What are the signs that it's time to walk away from an ERP negotiation with a small business?

A clear sign that it is time to walk away from an ERP negotiation with a small business is when the client has a lean budget and a broad requirement. If the client wants too many customizations, additional development and is not willing to go piecemeal or in phases, it is time to walk out. Some clients make it a habit to ask for too much without willing to pay the price. Such will frustrate the project outcomes.

In my experience, when a customer comes with a RFP or RFQ or with an "ERP Purchase Consultant" its a "no go" flag. Why? because in almost all times, the customer doesnt even read the RFQ or RFP (provided for the purchase consultant or some friend or downloaded from internet) and that document has request for things that dont matter for the customer business processes. Another no go flag is when the customer doesnt want to have a presales discovery session or demo session and they ask for a price, if the customer only cares in the prices, "you are the other option". Finally, when a customer tells you, "the other option/software/partner is offering us...", this is a red flag because the customer is a bargain seeker, not a solution seeker.

The pre sales process is where the project starts, it’s an opportunity to shape the clients thinking and to get them to accept what is possible , if they won’t then lots of red flags. Often if you lose you will win back or your competition will damage their reputation so stick to your guns about what is realistic if they are a good client they will listen

Decision making unit of SME ERP decisions is not diverse as in large Enterprises. Hence setting right expectation and getting DMU commitment is vital for successes … First two points of this article address the core of this topic from SME perspective …

Signs to walk away from ERP negotiations with a small business include unrealistic expectations, inability to meet essential requirements, lack of vendor flexibility, poor communication, financial instability, divergent goals, unresolved legal or compliance issues, unreasonable timelines, lack of vendor support, and cultural misfit. Unrealistic Expectations: Small business has unrealistic expectations about the ERP system or budget. Inability to Meet Essential Requirements: ERP solution cannot meet critical requirements despite efforts to customize. Lack of Vendor Flexibility: ERP vendor unwilling to negotiate on crucial terms, showing inflexibility. Poor Communication: Lack of clear, transparent communication from either party.

Usually a lack of commitment in pre sales will not change in the project, you can work around it with client side teams etc but you have to understand what is possible

I can understand when some information is sensitive but as a presales consultant, you need to hav all the important information, you can sign NDAs but the customer need to be clear in their requirements and trust in the presales consultant providing him with the required information to get a realistic and accurate quote. If the customer fails to do that, you need to pull out from the opportunity

I think it he market is maturing and realising that it’s poor practice or do crazy non erp things with erp m. If your client does not know this maybe you are in the wrong fight

In the presales discovery session, you need to ask to the customer what they need, how they need it and check if you can cover that with your system. If you cant in a standard way, tell him. If the cusotmer asks for some process that goes against the system code, tell him taht you cant cover that requirement, you are looking for a business partner, a business relation, not for problems. Maybe you loose the sale, but you can save yourself from a lot of problems or costs.

This part can be compared with a marriage, I dont think that people get married looking for problems and divorces (yes, there are prenuptial agreements, but whi in ther right mind gets married thinking about that?), so if I find some customer put that kind of unfair terms, first I investigate if there is a previous bad experience, then I look for a way to find out why it happened like this, the fault is not on one side. If I see recurring behavior or bad faith, I better get out of the sale, no matter how high it may be the amount

When you have to work with the sales role, you should consider leaving it, when the prospect wants to abuse his position. When he wants to win everything, the sale of an ERP is a negotiation. If the client wants to buy an ERP, he must know that it is something that has a cost for the benefits it brings, if he believes that it is just any application, we are off to a bad start. Realistic contracts must be created where all parties are involved, and have their gains and penalties for not fulfilling their part.

You have spectacular success in small clients , in fact my favourite ever client was small , stuck to their budget and delivered great things but you need to take them in the journey from the first meeting and if the y listen and you know what you are talking about things can be ok

In my case, I always tell the truth to the customer, if the system can support their processes, if we need to add development, if the system cannot match the requirement, etc., some people doesnt like that, but its better for the business, both business.