http://www.accountingsoftwarenews.com/reseller/secret7.htm
http://www.basi-usa.com/attachments/top10reasons.pdf
In reviewing the Top Ten criteria, I tend to agree with the conclusions of Lillian Aaron from BASI, a business software solutions provider in Austin, TX. She suggests that – “One would think second-time buyers would be ‘smarter’, if for no other reason than they have the experience first-time buyers lack. It stands to reason their rankings would be a better guide to what really matters when researching accounting system options.” However, I couldn’t get out of my head my own experiences – both beginner and experienced software buyers make purchase decisions they later regret. I then reflected on the following quote:
“I have learned the novice can often see things that the expert overlooks. All that is necessary is not to be afraid of making mistakes, or of appearing naive.” – Abraham Maslow
So which is it – Criteria A or Criteria B? Are there C and D lists too? In fact, buyer criteria comes in many forms and varies on circumstances. Therefore, I’m convinced that more emphasis should be placed on the process itself, and less on factors that are hard to control. So…below is my attempt at Criteria C:
- Do I need what I’m attempting to buy? Why? Is there ROI?
- Do I need this now, or can we operate effectively as we are? Why now?
- Should I research and search for a new system on my own, or do I need help?
- When I narrow my options, how will I choose between the best options?
- Will my people embrace or resist change? What will I do to influence acceptance?
- What factors should be considered, both short and long term?
- What are my options – buy (existing funds), borrow (financing), grant (nonprofit), rent (Saas subscription-based model), leverage (existing system used by a partner entity), etc.?
- Who can I call – people that I trust – that went through a similar decision-making process?
- Do I have the infrastructure to support such a change – i.e. someone that will champion and manage the project, IT equipment and bandwidth, well-defined procedures, etc.
- When progress is made, how will I know that I made the right decision (success factors)?
Do you see the difference? Trust me, if you ask a vendor for references, you’ll get them and they’ll likely be amazing! So how helpful is that? If you negotiate hard and get the price you want, does not ensure that you’ve made the right choice? Not necessarily. What if the vendor/product has a strong market reputation and has been servicing clients for 10+ years? Well, unfortunately, we all likely know of folks that used that as key decision criteria and still found themselves disappointed. So, I suggest that you look much deeper inside before looking externally. It may be that you’ll surprise yourself with what you find and identify viable options you had not yet considered. In the end, trust yourself, the process, and the team that helps you along the way.
If I can help as a resource, Contact me so we can explore the possibilities.
Image credit: © Helder Almeida – Fotolia.com
