> What did I do wrong while closing this enterprise SaaS client?
Well if the work you were doing is necessary for your company and will enable you to sell your product to other companies it’s not really a loss. If anything it was an opportunity to get real feedback and see where your shortcomings are.
What did you do wrong while closing the enterprise SaaS client?
Probably that you didn’t close the deal in June (or prior to doing any work at all). Alternatively, nothing at all. Maybe you have a great product but your pricing is bad. Maybe you thought these demos were going well but they weren’t. Any number of things. If you were spending 5-6 months working on a product for this client without a contract - don’t do that.
The wrong answer is “CPO’s friend”. That’s your ego speaking.
Maintain close contact, and keep them informed of new product features and ask if you can schedule a demo from time to time for feedback and to see if they like any of the features. Keep a good relationship. Even if it’s with the most junior person on the team. Today’s CPO might not be the future CPO.
You are not alone. This is fairly common in the "enterprise" space.
I spent years try to court an enterprise company in order to offer them comparable service for half their current cost.
Eventually, I was told it wasn't going to happen. Why? Because the VP in charge of this was best friends with a VP from their current service provider.
Bottom line --- competition is for little people. The big people collude with one another.
Welcome to enterprise, stuff like this happens all the time. There's not a whole lot to be done about losing out to an alternate vendor based on an exec's personal recommendation. I wouldn't frame it as "what did I do wrong?", because there might not have been anything you could do to win that deal. This just happens sometimes.
The lesson is that relationships matter a ton in any enterprise play. It sucks in hindsight, but it never feels good to invest so much in a big potential client for it not to work out. And upfront spec work is, unfortunately, a common and necessary evil in the enterprise world.
Sounds like you were decently close to closing a whale, so that's positive. Clearly you have something that somebody wants, so live to fight another day.
> What did I do wrong while closing this enterprise SaaS client?
Well if the work you were doing is necessary for your company and will enable you to sell your product to other companies it’s not really a loss. If anything it was an opportunity to get real feedback and see where your shortcomings are.
What did you do wrong while closing the enterprise SaaS client?
Probably that you didn’t close the deal in June (or prior to doing any work at all). Alternatively, nothing at all. Maybe you have a great product but your pricing is bad. Maybe you thought these demos were going well but they weren’t. Any number of things. If you were spending 5-6 months working on a product for this client without a contract - don’t do that.
The wrong answer is “CPO’s friend”. That’s your ego speaking.
Maintain close contact, and keep them informed of new product features and ask if you can schedule a demo from time to time for feedback and to see if they like any of the features. Keep a good relationship. Even if it’s with the most junior person on the team. Today’s CPO might not be the future CPO.
[flagged]
You were competing against "crony capitalism".
You are not alone. This is fairly common in the "enterprise" space.
I spent years try to court an enterprise company in order to offer them comparable service for half their current cost.
Eventually, I was told it wasn't going to happen. Why? Because the VP in charge of this was best friends with a VP from their current service provider.
Bottom line --- competition is for little people. The big people collude with one another.
Welcome to enterprise, stuff like this happens all the time. There's not a whole lot to be done about losing out to an alternate vendor based on an exec's personal recommendation. I wouldn't frame it as "what did I do wrong?", because there might not have been anything you could do to win that deal. This just happens sometimes.
The lesson is that relationships matter a ton in any enterprise play. It sucks in hindsight, but it never feels good to invest so much in a big potential client for it not to work out. And upfront spec work is, unfortunately, a common and necessary evil in the enterprise world.
Sounds like you were decently close to closing a whale, so that's positive. Clearly you have something that somebody wants, so live to fight another day.
Thank you for that wonderful last sentence. Super motivating.