[kijin]

That's exactly the problem that GP is talking about.

McAfee were just being the usual assholes, but the first guy mentioned in the blog post could have been converted into a paying customer if the pricing scheme were clearly outlined on the web. Since "Contact us" account tiers are usually reserved for the very high end, he probably assumed that it would cost him an arm and a leg.

It shouldn't be too difficult to come up with a handful of moderately priced account tiers, each targeting a different type of customer, as well as an open-ended tier at the end ("Contact us") for those with special needs and deep pockets.

[brc]

So many times I say this to people. Sometimes the reason people aren't buying is because they can't find the price, and aren't willing to pay the mental price of talking to a sales person to find out.

I understand the sales psychology in making sure you enter into a proper discussion with people to make sure their needs are right, and extracting the maximum consumer surplus from them. But there is a non-trivial pricing point where this makes sense, and by not having any anonymous-sign up, you're cutting off your sales curve below this point.

I think it's very easy to convince yourself it's easier just to sign up customers over the phone, but doing so without at least testing takeup of simpler tiers is an incomplete picture.

[nemothekid]

I get this line of thinking if your you can sell your offering for $100 bucks a month. But what if your minimum offering is $2500/mo? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've yet to see a company - that only sales through enterprise - put up a sign saying where their plans start at $2,500.

In most cases I don't believe these services are forcing customers to talk on the phone because they think they will convert them. Chances are that sign up isn't as easy as a 1-2-click, and involved set up and understanding of the customers needs is required before services can be rendered.

[kijin]

If your signup process is understandably complicated and you require a minimum commitment of $2500/mo, then it's probably okay for you to tell potential customers to give you a call.

If your signup process can be automated and you only charge $25/mo, and you still tell people to give you a call, then you will lose business because 1) the friction of a phone call is worth more than the difference between your offer and a competing offer; 2) it's impossible to tell whether your offer is worth the friction in the first place, because your pricing is unknown; and 3) people just assume that you'll charge $2500/mo because that's the usual price point where people say "contact us". If someone else comes along and offers an inferior product for $35/mo, they'll get all the business because monkey psychology.

[brc]

Yes, that's what I am saying. There is a pricing point at which having a customized sales process absolutely makes sense.

What I am saying along with that is that - by doing this - you're ignoring a lot of the market at (or even just below) your price point. That might be OK - as long as it is a conscious decision to do so, including acknowledging that your market is completely above that point.

In the case being discussed here, it would seem that there is an interest below this price point.