Comments on: Web Developers Can’t Sell. Sorry.

By: Michael Campbell

Michael Campbell — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:37:00 +0000

I feel for your months of pain – no fun to have your work and advice ignored, I know. I hope things are better for you now!

By: Jonas B.

Jonas B. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:35:07 +0000

My experience is that you don’t need to be “exceptional” in almost all circumstances, “what problem does my app solve” is what’s interesting. Dell computers is actually a good example, hardly anyone can call them exceptional in any way but they work and they are cheap. Hence, commercial success.

By: Daily Review #21 | The Queue Blog

Daily Review #21 | The Queue Blog — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:05:48 +0000

[...] Web Developers Can’t Sell. Sorry. – No reason to apologize, for the most part, we can’t. A good set of tips if you still want to try to do this on your own. [...]

By: Web Developers Can’t Sell. Sorry. | Michelle’s Blog | Tom Altman’s Wedia Conversation

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:59:30 +0000

[...] Web Developers Can’t Sell. Sorry. | Michelle’s Blog. [...]

By: Sunchild

Sunchild — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:09:02 +0000

I see the opposite trend: web developers are getting better and better at displacing traditional sales and marketing functions every day.

The web has made it very easy for “geeks” to study hard data about sales and make incremental improvements on ROI that threatens to expose the “dark arts” of traditional marketing (which has no meaningful metric for ROI, BTW).

Yes, some people can sell anything to anyone. Is that the virtue that is being lauded here? By that measure, late night infomercials are the benchmark for success.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:06:15 +0000

@Michael,

You are absolutely correct! Most salespeople can’t code and wouldn’t bother to learn. That’s why marketers like me give props to coders for doing a good job at what they do best.

This was written because I had two clients who were coders who challenged even the most basic marketing studies. It was very painful and is more common than you may think.

By: Michael Campbell

Michael Campbell — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:59:10 +0000

And a horse can’t pull a semi trailer, either. Not terribly enlightening.

And I suspect Web Developers can sell a hell of a lot better than Salespeople can code. =)

By: Doug

Doug — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:43:12 +0000

Hi, I’d just like to say that as a consumer, I hate when salespeople “lead with benefits” instead of describing what their product actually does. It’s true that I don’t want to hear about Fortera TripleTred tires, but I ALSO don’t want to hear an unfounded, generalized assertion that “these tires are safer in the rain.”

This is especially true with software, that is usually a much more complicated user experience than tires, which you generally install and ignore until they go flat. Don’t tell me how it’s going to change my life until you’ve told me what it actually is.

By: Today’s Startup and Entrepreneurial Updates | CenterNetworks

Today’s Startup and Entrepreneurial Updates | CenterNetworks — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:57:16 +0000

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By: Elena

Elena — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:43:48 +0000

Geeks can’t improve their designs because they must keep themselves focused on technical details. You can’t be a genius at mastering both technicalities and usability and marketing.

Luke, you got it: “Anybody who is a true engineer will immediately start explaining how the product works. On the other hand, a business person will explain what the product is for.” Do switch perspective whenever you want to be the former or the latter.