounts? I'd go the opposite direction... Expect pain. Enterprise sales means annoying security questionaries, contract negotiations, and lots of hands-on c

Discounts? I'd go the opposite direction... Expect pain. Enterprise sales means annoying security questionaries, contract negotiations, and lots of hands-on conversations. If anything the acquisition cost is very high and there's a reason the enterprise pricing is not listed online anywhere for many companies.

ttul 3y ago
Sure there is pain, but 5,000 seats all at once is usually worth it. The thing to avoid like the plague is RFPs. They will kill your startup faster than anything. Your customers should be early adopters and early markets do not do RFPs.
- moneywoes 3y ago
  Can you elaborate on this please? Why it a death sentence to sell to organizations with RFPS Is it cause of other people putting bids? What if I want to sell to government agencies as a bootstrapped business Thanks so much
  - gnicholas 3y ago
    IME it's because you end up spending tons of time on the proposal, with no guarantee of revenue. And then you're in their process, and they'll have their procurement folks hammer you on price. They'll know that after investing all that time in the RFP process, you won't want to give up on the revenue, and they'll take advantage of that. Big picture: it just frames things the wrong way — if they want to buy from you, then they're buying from YOU. If you get pulled into an RFP, then you're selling to THEM. That doesn't mean RFPs are always bad, just that they can be terrible for startups that are too small, and not prepared for the process.
  - Atlas22 3y ago
    Have sold to a lot of governments and large contractors. I wouldn't say its a death sentence, just different business model than most startups. Government and large orgs that send out RFPs are essentially asking for a product/service to be made and maintained specifically for them. Unless your essentially in the consulting business, its rarely worthwhile for a normal startup as it eats A LOT of time for a single customer. Government can be very lucrative if you can find the right niche but its always exceedingly painful and one of the governments favorite pastimes is completely 180ing requirements right after you complete them.
    - gervwyk 3y ago
      Problem here to not underestimate is that if you are not experienced in RFPs you will spend 10x to 20x the time than someone that has experience int these processes, and then there is a real risk that you optimistically misinterpreted some qualification criteria that disqualifies you in the process. So if you have done this before, do it. If have to do it for the first time, you want to consult someone who has walked the path.
samsolomon 3y ago
This is why companies that sell enterprise saas have separate support contracts. That or they have affiliate consultancies that offer support.
woleium 3y ago
So charge a flat fee and a rate card to deal with all the extra stuff. Enterprises are used to purchasing service along with a product
ezekg 3y ago
This. You'll want to charge at least $1k/mo for enterprise. They take a lot of back and forth. Mostly due to security and compliance questionnaires. But once it's done, it's generally gravy. Always do Net30 or Net45. Peek my company's pricing if you want to see how I've priced things. It's worked well for me. Link in bio.
- snowwrestler 3y ago
  I don’t understand this comment. $49/seat for 5,000 seats is $245,000. That’s a lot more than the “$1k/mo” you’re suggesting.
  - ezekg 3y ago
    I misread the OP. I thought it was $49/mo, not $49/mo/user.

ttul 3y ago

Sure there is pain, but 5,000 seats all at once is usually worth it. The thing to avoid like the plague is RFPs. They will kill your startup faster than anything. Your customers should be early adopters and early markets do not do RFPs.

moneywoes 3y ago
Can you elaborate on this please? Why it a death sentence to sell to organizations with RFPS Is it cause of other people putting bids? What if I want to sell to government agencies as a bootstrapped business Thanks so much
- gnicholas 3y ago
  IME it's because you end up spending tons of time on the proposal, with no guarantee of revenue. And then you're in their process, and they'll have their procurement folks hammer you on price. They'll know that after investing all that time in the RFP process, you won't want to give up on the revenue, and they'll take advantage of that. Big picture: it just frames things the wrong way — if they want to buy from you, then they're buying from YOU. If you get pulled into an RFP, then you're selling to THEM. That doesn't mean RFPs are always bad, just that they can be terrible for startups that are too small, and not prepared for the process.
- Atlas22 3y ago
  Have sold to a lot of governments and large contractors. I wouldn't say its a death sentence, just different business model than most startups. Government and large orgs that send out RFPs are essentially asking for a product/service to be made and maintained specifically for them. Unless your essentially in the consulting business, its rarely worthwhile for a normal startup as it eats A LOT of time for a single customer. Government can be very lucrative if you can find the right niche but its always exceedingly painful and one of the governments favorite pastimes is completely 180ing requirements right after you complete them.
  - gervwyk 3y ago
    Problem here to not underestimate is that if you are not experienced in RFPs you will spend 10x to 20x the time than someone that has experience int these processes, and then there is a real risk that you optimistically misinterpreted some qualification criteria that disqualifies you in the process. So if you have done this before, do it. If have to do it for the first time, you want to consult someone who has walked the path.

samsolomon 3y ago

This is why companies that sell enterprise saas have separate support contracts. That or they have affiliate consultancies that offer support.

woleium 3y ago

So charge a flat fee and a rate card to deal with all the extra stuff. Enterprises are used to purchasing service along with a product

ezekg 3y ago

This. You'll want to charge at least $1k/mo for enterprise. They take a lot of back and forth. Mostly due to security and compliance questionnaires. But once it's done, it's generally gravy. Always do Net30 or Net45. Peek my company's pricing if you want to see how I've priced things. It's worked well for me. Link in bio.

snowwrestler 3y ago
I don’t understand this comment. $49/seat for 5,000 seats is $245,000. That’s a lot more than the “$1k/mo” you’re suggesting.
- ezekg 3y ago
  I misread the OP. I thought it was $49/mo, not $49/mo/user.