I read an interesting post about some comments from a GE business unit CIO on open source. Basically, this CIO said open source is dangerous – not enough to run business on. He referenced ERP systems and Oracle databases as apps that can never be “open-sourced.”
This blog is about selling, so I’m not going to even go into the argument in the post. For selling, these comments show what I like to call “religion” in parts of the sales process. People in businesses (esp tech) have religions – these are the core technologies they believe in that works for them.
I went into a customer once and met the guy who was the admin for our software. We were a “legacy” platform, and he loved our software. He went on and on about how he could do so much with so few people. His new boss came from a different world – all Linux and open-source. Do you think these two could ever really sit down and rationally “decide” who was right? Could they ever agree which was the “better platform?”
Somehow, the more technical the product, the more “religion” comes into it.
So, when you are selling to people, you better know where they come from and what they believe in. Trying to demo to that CIO that open source is really safe and cool and better than Oracle is a tough job. Can you imagine that demo? You will be explaining and explaining – the CIO will never even listen to you. If you are such a good salesperson that you can convince people to change their religion, then you do not need to read this blog.
So, what do you do? You have a good product – you might be from a different religion, but you can really help these people? Well, you had better figure out what this person really wants when they talk about how great Oracle is.
I bet that CIO from GE really does not care too much about open-source or not. What the CIO cares about is that these products are dependable. The CIO in the post references ERP and Oracle databases. They cost a ton, but they come with a lot of support and a big company that stands behind them.
So, if you can go in and give him that same level of support…..with a little lower price due to the open-source tools and not the “proprietary software”…..well, maybe he could stop by your place of worship once or twice. If you listen really hard, that CIO might even “see the light” and convert to your religion.
