Decisions Decisions Decisions

Buying Accounts software should be easy, therefore making the decision which application to buy should be easy.

However, most books will tell you that we buy using emotion then we rationalise our decision by bringing need into the equation. For example – when was the last time you actually needed to buy yourself Fish & Chips? Did you stand at the chippy door asking yourself “Do I really need 2000 calories and belly full of grease and fat?” Course you didn’t. Maybe you just fancied a treat and didn’t have time to cook dinner, you rationalised the want and turned it into a need.

Same with a shiny new car. Did you actually need the new car? Were there other options available? Of course there were. You buy the car because you want it, it makes you feel good, it looks great, it impresses people. But you didn’t need it. You could have got a less flashy car for half the price and that would have easily satisfied your need to get from A to B.

We have had a couple of businesses contact us recently about their choice of software to manage their accounts requirements. They had used Pastel Accounts some years ago, but had their heads turned by a salesman doing an impression of Churchill the nodding dog and saying ‘Oh Yes’ to everything.

Buying software with an impressive badge on the front doesn’t mean it will work for your business or create all the financial reports the board need for their meetings. Some companies will learn the hard way, and sometimes that can cost time, money and unfortunately in some cases jobs.

The companies I mentioned have re-invested in Pastel Accounts for a very simple reason. It does what they need it to do. We don’t go in saying ‘Yes it will’.  We ask questions about the business to gain a better understanding of the businesses needs and problems. We ask about the processes and the politics.

The reason for this approach means we can offer the right level of software and show the company how it works rather than tell them how great it is. It makes everyone’s job easier, we sit around having a conversation rather than delivering a sales pitch. Ultimately we try to make the decision making process easy, by showing what we can and cannot do, even if that means walking away from a big opportunity.

Pastel may not be the biggest brand in the UK, but when it comes to delivering a solid set of modules to match the needs of businesses, it definitely stands up there with the best of them.