A company’s brand is a vital part of its long-term success. More than just a logo or tagline, a brand’s strength can directly influence how much control a sales team has during the selling process. Companies with great brand strength can command more sales process control than companies with weaker brand strength. But for tech companies, especially early stage, where brands are not that well developed, commanding buyers through a sales process due to your perceived strength is rarely a winning proposition. A recent experience with selecting fireflies.ai over competitors like Chorus and Gong illustrates this perfectly.
All three tools—Fireflies, Chorus, and Gong—offer similar core functionality. They record sales calls and use AI to generate transcripts, analyze sentiment, calculate talk time, and allow reps to create sound bites and comments. These platforms are essential coaching tools for any sales organization where reps are regularly speaking with prospects. If you aren’t using one, you’re likely missing a significant opportunity to improve your sales performance.
So, why did we choose Fireflies?
It came down to friction in the buying process and how brand strength plays into a buyer’s willingness to endure that friction. Fireflies’ competitors had clunky, prospect-unfriendly sales processes. And while they’re well-known in the space, their brand strength wasn’t compelling enough for me to go through the hoops they set up.
To get pricing from Chorus or Gong, I would have had to fill out a form, wait for a BDR to qualify me, schedule a meeting with an account rep, discuss pricing only after a demo—and all before even trying the product. It was too much effort with too little immediate payoff.
Fireflies, on the other hand, was completely transparent. Pricing was easy to find, and I could start a trial right away without speaking to anyone. No forms, no gatekeeping, no delays. Within an hour of signing up, I was recording sales calls and sharing them with my team. By contrast, had I gone with one of the others, I’d probably still be waiting for a follow-up call.
Now, I get that there are reasons why some companies implement such controlled sales processes. Maybe they’ve had too many unqualified leads or “tire kickers” wasting their time. But often, these processes aren’t rigorously A/B tested against more open models. They’re usually the result of gut feelings or past pain points, not data-driven optimization. And unless you have a brand strong enough to make prospects tolerate the friction, you risk losing them.
Did I pick the best product? Honestly, I don’t know. That’s where brand power matters. Gong was the first company I visited. I had used it successfully on a previous project and was familiar with it. They had mindshare. But the moment I hit barriers, that brand affinity wasn’t strong enough to keep me there. I moved on to Chorus—same roadblocks. Then I found Fireflies via a simple Google search. I hadn’t heard of them before, but the risk of trying something new felt low.
Sure, Gong and Chorus might actually be better. But I never found out because they lost me before I could even try them. From my perspective, all three tools seemed similar enough, and without a strong preference, I chose the one that made it easiest to get started. That’s likely the reality for many prospects exploring early-stage technology. They simply don’t know enough to have deep brand loyalty. And without that loyalty, they’ll gravitate toward whoever offers the path of least resistance.
So what’s the takeaway?
Take an honest look at your brand strength. If you don’t have dominant market presence, you may want to rethink how much you expect buyers to conform to your process. When competitors offer smoother, lower-friction experiences, non-loyal prospects will naturally lean in that direction. And in those moments, no amount of polished web content or slick videos can overcome the emotional impact of unnecessary friction. Buyers remember how you made them feel. Make it easy, and they’ll stay.
Photo by Georg Eiermann on Unsplash
