Signs That Your Service Has Matured

One sure sign is when people begin asking about fees. I don't mean questions about fees per se; all buyers need some sense of the scale of investment, ie, whether we're talking $10,000 or $100,000. That's not a maturity concern. You should be concerned, though, when the fee discussion is a comparative one, either a direct comparison to another firm's offer, or comparing you to some perceived standard. The fact that a measuring stick exists tells you that the service has matured, at least as currently configured or packaged. It doesn't mean that you abandon the service, but it does strongly suggest that it's time to re-invent it in some meaningful way to make it more valuable.

Other signs that your product/service has matured:

• Supply exceeds demand in an evident way; sellers have little or no pricing power;
• More purchases are by cost-focused buyers functioning as “purchasing agents”;
• You see increasingly formal purchasing activity, eg, RFPs, beauty contests or other controlled, bid-oriented processes;
• Buyers prefer paper to personal contact as the medium of sales communication, and are reluctant to answer your sales investigation questions because they can't see what value they would get out of the time investment (after all, they're buying a commodity);
• The seniority level at which your service is purchased or sponsored continues dropping;
• Everyone uses familiar, accepted terminology to describe it; it's hard to differentiate something with a vanilla name, eg, litigation, employment law.

To get relief from the margin pressure of lowest-cost procurement processes, you must find an internal end-user sponsor who will acknowledge value in your differentiation. These buyers seek personal satisfaction from using your service, in the form of greater productivity or reduced pain. Their question is: can I get my boss (the company) to pay for this value form? Help them justify the funding.