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If your main value proposition is that you can save customers money, then it seems natural that you'll encounter this. Is your expensive database approach cheap

If your main value proposition is that you can save customers money, then it seems natural that you'll encounter this. Is your expensive database approach cheaper than hiring people to update spreadsheets? If so, then communicate this, perhaps through ROI calculations, case studies, etc. If not, then your value proposition is weak. A better approach may be to not focus on cutting costs but gaining profit. What extra functionality does your database provide, that can make their businesses more profitable? What extra value can you deliver to them? In general, convincing people to give you money so that they can theoretically lose less money is usually harder than selling them on benefits and solving their pain points.

andrewtbham 12y ago
The ROI thing is an interesting idea. We have done some case studies and trials for potential customers. This is more of a knee jerk reaction to the cost, and a negotiating tactic. It's a tool for purchasing so not sure how it could translate to profit, but interesting idea. The value proposition breaks down differently for different stakeholders. For low level employees that currently email and work on the spreadsheets all the time, it would make their lives a lot easier. Although it does run the risk of eliminating their job. For mid level managers that typically make the decisions based on all this data, it would make their decisions easier and better informed. They are likely to be able to save a lot of money. Perhaps as high as 4 or 5 percent of the budget off a 10-200 million dollar spend. The possible downside is that it will be less at their discretion who to choose for the vendor. Cost is not the only consideration, but it will easily quantify the difference in choosing one vendor over another. Currently I think the vendors schmooze the decision maker and that influences their decision. This tool will make that hard because they don't have control over how the "numbers" are presented to the higher ups. For high level managers, they are interested in the savings. Although this system would make it easier to replace the mid level guy because all the info isn't buried in their email and spreadsheets on their desktop. One other issue is that the ultimate decision maker will come from the high level guys because the cost is so high.
- andrewtbham 12y ago
  It's like I'm looking for a succinct way from a sales perspective to undermine that argument. Like... you could just hire a lot of people and get rid of your ERP.

andrewtbham 12y ago

The ROI thing is an interesting idea. We have done some case studies and trials for potential customers. This is more of a knee jerk reaction to the cost, and a negotiating tactic. It's a tool for purchasing so not sure how it could translate to profit, but interesting idea. The value proposition breaks down differently for different stakeholders. For low level employees that currently email and work on the spreadsheets all the time, it would make their lives a lot easier. Although it does run the risk of eliminating their job. For mid level managers that typically make the decisions based on all this data, it would make their decisions easier and better informed. They are likely to be able to save a lot of money. Perhaps as high as 4 or 5 percent of the budget off a 10-200 million dollar spend. The possible downside is that it will be less at their discretion who to choose for the vendor. Cost is not the only consideration, but it will easily quantify the difference in choosing one vendor over another. Currently I think the vendors schmooze the decision maker and that influences their decision. This tool will make that hard because they don't have control over how the "numbers" are presented to the higher ups. For high level managers, they are interested in the savings. Although this system would make it easier to replace the mid level guy because all the info isn't buried in their email and spreadsheets on their desktop. One other issue is that the ultimate decision maker will come from the high level guys because the cost is so high.

andrewtbham 12y ago
It's like I'm looking for a succinct way from a sales perspective to undermine that argument. Like... you could just hire a lot of people and get rid of your ERP.