Questions to ask in a software demo.
A demo shows you what the vendor wants you to see. A few prepared questions turn it into a test of the product against your requirements.
Send the agenda first
The most useful thing you can do before a demo is send your requirements. Ask the vendor to show how the product handles your workflow, with your kind of data, instead of its standard tour. A vendor that adapts the demo is telling you something. So is one that does not.
Ask to see it, not hear it
For every requirement that matters, ask to see it done. Not a slide that says it is possible: the actual screens, start to finish. If it needs a workaround, an add-on or a higher plan, ask which one, and note it beside the requirement.
Questions about the whole purchase
Some answers never appear in a demo unless you ask. Which plan includes the features you just saw? How are seats counted? What is the billing commitment? Where is data stored, and what happens to it if you leave? Ask in writing, so the answer is the vendor's and not your memory of it.
Questions about living with it
Ask how long a team like yours usually takes to get going, what support looks like after the contract is signed, and what the roadmap says about the features you are counting on. Then ask to speak to a customer who uses the product the way you would.
Compare the answers, not the demos
After each demo, write down which requirements the product met, which it missed and which are still open. When the demos are over, put those records side by side. The most polished presentation and the best fit are often different products.
Where Juukbox fits
Juukbox keeps your requirements beside every product in a shared decision space, so the answers from each demo land in the same place and the whole team compares the same record.
Start your own search.
Describe what you need and Juukbox will help you compare products, with the reasons behind every match.