Begin by asking the customer why they want to engage in a trial. Then try to answer the following questions:

1. Do we need to prove specific points or give the customer a general level of comfort? Be wary of situations where you need to provide a customer with an undefined comfort level. This will frequently result in a situation where the customer wants to play with your solution to "get a feel" for it.

2. Has the customer provided objective success criteria? Could a third party with limited knowledge of your solution judge whether your pilot is capable of meeting the success criteria? If not, you are in danger of having political alignment or other unknowns impact the evaluation. Although political issues are always going to be a reality, you need to try to identify and nullify those issues that you cannot control.

3. Are biased consultants or advisors involved? Many times customers will hire consultants to help them evaluate products. Try to determine if the consultant has her own agenda, especially if she may have a commercial interest in the implementation of the product.

   Case Study: ARE THE DECISION MAKERS READY FOR A TRIAL?

   Be wary of customers who rely heavily on consultants for the initial screening and evaluation of products. The consultants may not be educating the decision makers as you educate the consultants. An anecdote illustrates the danger:

   I recently gave a demo to a Hollywood studio on...