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I have written in the past about FindAccountingSoftware.com. FAS is an online
portal that serves businesses interested in looking at several options for a new
accounting package. FAS does not exist without the Internet and the search
engine; ironically, the question posed is can FAS exist with the Internet and
the search engine? The answer is interesting for both FAS and the Internet as a
whole.
First, for FAS the question is why do they matter? Let me give you my
perspective as a vendor. The way FAS works is that it is absolutely free for
those who search. For participating vendors they must first pony up a fairly
thick wad of cash for the privilege of being listed on the site and then again
for being able to bid on leads. Each lead costs between $10 and $40 bucks.
Companies that list on the site are kept anonymous until you actually win the
bid. Also, only a small amount of the company's information is released during
bidding in order to maximize the number of vendors who bid. Now, you might
be thinking that this is a bit of a rigged deal here, and you would be right.
But to find good leads, companies actually interested in finding software and a
partner to implement it, we and many others were willing to try this
deal.
Results? Well I cannot lie. They have not been impressive. There are a lot
of people who enter their information on the portal but for what reason I
cannot say. Frankly I think that most have no intention of changing
software and FAS seems like the easiest way to march to the boss's drum.
Enter a few quick lines into FAS and the search is basically over for the buyer.
The hunt is now on and the buyer can be passive the rest of the way. Take a few
phone calls, see a demo or two. It's not like they have to read for hours on end
and put together a report on the options. Supposedly FAS does this for them.
The other problem is that the information on FAS is haphazard at
best and almost never aligns with reality. Buyers go through a short interview
process that asks really penetrating questions like how many purchase orders do
they generate a month, or A/P checks? Is this important? Well, not nearly as
important as questions about the business model and to what degree they want
industry vertical software. But information like this would stop some
vendors from bidding.
But the biggest problem is Google.
Why would I want to bother with FAS when I can use Google to find a host of
software vendors and their resellers online. I can visit websites and read about
several different products and how they might fit my business. In many cases by
the time I connect with a lead for which I paid dearly on FAS they have already
been to NetSuite's website. That's not good for a reseller.
When companies are really interested in finding a software option that meets
their needs they turn to Google, not FAS. The difference between a lead found
via Google AdWords and FAS couldn't be greater. FAS leads are normally employees
asked by their boss to take a look around. Adwords leads are normally the boss
who is having a look around. When the boss does the search, it's a serious
search. FAS is free, too free. It costs nothing for the buyer in time, energy or
cash and as a result manages to find a few unqualified leads. Google Adwords
require energy and time. The buyer has a stake and as a result the lead is
qualified in the most important way - interest.
FAS is clever in the way that it has positioned itself in the middle between
buyers and sellers. But a really telling point is that I have never had a
visitor to this blog or to my website from the links that are
listed on FAS. That's how little interest the buyers on FAS have in finding
software and consulting.
What's it mean for the Internet. It means that though the Internet tries to
drive down prices everywhere, no price is no good, either. Even a free search
engine, for the searcher, cannot be entirely free. It must engage their time and
energy. The idea that many would like to have us believe, that it only works on
the Internet if its free and really easy and really no hassle, is, in the end,
the idea that makes a lot of what's on the Internet useless. As an old
boss used to say, 'put some skin in the game' and, I'll add, make sure that
the prospect puts some skin in, too. | 
