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Either this guy was dumb as a rock or he was trying to scam a free fully-functioning version of our software by dropping hints and playing dumb. Either way, he didn't get anywhere.
Our company makes two products which do the same thing. Both are the same price and come with free tech support. Product A has been manufactured by our company for over 30 years. Product B was origninally manufactured by a competitor with whom we merged about 8 years ago; we continue selling it because people continue buying it.
So the caller started off by asking a pretty standard question.
"If both Product A and Product B do the same thing, why do you sell both and how are they different?"
I always answer by filling them in on the background and telling them the three major differences. Then I anticipate the follow-up question and let them know that which one is best for their needs is a matter of personal preference and suggest they download free demo version of both products to try before buying either one.
At this point most folks thank me and hang up. Or sometimes they will ask something specific about Product A or B to help them make a better choice.
But this guy was Mr. Dense. After I suggested downloading the demos, he suggested that we could improve our web site by outlining the differences between A and B so "people wouldn't have to go to the trouble of downloading demo to figure out which product to buy."
I thanked him and politely explained that there are thousands of small differences between the products and it would be impossible to know which ones would matter to which people and posting those thousands of details on our web site and expecting potential customers to wade through it wouldn't be helpful to them.
Therefore, I explained, we list the major differences and invite people to try the demos to find out whether they prefer Product A or Product B. They're free and we can mail him a CD if download speed is a problem.
He came back with a "Yes, but..." to that. He suggested that we really should offer some way that people can test the software with their equipment and make sure it's compatible before they spend money.
What I said:
"Our demo version will let you test our software with your equipment."
What I didn't say, but wanted to:
But that didn't end it, of course. He kept harping on how testing with the demo was "too difficult," and asking if there was "some easier way" to test our software with his equipment.
I guessed he was angling for the paid versions without paying, but I deliberately avoided taking the hint. I'm a bastard like that.
Besides, testing with the paid version would not, technically, be any "easier" than testing with the demo. They function exactly alike except that the demo inserts random extra characters into the output. The only thing that the demo makes "harder" is getting around paying for the software.
I think we went through about 5 cycles of this before he realized that the only thing he was getting was the demo.
So his parting shot was, "You guys don't seem to want my money."
And mine was, "We don't want anyone's money until they are sure that our software is the right choice for them. That's why we offer the demo version. If you try it and find it doesn't meet your needs, we wouldn't want you to buy it."
Our company makes two products which do the same thing. Both are the same price and come with free tech support. Product A has been manufactured by our company for over 30 years. Product B was origninally manufactured by a competitor with whom we merged about 8 years ago; we continue selling it because people continue buying it.
So the caller started off by asking a pretty standard question.
"If both Product A and Product B do the same thing, why do you sell both and how are they different?"
I always answer by filling them in on the background and telling them the three major differences. Then I anticipate the follow-up question and let them know that which one is best for their needs is a matter of personal preference and suggest they download free demo version of both products to try before buying either one.
At this point most folks thank me and hang up. Or sometimes they will ask something specific about Product A or B to help them make a better choice.
But this guy was Mr. Dense. After I suggested downloading the demos, he suggested that we could improve our web site by outlining the differences between A and B so "people wouldn't have to go to the trouble of downloading demo to figure out which product to buy."
I thanked him and politely explained that there are thousands of small differences between the products and it would be impossible to know which ones would matter to which people and posting those thousands of details on our web site and expecting potential customers to wade through it wouldn't be helpful to them.
Therefore, I explained, we list the major differences and invite people to try the demos to find out whether they prefer Product A or Product B. They're free and we can mail him a CD if download speed is a problem.
He came back with a "Yes, but..." to that. He suggested that we really should offer some way that people can test the software with their equipment and make sure it's compatible before they spend money.
What I said:
"Our demo version will let you test our software with your equipment."
What I didn't say, but wanted to:
"Yes, Mr. Dense, that's a fantastic idea. We could offer people something that would demonstrate how our sofware works before they buy it. We could call it a demonstration version. We could even call it something snappier. If only I could think of something more catchy...
Hey, I know! We'll call it a demo! That's catchy!
Maybe we could even let people download it from our web site!"
Hey, I know! We'll call it a demo! That's catchy!
Maybe we could even let people download it from our web site!"
But that didn't end it, of course. He kept harping on how testing with the demo was "too difficult," and asking if there was "some easier way" to test our software with his equipment.
I guessed he was angling for the paid versions without paying, but I deliberately avoided taking the hint. I'm a bastard like that.
Besides, testing with the paid version would not, technically, be any "easier" than testing with the demo. They function exactly alike except that the demo inserts random extra characters into the output. The only thing that the demo makes "harder" is getting around paying for the software.
I think we went through about 5 cycles of this before he realized that the only thing he was getting was the demo.
So his parting shot was, "You guys don't seem to want my money."
And mine was, "We don't want anyone's money until they are sure that our software is the right choice for them. That's why we offer the demo version. If you try it and find it doesn't meet your needs, we wouldn't want you to buy it."
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