A few years ago I was just returning from maternity leave when I was asked to perform an onsite software demonstration for a prospect. Generally speaking, you never know what to expect or what you may encounter with onsite demonstrations. Based on the client, functional requirements, and overall personality fit, the demonstration can be a pleasant experience or an extremely long day.

When I entered the Plante and Moran office building, I was running late due to traffic and feeling rather unprepared. It was my first onsite demonstration after weeks of diapers and bottles; I was certainly not in my grove yet. To make matters worse, this was a well respected accounting firm and I was unfamiliar with the consultants and the prospective end users.

I started the presentation as I normally did, only to quickly realize this was not the average demonstration. Before long I felt as though I was sucked into a family's dinner party where wine was flowing freely, stories were plentiful, and laughs were endless. Well before lunch, my prospects were throwing around stories about the various family members, their childhood, their lack of familiarity with computers, and Gip their pet pig. It seemed like Gip was a center point of the discussion that day and not my ERP software.

Now this was almost two years ago and I swear I remember it as if it was yesterday. The family joked that this was probably my least favorite demonstration and I have to be honest, it was without question, my favorite.

In previously blog entries I've talked placing customers into predefined boxes and leaving out the dirty laundry when engaging in a system evaluation project. I can honestly say this family business could not possible fit into my preset boxes or stereotypes. And without question, they let all their dirty laundry proudly hangs for me to see, smell, and touch. They told me about Grandpa's bad driving, how Gip the pig became so fat he dented their kitchen floor, and how it was a wonder the kids survived their childhood on the farm. These kids were the very adults sitting in the room with me and those adults who were now running the company.

Did it any of this matter? Absolutely. They bought my software, they are implemented, and as far as I know the company is doing quite fine with their new ERP system. Remember they went from virtually no computers to a full blown ERP system, which is significant change for any company. Selling into that environment is typically extremely difficult. But in this case, I understood these people better than most and I did so because they let me in. They frankly discussed their weaknesses, concerns, and issues. They explained why they were considering an ERP system and what goals they wanted to achieve with such drastic operational change. All of these colorful discussions allowed us, as a group, to walk through how my software could or could not provide a solution for their needs. It was an eyes wide open day for all of us.

After this demo I returned to my company and I retold the stories of Gip their pet, how he lived inside the house with them until the day he died, and how his picture still hangs in the hallway. I told people the stories of Grandpa losing his drivers license and how the kids all discovered this piece of information when the authorities showed up at the door the next day. I told my coworkers that I loved these people and they would make great customers. I was right. They are great customers and everyone in my company loves them too.

When I wrote my blog about stereotypes and boxes, this fabulous family wasn't remotely in my mind. When I blogged about full disclosure in the software evaluation process, I still didn't think about this day some two years ago. But something happened last week to bring that memory back and I realized that funny day of stories and discussion was a great example of my prior entries.

Gip the pig may be gone, but his memory lives on...