We often ask the wrong question when purchasing something
which is outside our domain of expertise.
A number of years ago a friend, Steve (not his real name),
bought his first SUV. The SUV was used
to transport the mechanical products Steve sold, and also served as a
demonstration area. The first time Steve
set up his demonstration for a prospect, he realized he made a mistake. The tailgate swung to the side, when
it would have been much more functional if it swung up instead. The side swinging tailgate made it more
difficult to set up his equipment, limited the area in which he could conduct
the demo and limited the number of
people who could see the demo.
When Steve bought the SUV, he asked lots of technical
questions, took test drives, and thoroughly researched SUVs. But he never asked about the tailgate. He had never bought an SUV, so the tailgate
issue never occurred to him.
What do you think would have happen had Steve stood behind
the SUV in the showroom, opened the tailgate, and walked thru his demo
routine? Do you think Steve would have
realized that the side swinging tailgate would be a problem? Probably.
If you’re making a major purchase, and it’s outside of your
domain of expertise, do your walkthrough.
Don’t just talk about it, do it.
Take your work flow, your process, and walk through it. If you can’t do it with the actual product,
find a way to do the walkthrough that closely mimics your scenario. For example, if buying an EMR, take your
workflow and walk through the steps at the computer, with the EMR software, with
your salesperson or their product specialist carrying out those steps.
Straight ahead,
Bob
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