ERPNext Demo and Myself
Finally yes! I did ERPNext demo for a company last week and today it subscribed with us. I was happy for my first small success in delivering a product demo. Maybe small but it was a huge motivation.
Recalling the day when I was at the office, Doing a mock demo for one of my colleagues. “You need to focus on the flow, knowing the functionality is okay.” He was visibly upset as I was not getting it right. I myself felt bad as I knew almost everything about the product but was not able to present it. Rushing into the washroom I swept my tears off and decided. Get this right.
And that day onward I started presenting the demo to people who did not know anything about ERPNext. My dad suggested, “Do it the way you want to do it but do it right.” I made my demo script in which I focused on what all I felt was necessary.
And then came a chance to deliver a demo. All alone, without anyone’s help. Before scheduling a demo, I make a point to ask the user about his business processes and if he is already evaluating the product what are his requirements. This helps me to prepare the demo data around his requirements and I am prepared to say no to what is not feasible.
On the day of the demo, I was nervous but determined to do my best. I was relaxed as I knew I will not be judged if I make a mistake.
Demo started. Pleasantries were exchanged. Introductions were done. Then I started with the product introduction, its current version, and technology used to develop the product. I insisted upon a custom demo that spoke directly to the user’s most pressing issues and business requirements. As I had user’s business processes with me, I aligned functionalities with their business objectives. I made the demonstration data to make them understand and verify how the application software solves or responds to the company’s specific opportunities and challenges.
CRM to Sales. Sales to Production planning. Production Planning to Purchase. Purchase to Manufacturing. Manufacturing to Sales. Completed!!! This was simple. Up next was a Q & A session. I asked questions. The idea was to skip the easy stuff and focus on those functions that are likely to really separate ERPNext from other systems. Customization, Auto-reorder, API etc. I explained them about the data security,backups and that the application is automatically updated with every new version release. Fastest possible resolutions to the technical and functional issues raised.
Soon the demo turned into a conversation. I suggested them to separate their ‘wants’ from their ‘needs’. I have found that customers normally take advantage of about one-third of the ERP applications capabilities. I was not selling ERPNext still they were buying it. Coming on to the end of the demo I highlighted the active community forum of the product, where they can seek support at any point and time. On this note, final goodbye was said.
I quickly did a self-evaluation and the result was satisfactory. The scope of improvement is still there but I am sure I am doing it in a right way. My way :-)
