[og1]

I understand your goal is to get the best deal for your client but I think the way you test potential vendors may be a little removed to give you adequate information. Consider this company has a lot more information on the recommended path to properly learning their product. Through experience with other customers they may know ahead of time that the basic version is all that is really needed for a non-commercial user.

[kls]

I think the way you test potential vendors may be a little removed to give you adequate information

In this instance it worked for me, as well I do have pretty extensive experience in negotiating. In one of my start-ups I negotiated our sale to hotels.com as well with another I negotiated our sale to TUI. So I think I do have some valuable insight into negotiations and selecting companies that have complementary cultures.

To each there own, my style of negotiation has served me well and until I learn a more effective strategy it's the best game face I have.