Do you have a direct sales team that works hard selling or do you have an order taking call center and website? That’s an important distinction when building a business. With a direct sales team, you have the following characteristics:
- Bigger deal sizes
- Longer sales cycles
- Complex sales cycle and pricing model
- More expensive personnel
When sales come from an order taking call center and website, you see these characteristics:
- Larger marketing budget as a percentage of revenue
- Smaller deals
- Shorter sales cycles
- Free trials as well as “free” editions
It is important to consider both of these options when thinking through the possibilities of a new business application.
David Cummings on Startups 