The name’s Terry Tibbs. Talk to me.
Posted on October 5, 2007 by Tim
Filed Under Technology |
I like Fonejacker, particularly the character Terry Tibbs (catch up at Channel4 OD). A wheeler dealer of note, tells you how it is.
If only everyone operated like him, deals and decisions would get made so much quicker.
It’s not really like that though. I’m continually bombarded by software and IT solutions companies, and so are many of my colleagues. Inevitably some of their warez look interesting and we take a look. But it’s at the point of being partially interested that so many companies we deal with fall down.
I’m in italics.
“So, what’s the price?”
“Well, that depends on when you’re looking to buy and how many x of y you’re going to buy over n years”.
“Oh, but what about buying it in the way that’s relevant for my business needs?”
“OK, but when are you looking to commit?”
“Not sure, can you give me a price and I’ll work out how it might fit in to my budgets and development road map.”
“Right, no problem. The price is £x”
At that point I typically go away and digest. The price they’ve given me in my mind is what they consider to be the fair market value for their product, I always ask them for their best price. I also understand the economics of closing deals at quarter, half year or year end.
– 2 weeks or a month typically go by. I’m invariably called 20 times. Ultimately it leads to the following –
“I just wanted you to know that if you can commit by x then the price can be reduced substantially.”
“I think I asked for your best price initially?”
“Yes, but it depends on what your net value per client is”
“What has that got to do with you? Your pricing is based on no risk and now you’re trying to factor in how much money we earn from the number of x we require on your z ?”
“Yes. I didn’t mention that. It also will depend on how many modules of b you take and whether it’s hosted at r or s”
“Goodbye.”
Keep the deals simple !!!
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