
Ask HN: How to create enterprise software and sell it to enterprise customers? - notastartup
So I&#x27;m a one man shop, I want to make my SaaS or&#x2F;and Software to an &quot;Enterprise&quot; level and update my site to look &quot;Enterprisey&quot;. How can I go about doing this or learning how to do this?&lt;p&gt;As for selling, I know that enterprise software procurement process takes a long process but I like what Kalzumeus&#x27;s blog said about finding a champion who is interested in the product within the company and allying with that person within that company (how do I find people like him)?&lt;p&gt;Is it possible to do a one man or two man enterprise software&#x2F;SaaS shop? Anyone doing this already care to bring some insight?
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keithwarren
Step 1) Find a great sales person

Step 2) Let them promise your software does whatever it takes to make the sale

Step 3) Make software do that

Step 4) Repeat

Step 5) Profit

I know it sounds crazy but I have worked at a couple software companies in the
specialized enterprise space (things like healthcare IT) where software costs
several hundred thousand per location and this is simply how it is done. The
expectation is some very broadly featured software that you will customize to
their needs and support. The upside, the expect to pay handsomely to license
it, they expect to pay for the customization and expect to pay annually for
support.

The key is a great sales person which often means you need to give them a
hefty commission.

~~~
notastartup
I like how you broke it down in 5 simple steps.

1) Craigslist? Where can I find someone who's willing to work purely on
commission for a software product he's never heard of before?

2) So basically make the sales guy rack up the dollar amount by promising the
universe.

3) Hire guys and project manage.

4) Love to repeat but where to get the next lead or client?

5) Profit, what to charge the enterprise guys? Is $500,000 a good starting
point? Is it even possible to pull, one sale, one year, $500,000, that's me
having to sell $49/month to a 1000 customers by the end of the year. I think
the one client paying $500,000 sounds like a much better deal.

~~~
keithwarren
CL is not a good place, great sales people are rare and they dont hunt around
on CL. I would find an already successful enterprise software sales person in
the space you want to be in. He/She probably already has a job but sales
people sell and they love have new things to sell. It may take some convincing
but keep persistent and you will find someone.

The salesperson does not really rack up the dollar amount on a feature by
feature basis. There is not some line item set of features each with a price.
They are buying the whole thing - the feature dance is all about ensuring the
customer (whether you have the goods or not) that your package will fit their
needs. Large corporations have evolved themselves into a potpurri of rules and
processes for how they do things. They dont make sense in most cases which is
what prevents them from using a low barrier to entry tool like something a
small startup might make - basically, they cannot change their process to fit
the software, they need the software to fit them. None will, I repeat, no
software from any vendor will fit their business...the salesperson has to
convince them that you are the best company to make it fit.

Preferably dont hire guys and manage, hire no one and do it yourself. When you
are working way too much, have not enough time and a mountain of work ahead
AND signed deals with customers (including checks) then hire someone. Repeat
this process. DO NOT HIRE people until you absolutely need them.

If the sales person is any good, he had the next lead before he left the last
meeting. When you find a good one you will have to tell them to slow down.

Pricing is a black art, too low and no one takes you serious, too high and you
become a budget item that needs to be planned for and the sales cycle goes on
for over a year which gives competitors more chances. Feel out your customer,
ask them directly what their budget is...but mostly let your sales person
worry about that.

~~~
notastartup
Okay I just sent a bunch of linked in messages, does it make sense to target
young sales person at enterprise companies? I'm guessing people like director
of sales or vp of sales won't give a crap. Ideally looking for hungry people,
who are self motivated and looking to make higher comission that compensates
them for the added risk.

~~~
keithwarren
Cold calling people on LinkedIn probably wont prove all that successful but it
can't hurt.

The real question is do you have anything built yet? Do you have domain
expertise in the space you are targeting?

In lots of cases enterprise software for niche scenarios is born out of a
consulting engagement: Company A contracts you to build them a system for
tracking widgets. You do so and get their permission to use that software in
other projects. Company B wants widget shipment calculation software so you go
to them and say 'I know about widgets, we built this widget tracking thing and
we can add shipment calculation to it'. That is how the ball gets rolling.

Most software in this kind of space is packed full of features and rules that
are not easily just spawned out of thin air - it usually takes many man years
of development.

~~~
notastartup
yeah I figured I contacted a few sales guys on linkedin but they weren't
interested.

I have some stuff built and I have very good knowledge in this area I'm
pursuing. There are some existing enterprise guys like kapowsoftware.com that
I'm trying to emulate.

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akg_67
What SaaS/Software are you building for Enterprise? in what domain? I have
worked at Enterprise all my career. Based on my experience,

1\. Determine what domain you want to focus on.

2\. Understand the pain points of enterprise customers in that domain.
Understand what competitors are doing. Immerse your self in that domain. Trade
magazines, events, user groups, forums, competitors literature, corporate and
influencers' blogs. Hangout where enterprise customers hang out in that
domain.

3\. Start forming opinions and start sharing through blogs, events, article
writing, and speaking and interacting with industry influencers.

4\. Based on the pain points you find out, narrow down to the ones you want to
focus on. Start focusing on those pain points in your communications, become
an authority on identifying and recommending suggestions to address them.

5\. Develop a very basic MVP style product with minimal essential features
that addresses the pain point area you own.

6\. Keep doing #4 publicly. In one-on-one conversation with enterprise
customers (avoid competitors and channels at this point) start dropping hints
that you are working on a solution and looking for enterprise customers to be
alpha/beta partner.

7\. Give access to the interested people, communicate frequently, address the
feedback and keep building.

8\. Ask the enthusiastic ones for becoming reference and deploying in their
organization at very low cost and as proof of concept. Focus on 1 or 2 beta
testers, amaze them, get them to deploy your product, issue you a PO.

9\. Write white paper and collateral resources on different solutions and
configurations used by beta customers. Get some testimonials.

10\. Start dropping hints about the customers doing beta test to generate
interest and buzz. Get more people to start trying your product.

11\. Rinse and repeat.

------
sherpa
Find a specific problem within a category of enterprises, and create the
software that can help to solve it. Then worry about the rest.

~~~
notastartup
how do you go about finding it?

