Here is some feedback from five senior buyers of research / insight services and software:

Conversations took place during May / June 2020.

Make of this what you will. It’s intended to help, not to be prescriptive or teach you how to pitch your own product.

  1. People buy people “We’re more used to buying services from agencies than software from tech firms. The process and language are different. I want to know I’ll be working with someone I’ll get on with during the sales and setup process.”
  2. Be crystal clear on the service model “I want to understand very early on – how much work would we have to do here? Is it a fully DIY solution or is there a full service team? If it’s DIY, how much time or headcount do we need to allocate? These things all factor into the real cost.”
  3. Use customer language “Use really clear language. Don't invent complex-sounding terms to sound cool. Just keep it as simple and practical as possible. Nobody knows your stuff like you do.” “Talk to me in my terms. Make it relatable to my commercial reality.”
  4. Be specific “Please don’t pitch your benefits in high level terms. Don’t talk about growing our revenues or reducing churn unless you can measure that. Talk to me about what your product actually does, how my team would use it and where it fits in our insight process.”
  5. Be relevant “I like to see case study demos rather than feature lists. Less is more. I don’t need to see what every menu item does. Ideally you’ll have done some research on us and have something tailored – but If not, at least make your pitch practical by walking through scenarios.”
  6. Show your purpose “I like partnerships with companies whose values line up with ours. Are they transparent on pay gaps, do they prioritise mental wellbeing for staff, what’s their record with BAME talent. It’s a factor for us.”
  7. Be honest “Don’t pitch vapourware that only exists in PowerPoint. When you say ‘it’s on our roadmap’ we hear ‘it’s ready to use next month’. Don’t use smoke and mirrors. Don’t dress up something basic with new labels. Don’t mansplain technology to us.”
  8. Be flexible “The best pitches and demos are those where we shut the laptop and have a proper discussion. Where we’ve dug into a specific challenge. When vendors can answer searching questions and be creative, it builds confidence early on.”
  9. Be transparent about pricing “Software is getting more and more transparent about price. I don’t expect three price boxes on the website, but I do expect a very early indication of ball-park costs. At the very least, I need to know the pricing model. Does it scale with use? With seats? I can't stand vagueness or evasiveness on price."