| > Prospects often think this is for their benefit, all this interaction and courting. I am sorry, but I fail to see how taking many hours out of my productivity does benefit me. Yes, I do want to know if this is the right purchase decision. So I request a trial and a live session with an engineer who can answer my questions as we go over the product in real time. I get to ask questions related to our workflows and discuss solutions and even workarounds. This helps me build understanding for their product the way my brain works and not the way their demo is designed. Demos are designed to impress, to highlight the strengths and hide the weaknesses of a product. They do not mention the corner cases, and often are oblivious of our workflow so do not cover our needs. The process I described is ultra efficient for both parties. Wooing me, playing games, mentioning my name every 90 seconds, qualifying every question I ask as "great"... all of these quickly and drastically decrease my trust in the company and the product. |
But the process you've described (demo with an engineer) is far from ideal and not always efficient. That process solves the problem you know you have. That's ok, I guess. But "the problem you know you have" is never the full problem...ever. There is always something behind that problem and something behind that one and so on.
A good salesperson may let you see the demo, close the deal and sell you a solution to the problem you have identified yourself. A great salesperson will first get you to invest the time in understanding the entire picture and then sell you the solution for that. Sometimes that is a LOT more expensive and expansive. And sometimes, believe it or not, an honest salesperson will sell you something less than what you originally came for. It's why some people buy $10 web hosting and some people buy $X,000 web infrastructure. Education, process, understanding. Weighing benefits and costs. Understanding risks and assurances.