When enterprise facility management professionals are trying to select software, they often end up in demonstrations for software that can’t meet their complex operational needs. It’s a process that wastes valuable time and resources, leading to inefficiency and “demo fatigue.” 

By employing a targeted set of vendor questions before committing to a full demonstration, you can efficiently filter your vendor shortlist, ensuring only the best-fit solutions, those genuinely aligned with your enterprise’s strategic objectives, advance to the next stage. You empower your teams to focus efforts on truly viable partners and accelerate the path to a unified, data-driven FM solution.  

Key takeaways 

  • Pre-demo qualification transforms vendor selection: A strategic approach to qualifying vendors upfront saves time by filtering out misaligned solutions before you invest in full demonstrations, ensuring you only engage with partners capable of meeting your complex enterprise needs 
  • Targeted FM tech questions reveal platform depth: Asking specific questions about unified data management, AI capabilities, enterprise scalability, and integration approaches helps you identify vendors with purpose-built facility management solutions rather than adapted generalist platforms 
  • The right questions accelerate decision-making: Strategic pre-qualification questions help you move from reactive presentations to streamlined, data-driven evaluation, leading to confident selection of a partner capable of delivering a truly unified, intelligent, and scalable facility management solution 

The goal isn’t to ask every company all the questions on these lists. Instead, you should find the ones that make the most sense for your specific industry, organization, and operational demands.  

In some cases, you might reword questions to make them better match your needs. In others, you might not ask them at all.  

Why pre-demo prep matters for software selection 

Effective software demo prep offers a significant strategic advantage by transforming a potentially exhausting process into a highly targeted and productive one. The proactive step allows you to filter out solutions that lack the necessary depth, scale, or specialized capabilities required for complex location operations.  

By investing time upfront in preparing your FM vendor questions, your teams avoid the frustration and wasted effort of generic presentations. The approach ensures that every subsequent demo becomes a focused exploration with a truly viable partner.  

Thorough pre-demo preparation conserves valuable internal resources for facility and maintenance teams as well as all the other departments included in the selection process and accelerates the path to identifying a solution that genuinely aligns with strategic objectives, delivering a more confident and efficient selection process.  

Uncovering platform depth and enterprise scalability: The power of a unified system 

For large organizations with diverse needs and numerous locations, a solution’s ability to integrate, scale, and provide comprehensive visibility becomes paramount. These questions help you determine how well a platform supports the complexities of enterprise-level facility management, emphasizing the depth of specialized FM capabilities. 

  • Can we consolidate data from all our locations into a single, accessible dashboard that covers space, assets, and maintenance, providing a holistic operational view? 
  • What mechanisms ensure data consistency and accuracy across a distributed enterprise? 
  • Describe your approach to integrating with existing enterprise systems, particularly from an IT perspective, and how the integration supports a cohesive technology ecosystem. 
  • How does your platform scale to accommodate significant growth and evolving operational demands, specifically for deep facility management functions, without compromising performance? 
  • What is your track record with large-scale deployments for organizations with thousands of users and assets across a unified platform?  
  • Can the system maintain performance and responsiveness as our data volume and user base expand, particularly for detailed space planning, asset tracking, and maintenance scheduling?  

Strong answers here demonstrate whether a vendor truly understands the challenges of managing distributed enterprise operations.  

Driving operational efficiency and predictive insights: Empowering your workforce 

Modern facility management demands more than just reactive maintenance. Organizations require proactive strategies, data-driven decision-making, and tools that empower the workforce. The questions here help you focus on how a solution can elevate your operational efficiency and provide actionable intelligence, leveraging specialized FM data. 

  • How does your platform empower a distributed workforce and streamline field operations for facility and maintenance teams, fostering efficiency across a unified system? 
  • Describe your mobile capabilities for technicians, including offline access, digital work order management, and access to asset histories designed for FM professionals working across multiple sites.  
  • How does the system facilitate communication and collaboration between technicians, facility managers, and other stakeholders across different sites within a single platform?  
  • What reporting and analytics capabilities are available to inform strategic decision-making, specifically for facility and real estate portfolio optimization, driven by comprehensive data? 
  • Can we create custom dashboards and reports that provide real-time insights into key performance indicators like asset uptime, maintenance costs, and space utilization across our enterprise?  
  • How does the system support benchmarking and performance analysis across different facilities or asset types, helping us identify best practices and areas for improvement?  

The quality of responses to these questions separates vendors with genuine operational expertise from those offering generic business software. Look for specific examples of how their platform reduces manual work and improves decision-making across real client deployments. 

