No more hiding in the server room
Dear vendors: Post your prices or go DIAF
It’s that magical time of year again when I go shopping for all the shiny new toys I’ll be buying in January. But once again I find that some vendors apparently enjoy wasting time by hiding the costs of their products.
Here’s the thing; don’t make me call you, schedule a sales meeting then talk for hours about our current needs and directions, then lecture me about how much the competition sucks until finally you come out with the price. Look, maybe I think your product is the greatest thing ever but if it’s dramatically more expensive then what the current project justifies then I’m not going to buy it – period.
I’m well aware that different customers get different prices after negotiations and whatever but with a list/retail price I at least know the ballpark we’re talking about. I’m not asking for the details of every sales deal you’ve ever done with every customer ever. If your server costs $100k but this project doesn’t justify more than $20k then it’s a waste of both your time and mine to even discuss it. Now if I have 90k then I might see if we can work something out.
Some vendors (including ones I’ve worked for) view their prices as “competitive secrets”. That’s garbage because you’re going to have to tell the customer what the price is sooner or later. I mean what do you think – that if I have a budget in mind and after 2 weeks of phone tag you get back to me with a price that’s 4x that amount then I’m going to go “Oh well, it’s 4x the amount I can afford but I’ve spent 2 weeks talking to them so now I’m obligated to buy?” Seriously, what the thought here? Alternately I may be interested in spending more money. If I have $50k for a project then I’m not looking at the stuff that costs $2k and the sales person has just spent a lot of time talking about their low end stuff when I was really interested in something more high end.
in summary: I don't want to waste time looking at the 30 year single malt scotch if I can only afford 12 year blended.
Here’s the thing; don’t make me call you, schedule a sales meeting then talk for hours about our current needs and directions, then lecture me about how much the competition sucks until finally you come out with the price. Look, maybe I think your product is the greatest thing ever but if it’s dramatically more expensive then what the current project justifies then I’m not going to buy it – period.
I’m well aware that different customers get different prices after negotiations and whatever but with a list/retail price I at least know the ballpark we’re talking about. I’m not asking for the details of every sales deal you’ve ever done with every customer ever. If your server costs $100k but this project doesn’t justify more than $20k then it’s a waste of both your time and mine to even discuss it. Now if I have 90k then I might see if we can work something out.
Some vendors (including ones I’ve worked for) view their prices as “competitive secrets”. That’s garbage because you’re going to have to tell the customer what the price is sooner or later. I mean what do you think – that if I have a budget in mind and after 2 weeks of phone tag you get back to me with a price that’s 4x that amount then I’m going to go “Oh well, it’s 4x the amount I can afford but I’ve spent 2 weeks talking to them so now I’m obligated to buy?” Seriously, what the thought here? Alternately I may be interested in spending more money. If I have $50k for a project then I’m not looking at the stuff that costs $2k and the sales person has just spent a lot of time talking about their low end stuff when I was really interested in something more high end.
in summary: I don't want to waste time looking at the 30 year single malt scotch if I can only afford 12 year blended.
Views: 7
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Comment by Matt Simmons on October 21, 2009 at 7:42pm -
I always just go shopping for the hardware on froogle first. Someone, somewhere is offering the stuff I look for, and it gives me a ballpark price. It also gives me a price point to laugh in their faces using, if necessary.
I feel your pain, though.
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Comment by Julian Regel on October 22, 2009 at 10:52am -
Agree completely. NetApp being a particularly guilty party in my experience. I needed storage but only had about £12K to spend. Didn't particularly want to look stupid and suggest a model only to find out it costs £50K.
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Comment by Jeff Hengesbach on October 22, 2009 at 2:26pm -
Great post Isaac, couldn't agree more. Technology is much too much of commodity these days, why hide pricing. I generally interpret the tactic as the fist number I'm shown is at least 2x what I should end up paying - thanks for the free lunch though.
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Comment by Scott Devereux on November 12, 2009 at 6:27pm -
One of the primary reasons many vendors are unable to be transparent with their prices is because they sell through a 'Channel' sales model and are often contractually bound by their channel partners not to advertise their pricing.
The channel partners do not want their customers to know how much the manufacture is charging so their mark-ups can be kept from their customers.
One of the advantages for manufacturers (and customers) who sell with a 'direct to customer' sales model is that they are able to keep their pricing completely transparent and have autonomy over their brand and customer service.
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