Our project work with clients frequently puts us in touch with software vendors trying to pitch their products. It’s always interesting to watch them in action.

Smart vendors can distinguish pretty quickly which prospects are ready to buy versus those who are simply self-educating on the vendor’s nickel. Over the years IT departments have become adept at anticipating vendor questions about where the funding is coming from and whether there is business support. But one vendor maneuver that inevitably works at moving the prospect in one direction or another is this:

"Let us show you a demo—with your data."

The best vendors are very good at this. We've been involved in several vendor selection processes where a Big Vendor comes in for a formal sales visit. The vendor arrives with thirteen or fourteen people, some of whom have never met each other. One or two people do all the talking. (We call vendor meetings where a lot of players show up the “pee on every bush” syndrome, since everyone wants to lift their leg on the deal.) The Big Vendor's folks show some Powerpoint slides, do a stock demo, solicit questions, then head back to headquarters to await the inevitable purchase order.

What the Big Vendor doesn't know is that the next day two guys from a competitor visit the client. One guy is an account rep and one is a product expert, and they demo the tool using the client’s own data right then and there. Guess who wins?

Some clients never get this far. The vendor looks at them squarely and requests some sample data, with all assurances that the demo can turn into a bona-fide prototype, representing a foundational platform for future work. The client avoids eye contact over lunch,and demurs on e-mail correspondence, ultimately refusing the prototype offer. (This is the “No, you can’t date my daughter” part.) The vendor realizes that the deal was never real in the first place and the client was just tire-kicking. It was all a big waste of time. (This is the “Now get off my lawn!” part.)

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