TABLE OF CONTENTS This is a simple question lacking a simple answer. These exercises have many names: prototype, conference room pilot, evaluation, or trial. Customers usually ask for an evaluation trial for one of two reasons. The first reason is that they have not been able to determine whether a claim you have made during the sales process is true. This may be related to the esoteric relationships between components of the customer's legacy environment, or it could be because you are pitching a brand new, unproven product. The other reason is that the customer "just wants to play around with the system." This often signals that the customer doesn't really know what they want. They probably believe that they will know it when they see it, but that puts you in a tough spot. How do you know what to show them if they just want to play with the product?
Evaluations can also be seen in the context of certain learning theories. One theory suggests that different people learn best through certain senses. Some respond well to verbal information or visual information. If your customer learns by smell or taste, you may be in trouble! This theory holds that those who learn by touch must actually interact with a subject before they can understand it. This can lead to a need for a trial. In addition, engineers frequently want to get their hands on a product before making a...
