What do you do when a vendor blows the demo? Do you score them low or zero in the areas they couldn't demo, effectively eliminating them? Do you allow them a second chance? Does it matter why the demo went bad (untrained sales rep, non-product technical reason)? Are there any other approaches? Saving Changes...
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Ravi ChitturiGlobal Program Manager & Senior Project Manager| JPMorgan Chase Bank via TEKsystemsColumbus, Oh, United States
Dave, When the vendor blows the demo, it could be because of several reasons as you have already listed. This does not mean that the product is not good in that particular functionality/area. We actually encountered this during our ERP vendor selection and initially were under different impression about that module of the product. But later when we did more research with GiGa, AMR, TechRepublic, Gartner and Gantthead, we found out that they have more than good module for that particular functionality - we just weren't presented right/enough.
Our approach: After we identified the problem, we actually gave them a quasi-second chance. We took our detailed requirements and worked with them one-on-one to find out exactly what that module can offer and what are the things that are going to be our 'gaps'. Again, this is not a FIT/GAP analysis - just a quick check to gain better understanding. Hope this helps! -- Ravi. Saving Changes...
I agree with Ravi. However, I would recommend pointing out your impression of the demo to the Software vendor. It serves two purposes (1) You will receive better service and extra attention (2) It will help the software vendor improve on their abilities. Saving Changes...
