Really liked reading your POV from the buyer's angle @jcmleng

I've always been on the other side of the table, with the VP or the CEO putting pressure on me and my reps to close the deal before the end of the quarter, because we need to show good numbers above, or because investors need to see the growth as we prepare for raising the next round. I also hated the pressure hahaha.

You and I could have a lot of good war stories to share to over a beer I'm sure.

I liked your point on "I focus more on the solution moat, the "inevitably" of the customer buying". Pointerra could also be bundled in to your examples as one of the more extreme cases...

@jcmleng good post and well articulated. but im not sure if that means usually nothing happens (no deals) or it is delayed until buyer is ready, or it is a case by case basis. sounds like its a positive story but with soem understandable negative delays.

in the call i found Teri very relaxed and both talked a lot (disarming SM), what they said was really promising from a business and cultural perspective imo.

@JPPicard hahaha - it will beers absolutely worth having!

Have been thinking about the customer-end more and more these past few months to form views on how my companies are doing/will do, ALC in particular (I do feel for Kate and her NHS challenges). Will post more thoughts once I crystallise them further.

Thanks @Solvetheriddle! I do not think there was anything negative, nor specifics in Teri's comments. She mentioned the "business context" in response to Strawman's question around sales challenges VHT faced etc if I recall. I took away from that response, the balance and practical-reality-pragmatism that Teri had in her overall approach and style.

ALC's Kate Quirke has been saying pretty much the same thing around NHS-related sales challenges, but in a very different way/style.

@jcmleng, this is one area I have been focused on with several tech microcaps.

I’ve noticed a pattern that when sales appear to slow for a Q or H (depending on the reporting cycle) the CEOs tend to focus on and project enthusiasm about the sales pipeline. Fair enough.

What I pay attend to is precisely what they say about the pipeline and what it means for the next report. And then I listen carefully to what they say at the next report, to see if it is consistent.

What I find most illuminating is what is said under Q&A, more so than the prepared script (which is designed to be consistent.)

It is this, as much as anything, that has led me to exit $3DP and $EVS, with $EVS being the most obvious case.

I’d say that $ALC and $IKE (I hold both) are now on a “negative watch” for me. Which means I am paying super close attention to what is said about sales and prospects.

To their credit, I have found $VHT (and $M7T, which I also hold) to be very consistent and clear to date. But I’ve learned to never take things for granted.

I think part of this reflects the CEOs depth of experience in the sales cycle. Terri comes across as very experienced from her time at EPIC. The sales cycle for an entire EPR system would be much more complex than that for a bolt on SaaS solution, like $ALC or $VHT. Of course, in big organisations, the decisions for a full EPR get a lot more organisational focus, whereas if you are selling a more niche application like $VHT to a big integrated delivery enterprise, it is probably a challenge to get the necessary internal stakeholders lined up to make the “buy” decision. (I write with prior experience as the customer in a large corporate involved in software strategy and selection in a different industry.)

Under Ralph, $VHT focused on the mammography service specialists. So intuitively, the sales process was more straightforward given the focus of these organisations.

Under Terri, they are focusing more on the “elephants”, such as the integrated healthcare delivery providers. This is where Terri’s experience is so important, because you can waste a lot of resource getting nowhere with these bigger customers, for the reason explained above. Of course, if you get it right, the contracts are probably 3x to 5x+ bigger, so it can be very worthwhile.

What was so clear from Terri’s download at the SM meeting is that she really understands the dynamics from the customer perspective, at a very granular level. I don’t think I’ve ever heard one of “my” SaaS CEOs ever be so clear. (The closest would be Richard White and also Sam Hupert, who I “know” less we’ll having missed that particular train :-( )

@jcmleng thanks that was actually my question, and imo critical to the investment case especially for micros still trying to carve their niche out or scale to profits. i am suspicious of micros continually sighting macro or structural tailwinds, have thye something customers will buy and can they sell it are mor relevant imo. I have just initiated a small posiiotn in VHT on the back of this chat for full disclosure thnaks

@mikebrisy excellent points and i came to same conclusion re EVS and 3DP. no mgt ever says we are going nowhere and never will, they dont necessarily lie but must be glass half full , regardless, for investors it is different of course and deciding when enough is enough, no matter the TAM or macro/structural tailwinds etc is critical