> But I think that's the nature of selling to developers; they are the types that want to explore on their own. If the docs don't cut it, your company is dead.
Amen, if potential-customers must schmooze with sales to get access to the docs or pair-program with a sales-engineer to get Hello World running, then I get worried (reasonably or otherwise) about things like:
1. The product is a tangled mess so a native guide is required to get anything done, and they've given up on making it independently-navigable.
2. The vendor's business-model is to lock you in and then bleed you dry. (Possibly by paying for said native-guides.)
3. The vendor is focused on selling to management rather than making a product that'll work well for engineers.
Amen, if potential-customers must schmooze with sales to get access to the docs or pair-program with a sales-engineer to get Hello World running, then I get worried (reasonably or otherwise) about things like:
1. The product is a tangled mess so a native guide is required to get anything done, and they've given up on making it independently-navigable.
2. The vendor's business-model is to lock you in and then bleed you dry. (Possibly by paying for said native-guides.)
3. The vendor is focused on selling to management rather than making a product that'll work well for engineers.