Customer Support
How to write a support request (that won’t get ignored)
I know. It’s hard to imagine that anyone would need a lesson on how to write a support request – because most of us know how to ask for help. But sadly, the more that software eats the world, the…
Two Kinds of Customers
Writing difficult emails
Writing difficult emails is a skill worth developing. Sometimes it can feel like writing difficult emails is a full-time job. Every week it seems like I have an opportunity to write a difficult email. At least once. As I talked…
Building an easy onboarding process for new customers
Long before there was SaaS (Software as a Service), there was ASP (Application Service Providers) and while they’re not exactly the same, they’ve all been “hosted products.” Those are the kinds of products I’ve been working on since 1995. And in…
Why it makes sense to hire small agencies
I can still remember one of the first times I sold enterprise software to an enterprise client. They were a very large and well-known financial organization and I was sitting in a meeting with their senior technical staff. I was…
WordPress plugins and auto-renewals
Several years ago I sold my house to a friend. I did all the normal things you do when selling your home—from switching the water and gas to my friend to canceling services like cable. When my wife and I…
Don’t be an Idiot
Sometimes you have no idea what you’re doing. When I was six or seven, I stood next to my mom at the checkout stand of a retail clothing store. I said, “Mom, are sure you can use that credit card?”…
Do you know my friend Lisa?
You can imagine what she heard when applying for jobs. You have probably felt it yourself if you’re prone to insecurity or the impostor syndrome. “You didn’t finish high school?” The kind of exterior you have to develop to navigate…