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No Calls

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1603 points ezekg | 6 comments | | HN request time: 3.921s | source | bottom
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duxup ◴[] No.42726526[source]
One thing I find with enterprise is your call sometimes isn't entirely about you selling them on your product. It's about learning about the enterprise, from them.

It's about feeling out their organization, their issues, and the dynamics between different departments at that company. Even issues they don't realize they have that are solvable. I find none of that comes out very clearly in emails that tend to be bullet point style focused but don't reveal the nature of the issue.

I don't like calls either, but they are useful.

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1. WaitWaitWha ◴[] No.42726663[source]
I do understand what you are writing.

For me, I can find out way more quantifiable information by just doing 15 minutes of OSINT, or even simpler pull up your D&B report.

I do not trust my emotions.

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2. duxup ◴[] No.42727052[source]
You seem confidant in your ability to present your exact needs and understand the product and so on, that's good, you're probably right.

But when it comes to something complex, something someone hasn't used before, and all the options and dynamics between enterprise departments that might not be pulling in the same direction, an email almost never covers it and often enterprises aren't aware of it to put it in an email.

If you don't address / discover those things it is potentially a recipient for disaster for everyone.

I've been on numerous calls where a potential customer is on the call and even asking about basic features, then one department head explains to the other "Well we can't do that because X,Y,Z and our other systems A,B,C." and it's the first those two departments REALLY heard each other talk about that. Then we find ways to sort it out.

I've even been on calls where for most of it I'm just there, not doing anything, it's the customer discovering their own processes and working it out internally.

In email that's almost always "we can't do that" because of course not, they're alone with their email, nobody is explaining or offering solutions.

Right or wrong it's just human nature and email doesn't work for some things.

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3. madars ◴[] No.42728512[source]
Many organizations have a shadow org chart that you won't learn from the website but will get some sense of that structure in human interactions like calls.
4. brandon272 ◴[] No.42729890[source]
A D&B report is not going to tell you everything you need to know about a company and the dynamics and problems it has with respect to the problem space that you and your company deal with.

I mean, you could somehow get access to an entire company's email history and it still won't tell you everything you need to know. Whether people like it not, sometimes direct, high-bandwidth human interaction is required to adequately understand an issue.

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5. TeMPOraL ◴[] No.42731856[source]
> You seem confidant in your ability to present your exact needs and understand the product and so on, that's good, you're probably right.

It's not that - or at least not just that. The key insight I feel some comments here are missing is, from the buyer's perspective, the process is risky and (with market economy being what it is), adversarial until proven otherwise. All you're saying is true, but until I know you better, I can't tell whether you have my best interests in mind, or are trying to plain scam me.

To use an analogy, there's a reason people go on dates and gradually open up to a potential partner over extended amount of time, instead of just marrying the first person who promises the right things on the spot.

6. WaitWaitWha ◴[] No.42732467[source]
> and it still won't tell you everything you need to know

Talking to them will? we cannot have it both ways (the entire company's email history is not enough to tell me what I need, but meeting for an hour, say three times with the salesperson will).

I think you _are_ right, but I do not need everything. I just need good enough to make a decision to move forward.