How to Handle:
“Will you still be in business in 5 years?”
Prospects are worried about vendor stability and long-term support. This is especially common when selling against established incumbents or to risk-averse enterprise buyers.
Why Prospects Say This
They've been burned by vendors who went under or were acquired. They want assurance their investment is protected. Enterprise deals often have long time horizons. They may need to justify the choice to skeptical stakeholders.
Best Responses
The Traction Proof
“Great question—you should ask every vendor this. Here's our situation: we're growing [X]% year over year, we have [funding/revenue] runway, and our customer retention is [X]%. We're not going anywhere, but I can also show you our data portability options if that helps.”
Why It Works
Provides concrete evidence of stability and growth.
Best For
When you have strong growth metrics
The Risk Mitigation
“I understand the concern. Even if something unexpected happened—which we don't anticipate—your data is yours. We have standard export formats, and I can show you our business continuity plan. But honestly, the bigger risk might be the inertia of staying with [current solution].”
Why It Works
Addresses the fear directly while pivoting to cost of inaction.
Best For
Risk-averse buyers who need reassurance
The Investor Angle
“We just closed our [Series X] with [notable investor], which gives us several years of runway. They did extensive due diligence and bet on our future. Happy to share more about our financial position—what would give you confidence?”
Why It Works
Leverages third-party validation from investors.
Best For
VC-backed companies with notable investors
Do's and Don'ts
Do This
- Be prepared to discuss your funding and runway honestly
- Highlight customer growth and retention metrics
- Offer data portability and exit planning
- Share notable investors or partners as validation
Don't Do This
- Get defensive or dismissive
- Make promises about the future you can't guarantee
- Hide legitimate financial concerns
- Overshare internal challenges
Follow-up Questions to Ask
“What would give you confidence in our long-term viability?”
“Have you had a vendor go under before? What happened?”
“Would our data export capabilities ease that concern?”
“Who else on your team has questions about our stability?”
Industry-Specific Variations
“Our contracts are typically 5-7 years”
“We're built for long-term partnerships. We have enterprise customers who've been with us since the beginning, and our contract includes data export rights and transition support if anything ever changes.”
“Government contracts require vendor stability assurances”
“We understand government requirements. We can provide financial statements, our D&B rating, and references from other government clients. Our contracts also include continuity provisions.”
Pro Tips
- Prepare a 'stability slide' with key metrics for enterprise deals
- Data portability features can be a strong selling point for worried buyers
- Customer retention rate is often the most compelling stability metric
- Notable customer logos provide implicit validation of your staying power
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