rdschneider

Recently, I shared some of my observations about guidelines for successfully carrying out proofs-of-concept (POC). In this installment, I want to point out how important it is for the POC to occur – always, without exception – in the context of an active sale.

I’ve lost track of the number of times I heard about a huge deal that was about to come in, if only we diverted all sales engineering talent to work for 72 hours straight (usually through a weekend, with bonus points for a holiday) to crank out a last-minute POC. In nearly every case, I discovered that my company was being used as “POC fodder” (i.e. leverage against another vendor that was much further along in the sales cycle), or there was something else strange about the opportunity.

Unfortunately, sometimes even the most levelheaded salespeople get excited and fantasize that there’s a deal when the customer is just kicking tires, comparison-shopping, or finding an excuse to continually evaluate technology without making a decision. I won’t name names, but I personally witnessed one firm – a major credit bureau – spend 8+ years evaluating Web service infrastructure offerings without ever buying anything. They went to conferences all around the world and ran their vendors ragged on custom demos, POCs, and other free work without ever spending a dime on software.

To prevent these time-wasting wild goose chases, remember that no POC should ever be done without an active sales opportunity underway. Look for an RFP or other documentation that describes a well-planned purchasing process. If the prospect starts getting cagey, changing the subject, or otherwise trying to avoid the question, there’s no deal there.

In fact, you actually strengthen your position by – politely – walking away from abnormal POCs. Prospects are notorious for trying to squeeze free research out of vendors, particularly hungry startups that are desperately trying to win a deal at a large customer.

If you’re interested in POCs and all things related to sales engineering, check out my posts on the habits of the most effective sales engineers.