"Selling" the Software Vendor

The vendors seem to be very busy lately and are starting to be selective in the opportunities they pursue. This means that there may be times that you will need to “sell” your project to a vendor so they will participate in the process. We recently had a vendor that was on a short list, but when the time came for the on-site scripted demo, they proposed a web demo rather than travel to the client location. We had a discussion with them and laid out the opportunity in greater detail. They agreed to the on-site demo and became fully engaged in the process. The key is that they had to see the value in the opportunity in order to release the resources to pursue the project.

As the vendors get busier, make sure you communicate clearly so they understand the benefits of working with you, especially if you are not a “big name” customer. Another good way to protect yourself from having vendor “dropouts” is to have alternatives. We typically recommend that you have a short list of 3 vendors – that way if one vendor decides to drop out, you have 2 other viable options that you can work with.

Posted By: Spencer Arnesen