

Ask HN: Why don't enterprise software vendors show prices or screenshots? - statictype

I can (kind of) understand a tactical advantage in not putting pricing information on the site in order to try and squeeze as much as possible out of each possible customer. But why don't any of them show screenshots/videos/trials of the actual software?<p>Is it just as simple as "we don't have to because the person buying it doesn't care"? Or is there some tactical reason not to do so that I'm missing?<p>Or to put it this way, if I were to be trying to enter and disrupt some enterprise software market, am I losing anything by trying to show more of what the actual product does and how it works?
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angdis
1) No prices because the price is negotiated between the sales guy and the
buyer. Usually over a 3 cocktail lunch at an expensive steakhouse. Also,
licensing is usually a site license and there is often a lot of customization
needed before the customer can accept the product.

2) No Screenshots because no one gives a shit what it looks like. Enterprise
software is SERIOUSLY NOT about usability or pleasure. It is all about being
compliant and covering ass. The people who actually use the software aren't
making the decision to buy it anyway. From the point of view of [many] execs,
the users are being paid so what difference does it make to them, after all
its just "point-and-click" interfaces now anyway.

3) If you want to break into enterprise, I think that one of the most
important things to them is that your product and support for it will still
exist years from now, long after founders have lost all passion for the
product.

see also Zed Shaw's hilarious story about an enterprise software project:
<http://vimeo.com/2723800>

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tstegart
I think its two big reasons. One, the thing you're selling is often
negotiated. So company A might buy X, Y, and Z from you, and company B might
buy X and M from you. They can and do ask software vendors to customize
software to the point of it no longer being an apples to apples comparison.
They also negotiate service times, contract length, contract language, legal
penalties, all sorts of things that make big companies different than
consumers.

The other big reason is that some enterprise vendors still price things in an
"old school," pre-internet way. That's my term for giving different companies
the exact same thing at a different price. For example, you might sell your
software to BigFruitComputer Company at $100 per user and to the small
consulting company at $10 per user. In fact, you charge your users whatever
your salespeople can negotiate, which is why they're still around and making
money. The company getting charged more doesn't complain because companies
don't generally disclose what they're paying for all their different things to
each other and so they don't know. This would be practically heresy in the
consumer world and frowned upon sometimes as dirty. You shouldn't charge a
little old lady more because you can convince her she needs features "just in
case." But it seems acceptable to charge a company more because your
salesperson can convince them they need something, even if they don't.

If you're looking to disrupt the enterprise market, I suggest keeping in mind
a few things. One, small businesses are like consumers. They know they don't
have much power to negotiate and don't often expect so. So have a consumer-
like pricing plan that appeals to what they want, prices it in a way that gets
it for them cheaper than they're currently getting, and lets them do it in a
no-hassle manner. Two, big businesses have budgets and levels. The person
browsing your website might not be the person buying your software. That
sounds weird right? But true. So the tech guy who says "wow, your software
will save me so much time" doesn't know how much the company currently pays
for such software, because he didn't negotiate the contract and isn't privy to
that sort of thing. The executive who did negotiate isn't probably browsing
your website. You now have a sales problem, which is why salespeople are still
around.

The best way to disrupt such a market, if you're interested in doing it, is to
find out what big companies pay for what you're giving them, and make it a lot
cheaper. Whether its cheaper in price, or cheaper to the company because your
software works better and saves them time or for some other reason, doesn't
matter. THEN, market from the top down and the bottom up. Give talking points
to the tech guys or whoever is on the bottom. "This will save you time," or
"it will be easier," it will do X, Y, and Z and solve problems O and P. Show
them how this saves the company money and give them ammunition to use in the
next meeting. THEN ALSO target the executives, but without technical talking
points. "Does your company pay more than $200 per user for X services? We can
offer it for $100! Cut costs 50%!" and so on. Make it all about the bottom
line, the executive will look better, you get a sale.

So, that was a long-winded way to answer you question "if I were to be trying
to enter and disrupt some enterprise software market, am I losing anything by
trying to show more of what the actual product does and how it works?

The answer is no, not really, but you're not gaining much for the effort
either. Sales in the enterprise market aren't made on screenshots. They're
made by being a salesperson and appealing to all the stakeholders. Screenshots
are a tiny afterthought and won't disrupt anything. You still need people to
buy your products and the person on your website looking at the screenshot
isn't that person.

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JS_startup
You wouldn't lose anything, but enterprise and B2B software is an entirely
different world than consumer software with some very different expectations.

Often times the reason screenshots aren't shown is because the application is
so complex that its functionality couldn't possibly be shown with a few
screenshots (enterprise software is often really ugly too). Same goes for
pricing; pricing is going to vary based on the size of the purchase, what the
company can afford, what discounts you give, etc. It's too complex to just
throw onto the site.

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brudgers
{suggestion] "Disrupt" is not a word looked upon favorably when it comes to
enterprise operations.

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iKnowKungFoo
Your screens are also your proprietary work. No reason to give your
competitors any ideas.

