For good, elegant products one can demo, that's fine. I was talking about these $1/4 Million+ enterprise babies that take a team of sales and sales support people to explain. The buyers are CEOs, CIOs, CKOs, and the end user is Matilda the 42 year old clerk who will wonder why she can't continue to use her spreadsheet for these tasks. The execs know how the product can solve their business problems, or we wouldn't have gotten a foot in the door. But they're not sure that Matilda is going to be productive with it until they've been reassured that she'll be able to work the thing. Good docs can be a great convincer.
Or they could just fire Matilda and hire a younger worker. :-) Bill Swallow wrote: > Uh-oh! Divergence alert! Divergence alert! > > I absolutely hate the "docs as sales tool" model. :-) > > Seriously. As much as it can be nice to slam that tome down and show > some meat for their dollar, there's a flip side to that model. "Holy > crap, this product must be complex!" > > A better sales tool is to set up the product and have the client try > it out - no explanation, no docs immediately given to them. If they > can approach it, understand it, and begin to use it without > explanation, THAT is a sell. And, you (collective you for your > company) have done your jobs right. > > There will always be a need for supplying information with a product > in some manner, but I prefer the approach: "If we do our jobs right, > it will look like we've done nothing at all." > > People buy tech products to solve problems (even entertainment > products). A solution that comes with more problems (train people to > use it, remember procedures, maintain and update the solution, change > your routine or environment to fit the solution) is not an ideal > solution. No one wants that. We take this as normal because it's > common, but it certainly doesn't mean it's correct. > > On 1/11/07, Beth Agnew <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> Documentation is a great sales tool. I've worked for software companies >> that had a long sales cycle and individual sales in the hundreds of >> thousands and upward. One of the first things the technical buyers want >> to see is documentation. When the sales people can slap a hefty and >> well-written manual down on the desk, they're that much closer to making >> that sale. I've seen sales contracts where a review of existing >> documentation was a condition of the sale. If the docs didn't pass >> muster, the sale would not close. Docs are concrete and something people >> can get their hands on. That's very reassuring to buyers who see a 1/4 >> million dollar product on a CD-ROM. > ______________________________________________ Author Help files and create printed documentation with Doc-To-Help. New release adds Team Authoring Support, enhanced Web-based help technology and PDF output. Learn more at www.doctohelp.com/tcp. DITA West 2007--Use a discount code of "TECHCOMMPROS" to get a discount rate of $200 off the $800 price if you register before close of business January 15, 2007. http://www.travelthepath.com/conf/dita2007.shtml _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Need help? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com
