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Ask HN: How should I deal with a long sales cycle?

2 points by Aegean ↗ HN
We have a non-trivial embedded software MVP that took two years to build and is now ready. We are a small team and we made our first sale this month which consists of a few evaluation licenses. Trouble is we have something that is worth a try but the buyers are businesses and the price of the software is non-trivial, which denotes the sales cycle will be long (3-6 months on each account IMHO).

You may ask, where have you been all this time not building your sales/marketing relationships? The product has non-trivial technical challenges which occupied most of my focus as a technical founder. These are now overcome as we have the MVP ready now, which was my major concern, but it seems promoting the product consists of another huge (probably bigger than technical) problem.

What would be your advice on strategy here? I know there are no quick fixes and probably the best thing to do would be to start contacting potential buyers aggressively. If you have any advice on a long sales cycle or major account sales that would be greatly appreciated.

Would it be too optimistic to expect independent sales consultants to help by taking a margin from a sale as the only compensation?

2 comments

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answerly
Are there any established, complimentary products in the market? That is, companies that sell to the same types of clients that you want to target but that you wouldn't consider competitors.

If so, try talking to those companies and see if you can structure a partnership where they sell your product to their clients and keep a chunk of the sales price. The downside is that you make less money, but you also presumably have lower cost of sales.

Aegean
possible, and I am in contact with one to make a deal. I will think more about this thanks.