Choosing an SFA vendor

Choosing the right SFA supplier to customize your application is just as important as choosing the right software. Here are some ways outstanding SFA vendors distinguish themselves.

Emphasis on learning your business
The SFA application will need to match your sales process. Look for vendors who ask detailed questions about the way you work today, then explain how they can customize their system to your needs. Be wary of vendors who promise that their system will fit your business out of the box.

High quality customer service and support
If you ever have questions or problems with your SFA system, you want a vendor who is able to respond quickly and resolve the problems. Ask about service level guarantees and ongoing support costs.

Relevant experience
As with any major business purchase, potential vendors' experience is important. However with SFA systems you can go one step further: investigate how much experience the vendor has in supplying systems to other companies in your line of business. Every industry has different sales tactics and needs, so a vendor with experience serving your industry may have a distinct advantage.

A developer's experience with the software that runs their application is also important. If they build on an industry-standard engine like Goldmine, how familiar are they with that package? If they build their own from scratch, how long have they been releasing their own software? Ask about the vendor's commitment to the technology in either case.

Check references
You can learn a lot by visiting one of the vendor's current customers. Ask to be put in touch with a local business similar to yours so you can bring your team for a visit. During your visit, have these questions ready:

• Why did you get this software? What was the primary problem you were trying to solve?
• How responsive is the vendor when you have problems?
• Does the software do everything they said it would do?
• Were they able to customize the application to your specifications?
• Did the vendor provide adequate training?
• How much downtime have you experienced in the last year?
• If you were starting over, would you work with the same vendor again?
• What do you like least about the program?

If you can't get a site visit set up, you can still ask these types of questions in a phone call. Calling three to five references will give you the broadest understanding of the vendor's strengths and weaknesses.