Back in the day NetSuite absolutely killed Great Plains dealers with their “hairball” sales pitch and an assortment of outright lies. The latest fairy tale they’re selling is “Run Your Business from a Dashboard on Your Phone.”

Recently, I was driving in my car, listening to my favorite Sirius Radio station (yes, I have that kind of swagger) when I heard a radio commercial for NetSuite Software as the “Number 1” blah blah blah blah blah….

I had tuned out until I heard the claim that they are the “number one cloud-based solution for companies that have outgrown QuickBooks!”

What the what? That got my attention!

OK, OK, maybe that claim can be backed by some defensible metric, but then I get hit with the inevitable NetSuite whopper. Not only is it fast and easy-to-install, but “It allows you to run your business from a dashboard on your cell phone!”

When NetSuite first hit the scene, their ultra-aggressive sales tactics absolutely killed Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains) dealers. The Great Plains channel at that time consisted largely of ex-CPA types who sold primarily by doing detailed analyses of business needs and by doing extravagant product demos that left no screen or function behind.

Conversely, if you had the misfortune of getting on a call with a NetSuite rep, chances were that they had you sold on some entry level system before the call was over. If you did manage to get off the call without whipping out a credit card, you were loaded with “facts” regarding what an integration mess Great Plains was.

The typical sales cycles for NetSuite was literally an almost immediate phone call from a sales rep when you inquired for information. The same was not true for Great Plains.

An inquiry to Microsoft was first sent to a local sales rep where it was funneled through a complex partner matrix to determine the best partner to contact the lead. This process was swift and efficient, sometimes only taking several weeks.

Next came the all-important follow-up from the partner to set up a discovery call, often accompanied by a “show up and throw up” demo session. These processes were also highly effective and resulted in Great Plains partners literally going out of business.

If a Great Plains partner was lucky enough to get into a situation where a prospect was comparing functionality with NetSuite, they got killed with “The Hairball,” FUD and outright lies. I spent a lot of time trying to fight the good sales battle with seminars and blogs like:

• NetSuite vs. Microsoft Dynamics GP – A Reality Check
• NetSuite vs. Microsoft Dynamics GP – A Reality Check Part Two

Moving to the AX world and now Dynamics D365 for Enterprise, I thought I had left NetSuite and their sales tactics in the rear-view mirror. Until I heard this ad and learned that now it practically installs itself AND I can run my entire business from my phone!



I may never get off this barstool.