I once worked with a sales guy who had a habit of cutting through the fluff with a single word: "Missouri." Whenever I'd get too deep into the technical weeds during a pitch, he'd chime in with that one word. Confused, I'd ask, "What do you mean?" He'd simply reply, "Show me." Annoying? Yes. Effective? Absolutely.
That's exactly where the AI market stands today. Technically-minded folks are dazzled by what AI can do. Spend enough time on Hugging Face, fine-tuning models, and it's easy to believe the value proposition is self-evident. But for most people, it's not. To them, it's all hype—another ApeCoin or Pets.com. We're doing a lot of talking, but not nearly enough showing.
This issue is partly due to hype culture, but the SaaS model is also to blame. We're emerging from the Golden Age of SaaS, where tools like Salesforce and Slack reshaped our perception of how to sell technology. But the assumption in enterprise SaaS sales is that the software is something buyers already want—enough to sign a substantial contract. That implies real demand, where the software either makes or saves money, plain and simple.
Enterprise buyers aren't investors. They don't care if your technology will be amazing someday. They need it to deliver value now. They need to see it work, see the ROI, and pay for it accordingly. No hype, no zombie ARR that collapses in a year—just real, enduring revenue.
Frankly, AI isn't there yet. It's still a research-driven field with breakthroughs happening weekly. Your $500k enterprise contract could be undermined by a 10x better competitor emerging before the ink is dry. That's why enterprise buyers are cautious.
The truth is, most people don't see the value in AI yet. At Blinder, we sell to law firms and legal departments, and when I ask decision-makers if they personally use AI, the answer is almost always "No." If they do, it's usually free ChatGPT. Why? They don't trust the output—especially in law, where a hallucinated case could mean malpractice. They worry about security. They don't see the added value. They don't know how to use it and are wary of IP concerns.
These are the conversations we have 99% of the time with enterprise buyers. Ignoring this context and pushing a SaaS agreement is a recipe for failure. We're not SaaS doomers, but the reality is that AI isn't ready for the traditional SaaS model.
The Blinder Approach: "Show Me" Sales
- Training: We don't just onboard and leave. We train users not only on our tool but on AI best practices. We provide them with the prompts, teach prompt engineering, highlight data and IP risks, show them how to mitigate those risks, and—most importantly—demonstrate how AI and Blinder can increase their revenue.
- Transparency: Blinder is all about transparency. We offer a middle ground where you get the benefits of GenAI while protecting your data. One of our core features is a no-code audit trail that tracks every aspect of AI usage—who, what, where, when, and how much. For IP management, we go a step further and publish notices of IP ownership, not just in crisis but as a standard procedure, like a receipt after a purchase.
- Transactional Pricing: Instead of forcing buyers to pay upfront and hope they find value, we've made everything transactional. Every team member gets a free seat and initial training. They only pay when they run a call through an LLM or use our AI copyright agent. Ongoing training and support are also transactional. We trust our product and believe users will see its value, plain and simple.
For lawyers, our approach isn't just preferable—it's essential. Malpractice risk is a constant concern, and the associated insurance costs are sky-high. This risk goes up with AI usage. One wrong case citation due to AI model hallucination or client data leak to an AI model, and the attorney could be facing liability for their whole firm.
By offering transparency and detailed audit trails, we're not just selling a tool; we're helping firms potentially lower those insurance premiums. Every AI interaction logged, every decision traced—it's a safety net that insurers can't ignore. We like to think of this feature of Blinder as the "safe driver" function, just plug into our API or app and get instant reassurance on how your practice is using AI. Its the same thing for their clients, in-house counsel can monitor that IP is being registered and track how AI is using it.
But risk mitigation is just the beginning. Our transactional pricing model opens a new revenue stream for attorney. They can offer our tools to their clients, adding their legal fee on top of our transactional cost. Clients benefit from cutting-edge AI assistance, while lawyers position themselves as key players in the AI revolution, not passive observers. This doesn't cannibalize billable hours; it creates a scalable income source. And those transparency trails? They’re not just for internal peace of mind. In an era where clients demand accountability, they become a powerful tool for building trust and showcasing value.
We're not just selling AI; we're providing a way for lawyers to future-proof their practice and strengthen client relationships. That's the kind of proposition that turns skeptics into champions.