How to Run a Vendor Selection Process That Actually Works
Most software vendor selections are theater. By the time you've sat through four vendor demos, your team has formed opinions based on which demo they liked best, and you end up buying software based on a polished pitch instead of an objective evaluation.
The consequences are real. We've seen companies spend $150,000 on an ERP that was wrong for their operations from the start, simply because the vendor's demo team was better than the competition's.
Here's how to run a process that actually selects the right tool.
Start with Requirements, Not RFPs
The traditional RFP process doesn't work for software selection. Vendors have entire teams dedicated to responding to RFPs, and they're very good at writing answers that technically respond to your questions while meaning very little.
Instead, start by building your own requirements document before you talk to a single vendor.
A good requirements document answers:
This document becomes your north star. Every vendor is evaluated against it.
Script the Demos
Don't let vendors run free-form demos. They'll show you what they're good at, not whether they can handle what you actually need.
Instead, give vendors a script. Provide them with realistic sample data from your operation. Ask them to demonstrate 5–7 specific scenarios that represent your most complex processes.
The scenarios where vendors fumble are more informative than the features they highlight.
Score Objectively
Build a scoring matrix based on your requirements document. Assign weights to each requirement based on how critical it is. Score each vendor on each requirement.
This doesn't have to be complicated, a simple spreadsheet with 15–20 requirements and a 1–5 scale will do. The value is forcing your team to be explicit about their assessments rather than voting on gut feel.
Don't Skip Reference Checks
Call references. Not the references the vendor provides, those are curated. Find customers on LinkedIn or through industry groups and call them cold.
Ask: What would you do differently if you were starting this implementation again? That question gets you the honest answer that the curated reference check won't.
Conclusion
Software vendor selection should be a structured, objective process driven by your requirements. When it is, you dramatically reduce the risk of expensive buyer's remorse and increase the likelihood of a successful implementation.