Often when we begin talking with a potential customer, they want to jump right into a DEMO on the software and get cost information.  While we certainly understand their interest in quickly seeing the look and feel of the software and receiving pricing, to truly be effective, it is important that we talk with them first and get a better understanding of their needs. We do this because we want to make sure the software we recommend is a correct fit and that we are able to address the specific requirements of the organization.

Now that you know why we ask questions first, here are some questions we might ask during our initial call, and what we hope to learn.

1. Why are you looking for software now? It is helpful to understand the motivations behind the search. Are there external factors that are impacting the timing of your search?
2. What do you like about your current system that you want to keep in your next one and what do you dislike? We want to make sure we understand your likes and dislikes so we can try to enhance what you are currently doing.
3. What key areas are you are looking to improve?  We want to be sure we can address these key areas with our software solutions.
4. What reports will you need to create in the new system? It is important you are able to get the specific information you need from your new software and to be able to slice and dice it as necessary.
5. What functionality do you want to have in the new system?  We want to be sure we are able to provide the appropriate functionality in a new software and that we include all necessary modules or third party add ons needed to meet your requirements.
6. Can you describe your current workflow?  It is important that we understand how your organizational workflow operates so that we can make recommendations on streamlining it if necessary and accommodate the unique workflows that may exist at your organization.

While these are only a few of the types of discovery questions we may ask, they are important and help us to get a deeper understanding of your organizations individual needs to be sure that the system we recommend is the right fit for your organization. If it's not a good fit, we'll let you know that too. 

It also allows us to customize the DEMO presentation so that we can show areas of the software that are critical to your organization. A high level overview is nice, but it doesn't really show you how the software will meet your unique needs. There may be functionality that is vital to your organization that the software does in fact contain, but without understanding that first, we would not know to highlight those features during the DEMO. A customized DEMO will provide far more information and allow for your organization to more easily determine how the software will meet your needs.

Soft Trac always takes the time to understand an organizations unique needs.  It starts during the sales cycles and continues into the implementation and training phase, guiding you through the set up and go live process.  We treat every client individually and this is one of the many reasons our clients are so successfully using their software. For more information on the importance that Soft Trac places on discovery, please visit our previous blog post Why discovery is critical to a successful customer relationship ›.

Soft Trac is a woman-owned business and accomplished team of nonprofit software consultants.  We believe in making nonprofits "do good" better.   For more information on any of the topics discussed in this blog or to learn more about the software products and services we offer, please CONTACT Soft Trac.