Code Vs. Software

People use either “Code” or “Software” as if they were synonyms. Sales-engineers often use “code“. Sales-non-engineers always use “software“.

The distinction between Code and Software is subtle. Programmers write codes, the list of statements that give instructions to computers. The software is the end product: what the users perceive.

When demoing the software, the above difference can be significant. It’s software what our customer is buying.

There Is Never Only One Consumer

I’m wondering who is my customer.

In our Interlocked world, identifying the customer is not easy. From a sales person perspective, the customer might be the engineer who uses the software, or the IT person who tests it, or the manager who decides. There’s a whole team behind every customer. Users,  influencers and buyers are Linked-In, ruling other buyers.

From a sales manager’s point of view, the primary customer is the sales representative. Sales people are the intermediate buyers; they might see product benefits you have not considered yet.

Low-Touch, Golden-Touch

For some reasons intangible products (e.g. software) are often marketed like tangible ones (e.g. gas turbines). Same business model and also same costs: in case of an industrial software direct cost of sales hits 15.000€ per license.

Software sales cycle, can be managed in a more low-touch, low-cost way. Video presentations, webinars and canned web-trainings can avoid people travelling to the client site.

A web based meeting costs 30€. The same meeting on-site 600€. Some veterans think that a “physical” meeting is always worth the money spent. I think we should better ask the client, who pays the difference between the two.

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