Demoing SQL Server on stage

In my career, I’ve given quite a few demos of various types of software, usually in an attempt to show how the application in its best possible light. I suspect that most people giving software demos engage in some level of simplification of a problem, or contriving one completely so as to make the software appear as simple as possible to use. One university thinks that Oracle went a bit too far, promising capabilities and misleading them about the costs and customizations that would be needed.

I’m sure there are similar examples of this for all software vendors, especially those that sell large software packages such as ERP applications. Some are probably without merit, and are the result of customers not fully understanding what they are buying, but some are probably valid complaints where salespeople have misled customers in order to complete a sale.

Most of us that work in technology and develop applications never sell our products for money. We often build our systems for internal users, but we are still selling something that I think is more important than money: our professional reputation. We work with clients, we promise to deliver some feature or solve some problem. If we do not complete the work as we agreed to, either we are not doing a good job, or we are misleading our clients. It’s the same way we might feel misled by salespeople when some purchase we make doesn’t work as expected.

It’s your career, it’s your reputation, and I’d hope that most of you would want to ensure that when someone speaks of your work, they do so positively. Learn to communicate well with your clients, but do so in a fair, and truthful way that not only promises when you can deliver, but warns them about what you cannot. Or at least what it will cost.

Steve Jones

The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

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