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I've just been reading a book by Rob Walling titled "Start Small, Stay Small" and I came across an interesting idea (one of many he has in the book). I wondered what people on here thought.

My software application (an employee training records regisiter called Training Manager) isn't finished yet, but I want to generate some leads that are interested in the software. The idea is to create a sales website (I currently have a coming soon website for my company called Smart Company Software that I want to replace) that lets people know about the product, perform some adwords tests and then when they click the download or buy button they are told that the software isn't quite finished and if they leave their email address they will be entered into a draw to win a free copy of Training Manager.

Some people may say this isn't a good approach to deceive customers, but I think it has merit and wondered how other people viewed it.

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absolutely a deceitful thing to do. I would never come back to a site that had a buy now/download button and then said "oh, just kidding, we're not ready yet but leave your email address..." That is a tactic of less than honest people or spammers and i don't take kindly to either. Why not just have a form to fill out without the deceitful button? – TimJ♦ Nov 28 '10 at 4:10
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So let me get this straight- you are going to pay to advertise software that does not exist. And when your advertising and web site convinces someone to buy the software, you are going to tell them the software does not exist yet. Sounds like a great waste of money AND a way to alienate potential customers. It just takes one to blog about your deception. Think about that! – Gary E♦ Nov 28 '10 at 5:01
Thanks for the tip on the book "Start Small, Stay Small". Reviews of it are very good. I've now ordered it from Amazon. – lkessler Nov 28 '10 at 7:21
@Gary, I never said I was going to do it. I just said that it had some merit and wanted opinions. Which is what this site is about. If I thought it was a great idea I would have just done it, but I feel uneasy doing something like this and wanted other peoples' views. That's all. – SmartCompanySoftware Nov 28 '10 at 12:59
The idea of creating a mini sales site is on page 84 of Rob's book. Rob says that the if you ask people if they would buy your product then you will get inaccurate answers and the only way to get accuate data is if they think they are really trying or buying your software. I'm pretty sure Rob is describing a product that is close to being finished rather than vapourware and he does mention that you may have qualms about this approach. He also says that if people click to download or buy then they may not be offended by the fact your product is not quite ready. – SmartCompanySoftware Nov 28 '10 at 13:06
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What I did prior to my first alpha being ready, was to put up a survey that told people about what my software would do and asked them what features they'd like to see in it. Then if they are interested in getting an email when the alpha is out, please leave your email.

I also responded personally to every survey submitted.

Over several years, I had a mailing list of 1,000 people, all interested in my product when my first alpha came out.

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That is the best approach... You should get in the habit of creating "Teaser" sites where users can register for beta, updates, and news prior to your products launch. – Frank Nov 28 '10 at 4:51
I like your answer. It's the kind of constructive reply I was looking for. – SmartCompanySoftware Nov 28 '10 at 13:12

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