How to use this list
Use the same records and scenarios across candidates. Keep the actual edition, participant roles, and proposed integrations beside every observation so a trial result can be traced to the setup being purchased.
1. Process fit
Demonstrate the actual qualification, proposal, and decision steps. Avoid changing your acceptance test to match a vendor’s demonstration.
2. Record relationships
Verify the contacts, companies, opportunities, activities, and history your workflow needs. An import count alone does not prove relationships survived.
3. Ownership and coverage
Test assignment, backup access, and overdue next actions. An unowned inquiry remains unowned even in an attractive interface.
4. Handoffs and exceptions
Run a signed deal with missing information and a failed transfer. Observe whether the receiver can accept or return it clearly.
5. Reporting definitions
Reproduce an agreed pipeline sample from source records. A manager should understand what a stage total actually includes.
6. Maintenance by your team
Ask the intended administrator to perform a routine change and resolve an exception. Include that operating effort in the decision.
7. Total committed cost
Combine the required plan, seats, charges, migration, training, and administration. Confirm the commercial terms for the actual configuration.
Worked example
Illustrative use: a low-priced plan may work well for basic records but require a different configuration for the handoff your team needs. Score the demonstrated workflow and complete commitment rather than assuming entry-tier pricing describes the deployment.
Turn the list into a decision
Select the items connected to your current operating problem. Assign an owner and an evidence source to each one, then use a recent real case to test the proposed change. Keep unresolved assumptions visible and review the result before expanding the process across the business.
Related implementation resources
Discuss the operating problem
Elixir consulting starts at $5,000 per month, with final pricing based on scope. Bring a recent example, the current workflow, and the person who owns the result to define the appropriate implementation scope.