

Ask HN: Selling with powerpoint but without product - MortenK

Myself and a friend were discussing the possibilities of selling a somewhat complex software product, which would be specialized toward a select few clients. The product does not exist, and such I argued that we couldn't sell it. My friend, who is a long term sales guy, argued that we could: By designing how it would work and present this to the potential clients.<p>I have tried this scenario before where I had only a prototype, and a very enthusiastic sales person went out and sold it to multiple clients. In this case however, we're talking about not a single line of code being written.<p>Personally I think it's a bit dodgy, i.e. It's a bit too much pie-in-the-sky to sell something that does not exist in any form other than as an idea. I have a hunch though that it is more common than I'd like to think.<p>I'm wondering if anybody here on HN has any experiences with non-existing products being sold purely on presentation? When it happens, is it an oddity or is it indeed pretty common in the IT industry?
======
agranig
When operating in the B2B landscape, it's pretty common. Large corporations
take time from the first pitch until signature (sometimes >6 months), and
during that time you can iterate over concepts based on their feedback. If you
are realistic when estimating the probability of signing the deal and thus
realistic of taking the risk, negotiate the payment terms wisely (e.g. 50%
after signature, 25% on delivery, 25% on acceptance) and manage to survive
until first payment, it can be a great approach for boot-strapping.

It helps having a reputation at the first clients beforehand (e.g. due to
free-lancing for them, or being introduced by others), otherwise large
corporations might have doubts working with a start-up anyways.

It worked well for my start-up, where I felt uncomfortable with that approach
also as a first-time founder (it's pretty awkward sitting there and listen to
your sales guy promising what-not to the client when nothing is there in
fact), but I've learned a lot from him since then :)

------
danielamitay
It shouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. Even if you can't make any progress
with such a pitch, there are benefits such as feedback on the concept, and if
you ever do follow through with the idea, there will be a visible continuity
from idea to prototype, which should make you more memorable.

