Our Commitment to You: Getting it Right

When we launched EchoSign almost 3 years ago, we got just about everything wrong --  except the uber-vision.  We thought as many of our users would use our fax signatures as our e-signatures.  We thought we'd be adopted first by internet-focused professionals looking for next generation web tools.  We thought one of our early power users might be assistants, who would be in charge of collecting signatures for an organization.

The bottom line is we got all that quite wrong -- at least in terms of timing.  We had very limited early traction with the TechCrunch crowd (though the PR there was great) despite our launch on TechCrunch.  Instead, EchoSign first began to spread among sales professionals at organizations of a broad range of sizes.  Many of our first users were not cutting edge web developers looking for the next cool app, but businesspeople like our founders looking to solve an important business problem -- the end of the quarter contracting disaster: the misplaced faxes, the "closed" deals that were never signed. 

And our "Echo", our automated contract tracking and management piece, turned out not to be used so much by direct reports such as assistants who wanted to share their contracts with their clients or bosses -- but by managers who wanted to track their teams.  I.e., in the beginning, our power users used the Echo "down" the org chart to track, not "up" to share.

And we're not sure we had a single assistant using us the first year.

7,500 customers and 450,000 users later, it's gratifying to know we weren't completely wrong.  It just took time. 

Virtual Assistant Kimberly LeRiche wrote a great piece calling EchoSign one of the 7 great web apps for assistants (after the link / jump below)

"Echo Sign rocks. It will help you get a signature on a contract or other document in a matter of minutes and remain paperless all at the same time. You upload your document into your account and type in the email address of where it’s going. You will then have the option of asking for a written signature or an electronic signature. If you opt for an e-signature, then the other person will be prompted to type in their name and initials and an e-signature with date and time will be added to the document. If you want a written signature, the receiver will be prompted to print the document, sign it, and then fax it to Echo Sign. For both options, the “signed” documents are converted to PDF files and sent to both you and your client ... I used it recently with a client and had a signed contract within a half hour.http://www.echosign.com"

We then noted another group of EchoSigners over at the Virtual Assistant forum:

• Sue Caufield at AwesomeAssistant.info: "I've recently started using Echo Sign which allows for an e-signature. It's all virtual, no paperwork to be printed, mailed, or faxed. You can sign up for a limited free account and an e-signature is as binding as a physical one. Check it out!"

• Julie Johns at Administrative Data Services: "I agree with Sue, I use Echosign also.  It works and it's great!

• Maria at Quick Link Virtual Assistant Services: "I also recommend Echo sign. I just started using it. Its quick & easy."

And the list goes on there.

So the uber point on the uber-vision is this:  We are 100% committed to doing what it takes to make your contracting process at least 1000% better.  For businesses of every size.  It turns out, that when we get it right for BT, GE, Dell -- and for Kimberly LeRiche -- then that's something pretty special. And we never quit.  The majority of every release of EchoSign is driven by our customers' and users' feedback and requests.  If there are places we can improve and you haven't told us -- tell us at ideas at echosign.com. 

And look for our Winter release coming soon.  It's full of some of your very best and cleverest ideas, and will be the most substantial evolution of EchoSign since launch. Large, medium or small.  We're committed to being the easiest-to-use, most convenient electronic signature solution for enterprises of every size. 

Comments

[Kimberly LeRiche]

Hi There,
I'm happy to see you found my article and raving about your service!

As Virtual Assistants, it is important for us to have the ability to work with people anywhere and EchoSign is an awesome resource for making this happen. I've recommended it highly to many people and I know many other Virtual Assistants love using it as well.

We also appreciate EchoSign's recognition of us as a key industry using your product. Not only are we using it for our own contracts, but we can recommend for our clients to use in their business transactions as well....that's twice the exposure!

Thanks for a great product and keep Virtual Assistants in mind if you ever want feedback on updates or new features!

Kimberly LeRiche
JK Virtual Office Resources
www.jkvirtualoffice.com