January 5, 2007

"Only...." - Run Away from Those Words in a Sales Pitch

For the 2nd time in a few days I've received a press release touting how a company is offering the "only solution". Here's a snip of what I've recently read:

This launch enhances COMPANY NAME's unique position as the only provider of appliance, software and on-demand delivered security solutions for the SME market.

I'm sure the company and it's PR team meant well. But when a company says they are the ONLY provider of such a solution I'm VERY, VERY skeptical. You should be too.

There are many times when a provider can say we are the only provider of this feature, this way and be right about it. When IBM first launched its Thinkpad that sensed a fast fall and would lock the hard disk to prevent damage, maybe they could have claimed they were the only provider doing so.

But when a software company says we're the only one that offers this speed or something else, like the above press release it's probably a HUGE exaggeration (or a lie).

If you get a sales pitch - listen to the sales pitch but ask hard questions and ask an object expert what they think.

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