Seeing is believing

A good friend of mine who's a big PC guy recently bought his wife a MacBook and despite my lack of pressure on him, he's converted himself to the way of the Mac.

Now he's put his beloved PC game machine for sale so that he can switch to a MacBook Pro. (!)

I think Apple should implement a 30 day trial program like we do with MailFoundry products. Once you get the product in the hands of your target customer, its highly unlikely that they'll send it back. (provided it actually works)

I always say to prospects at trade shows that despite all the great things we say about MailFoundry at the show, I don't expect them to trust what we're saying. After all, as the saying goes, "How do you know when a sales guy is lying? His lips are moving!" In the anti-spam appliance world, everyone makes bold claims, but our customers rave up and down that we're the only company that actually delivers on its claims.

Our competitors have recently been doing everything they can to keep from going to a head-to-head customer trial with us. I hear all sorts of stories about how a certain company who was recently acquired by a big router company immediately slashes their pricing by 50% when they hear that MailFoundry is the other product that they're going against. The irony is that the message they're sending to the customer is exactly what we want and plays into our hand every time.

How well do you think Microsoft would do in head to head customer tests against Apple products? How about Ford against Chevrolet or Toyota?

If you fear your prospect's doing hands-on testing, perhaps its time to consider an alternative career?