In an article entitled, Software for Business: When Not to Buy, Businessweek lays out a common scenario from the point of view of a software seller being completely honest. This salesperson has sold a CRM system to a small company without accessing this company’s actual needs.
The comment I posted and would like to reiterate here is that this article illustrates a very important point that many software companies overlook. A great technology company doesn’t actually sell technology or software. A great tech company sells problem solving and understanding first. The technology is just a means to facilitate solving the particular problem.
The problem out there for small and medium sized businesses is not that technology to help solve their problem doesn’t exist. The problem is that there is TOO much technology out there to sift through to find what actually meets their needs. And small, medium, and even large businesses are rightfully focused on doing business. They are not focused on knowing about all the software that exists that may be able to solve their problems.
A great software company understands the niche they are in and becomes experts in that niche. Being experts allows them to understand what customers’ problems really are. Being experts also allows them to understand the solutions that are out there, whether those technology solutions are even theirs or not! Sometimes the best answer to a customer is “We understand your problem and you could use our software and it would eventually meet your needs. However, in dealing with this problem before and knowing the technology that exists out there, we believe there are better options”. And that better option may be using software A for one portion and working with another company to use their software B for the other portion to 100% solve the problem. The key is that the great software company knows the niche they are in, have worked with other companies and knows how to integrate solutions together to solve problems.
The key is NOT to force your customers to use your software and bend to your limitations. This doesn’t solve their problem. This just sells them software and ultimately creates more problems.
Imagine you are going to the home improvement store because you have an issue with your toilet. You walk in and ask “Where are gasket A’s located?”. A typical clerk (just like your typical software company described in this article) will say “Gasket A’s are located on aisle 2″. They have not understood your problem and have just told you what you want to hear.
Now imagine you ask that same question and instead, you get a great clerk (or a great software company)…They will ask, “What are you trying to do?”. They listen to your problem and since they know that area of expertise, they are able to direct you in most likely 3 directions.
1. “You know, you do need a gasket A for that. They are on aisle 2. Do you know how to install a Gasket A? If not, let me show you how. It’s real easy.” For software companies, maybe in understanding the problem, their software is the best solution. If it is, great!
2. “You don’t need a gasket A. You just need a pipe fitting B. Here, let me show you. The key is making sure….” For software companies that understand they are solving problems and not selling solutions, they have understood the customers’ needs, know enough about their niche to understand the problem fully, and know the solution and where to direct the customer. They are providing a valuable service.
3. “Honestly, my advice is that you hire a plumber. I have seen this before and this is much larger than you think. Here’s why….Here is the # to someone I have worked with in the past. She is a great plumber and will save you a lot of money in the long run. Trust me.” In this example, the software company knows the steps it will take to solve the problem, and communicates with the customer what this is and what it will take. They also direct them to firms they have worked with in the past because they know they can solve their problem. They don’t simply try to fake knowledge simply because “well, software is software. We can whip up something for them”.
It comes down to this….If you are a software company and your #1 goal is to just sell software, well, you are competing against 100 billion other pieces of software out there. If you are a software company and your #1 goal is to solve problems, you are in the minority and will be successful.