In this guide 6 sections
Trust each adviser for what they are paid to know. A vendor sales engineer knows their product deeply and is paid when you buy it. An independent consultant is paid for the opinion itself. Use both, ask each to put recommendations in writing, and test them against your own task list.
Follow the payment, not the job title
A sales engineer is usually salaried with a bonus tied to closed deals. Their task is to show how the product fits you. A good one admits gaps, because a failed rollout damages their name too. Ask how they are paid. Do it at the first meeting, in plain words, and note the answer in the sheet where you track every other claim.
An independent consultant is paid by you, by the day or by the project, and carries no product. Some still earn referral fees or partner discounts from vendors. Ask directly whether any exist. Ask whether the consultant has resold, implemented or been trained on any product on your shortlist.
Neither model makes anyone dishonest. It makes them lean, and you should know which way.
What each is likely to recommend
Ask a sales engineer about your problem and the answer routes through their product. Features are explained in loving detail. Alternatives get a polite mention. A sales engineer will often volunteer a reference customer, a sandbox login and a configuration guide, all of which are useful.
Ask a consultant the same question and you may hear that you do not need new software yet, or that two tools together will do. They have gaps as well, since few have configured the product they describe. Their alternatives can include fixing the approval process on paper, buying a smaller tool, or postponing the purchase until the year-end close is finished. Often that is the wiser route.
Use each for their strength. Product depth comes from the vendor. Fit and trade-offs come from the independent.
- Vendor: configuration limits, roadmap and licence tiers
- Consultant: alternatives, sequence and process fixes
- Vendor: how long a standard setup takes
- Consultant: what your own plan leaves out
What each leaves behind after the meeting
After a vendor demo you usually hold slides, a proposal and a trial login. These describe the product. They rarely describe your business. Ask the vendor to leave the sandbox open for two weeks, so your own staff can enter real purchase orders and see the result.
After a consultant engagement you should hold documents written about you: a current-state map, a requirements list, a comparison of options with reasons, and a short recommendation memo. The best consultants also leave a one-page decision log that records each assumption, who gave it, and the date it should be checked again.
If you cannot name three documents you will receive, the engagement is not defined yet.
What to ask for in writing from either one
Ask for the recommendation as a one-page memo with assumptions stated, plus a list of what was not considered. Ask the sales engineer to list every requirement of yours that the product misses out of the box. Where numbers appear in either memo, ask for the source: a vendor benchmark, a customer reference, or an estimate made by the adviser alone.
Ask the consultant to disclose any relationship with the vendors compared and to explain the scoring method. Ask both who maintains the setup afterwards, and how many hours a month that takes. Store both memos with the contract. A false assumption is easier to raise when the original wording is on file.
A memo that cannot be written in plain language cannot be defended to your partners.
- Assumptions behind the recommendation
- Requirements missed out of the box
- Disclosed relationships and fees
- Who owns the setup after go-live
A simple way to use both without a technology head
Give both advisers the same task list. Let the vendor demonstrate those tasks on your sample records, then let the consultant read the answers and mark the weak spots. Use a three-column sheet of task, vendor answer and consultant comment, and ask the senior accounts person to sign each row off.
Sit in on both conversations yourself, or send your most careful manager. Take notes in one shared sheet so the replies line up row by row.
Decide once both memos are on the table, then buy one more hour from the consultant on whichever gap worries you most. If neither adviser can explain a recommendation in plain words to your shop-floor supervisor, treat that as a reason to ask again.
Adviser comparison page
A single-sheet table with two columns, vendor and independent. Rows cover how the adviser is paid, relationships disclosed, documents promised, gaps admitted, alternatives named and upkeep after go-live. A last row holds the owner’s decision, the date and the person who signed it off.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Do I always need an independent consultant?
No. For a small, clear purchase the vendor’s help may be enough. A second opinion earns its fee when the decision is large, long-lived or hard to reverse.
How do I find an independent consultant I can trust?
Ask for a past memo with names removed, a list of vendors they have no link with, and two referees. Check that they will write down the scoring method.
Is a vendor’s free proof of concept a good test?
It helps when it uses your real records and your own staff. It tells you little if it runs on tidy sample data.
What if the two advisers disagree?
Ask each to state the assumption behind their view. Most disagreements trace back to different guesses about volume, staff skill or growth.