---
title: "Five questions before you believe a demo"
slug: cinco-preguntas-demo
lang: en
situation: comprar
format: checklist
minutes: 5
video: 6
updated: 2026-10-19
---

# Five questions before you believe a demo

> For anyone sitting through an AI demo this week who wants to see an ordinary Tuesday, not the vendor's best day.

## When to use it

- A vendor booked a demo and you have twenty minutes to prepare.
- The demo already happened, everything looked flawless, and something tells you questions were missing.
- You were asked for an opinion on a tool you have only seen in a presentation.

## The sheet

Before the questions, the move: **bring your real file.** One from last week, with messy data and missing pieces, like yours always are. Ask them to run it right there. If they agree, you learn more in five minutes than in the whole presentation. If they refuse, you learned something too.

| # | Question | What to listen for | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What does it cost me at my volume in month six? | A figure calculated with your real volume, not the list price. | "It depends on usage", with no number at all. |
| 2 | When it gets something wrong, who will notice? | A review step with a named person, on your side or theirs. | "The model hardly ever gets it wrong." |
| 3 | How do I get out if it does not work? | Exit notice, what happens to your data and what leaving costs. | Annual contract with no exit clause. |
| 4 | Where does my data end up? | Country, cloud provider and whether it is used to train models. | "The technical team can cover that later." |
| 5 | Who provides support, and how fast? | A channel, hours and a written response time. | A generic inbox and "as soon as possible". |

Real file I brought: ____________ · Did they run it? Yes / No · Weakest answer: question no. ___

## How to fill it in 5 minutes

1. Pick the file the day before. Make it last week's and let it carry the usual problems: empty cells, mixed formats, duplicate names.
2. Print the table or keep it open. The five questions go in order; the first three weigh most.
3. Ask question 1 with your real volume in hand. The first month is always cheap.
4. For question 2, ask for a name. If nobody reviews, the error reaches the client.
5. Write down the literal answer, not your impression. "We can cover that later" is also an answer, and it counts.
6. The most common mistake: letting the demo set the pace. If they walk you screen by screen, the list never gets asked and you leave with the same information you came in with.

## The line that is almost always missing

The real file. Almost everyone arrives at a demo with questions and nobody arrives with data. A demo runs on clean information prepared for that day; your operation does not. Asking them to run your file turns the presentation into a test, and the vendor's reaction to that request is already part of the answer.

## If this becomes a big decision

If the purchase is hard to reverse and carries your name, the free tools at vicsol.org/decision-clarity/ help you structure it. They do not replace a formal review.

---

Vic Sol · Decision Desk · vicsol.org/resources/ · Free to use with attribution.
This sheet structures a conversation; it is not legal, financial or audit advice.