Optimizing the modern workplace experience: A holistic approach 

Beyond assets and maintenance, facility management increasingly plays a critical role in optimizing workplace experience and space utilization. The following questions help you explore how a solution supports a dynamic, employee-centric environment, leveraging deep IWMS capabilities as part of a unified platform.  

  • How does your solution support dynamic space utilization and enhance employee experience across our diverse workplaces, integrating seamlessly with facility operations within a single platform? 
  • What features are available for space planning, occupancy tracking, and managing flexible work arrangements such as hot-desking and room booking?  
  • How does the system provide insights into space utilization trends to inform real estate strategies and optimize our footprint through integrated data? 

These answers reveal how deeply the vendor understands the evolving role of facility management in employee experience. Platforms that treat space management as an afterthought will struggle to support your workplace strategy as employee expectations continue to evolve. 

Partnering for long-term success: A dedicated and evolving partnership 

Selecting a facility management solution represents a significant long-term investment, so you want to make sure you’re starting a long-term relationship. By asking these questions, you can better assess the vendor’s commitment to partnership, innovation, and support for enterprise clients, particularly in the specialized FM domain. 

  • What is your philosophy on customer success and ongoing partnership for enterprise clients, especially given the specialized nature of facility management and the need for a unified solution? 
  • What dedicated resources and support structures do you provide for large organizations during implementation and beyond?  
  • Can you provide examples of how you’ve helped similar multi-location enterprises achieve significant ROI and operational improvements through your specialized FM platform?  
  • How does your product development roadmap reflect the needs of large, complex organizations specifically within the facility management and workplace technology space, and how do you incorporate client feedback? 
  • How do you gather feedback from enterprise clients, and how do you incorporate the input into your product development?  
  • What is your vision for the future of facility management technology, and how does your platform align with emerging trends like AI and advanced analytics? 
  • Vendor responses here should demonstrate genuine commitment to your success, not just selling software. The best partners view your relationship as an ongoing collaboration, continuously evolving their platform to address emerging enterprise facility management challenges. 

Red flags and green lights: What to look for in vendor responses 

Once you’ve submitted your qualification questions, the next critical step involves meticulously evaluating vendor responses. Here, you’re doing more than checking boxes. You’re discerning genuine alignment and identifying potential red flags that could indicate a poor fit for your enterprise.  

Green lights: Indicators of a strong vendor match 

Look for responses that demonstrate a deep understanding of multi-location FM complexities. Vendors should clearly articulate how their platform provides comprehensive visibility across all aspects of facility and asset management.  

Strong candidates offer concrete details about their integration approach and a clear commitment to collaborating with your IT team. Pay close attention to their mobile workforce capabilities and how they support distributed teams across multiple sites. 

Positive indicators include specific examples of enterprise-scale deployments, detailed case studies with measurable ROI, and evidence of ongoing product innovation aligned with industry trends. 

Red flags: Warning signs to watch for 

Vague or overly generic answers suggest a vendor lacks deep expertise in enterprise FM. Heavy reliance on extensive customization for core functionalities indicates the platform may not be purpose-built for your needs. 

Lack of specific examples for enterprise-scale deployments, inability to articulate clear integration processes, or evasive responses about performance at scale represent significant warning signs.  

The goal centers on identifying vendors whose solutions are purpose-built for the specialized demands of enterprise FM, not those attempting to accommodate you with a generalized platform. 

How to use responses to structure your vendor comparison 

After receiving responses from multiple vendors, you need a systematic approach to evaluate and compare your options effectively. A structured comparison framework helps you move beyond subjective impressions to make data-driven decisions about which vendors truly align with your enterprise needs. 

  • Create a comparison framework: Develop a structured evaluation matrix that scores vendors across key criteria such as data consolidation capabilities, integration ease, scalability, mobile functionality, analytics depth, and partnership approach. Weigh each criterion based on your organization’s priorities, assign numerical scores to each vendor’s responses if it’s helpful, and document specific quotes or claims that you can verify during demonstrations 
  • Organize responses by category: Group vendor responses by major categories that align with your strategic questions. Compare how each vendor addresses data consolidation, enterprise integration, scalability, mobile workforce support, analytics capabilities, workplace experience, and long-term partnership. The organized comparison reveals patterns in vendor strengths and weaknesses, helping you identify which solutions differentiate themselves 
  • Involve key stakeholders in the review: Share your organized comparison with relevant stakeholders, including IT teams, finance decision-makers, and end-users who will interact with the system daily. Gather input on which capabilities represent must-haves versus nice-to-haves, ensuring your shortlist reflects diverse organizational needs and builds consensus before investing time in full demonstrations 

The structured approach transforms subjective vendor evaluation into a transparent, collaborative process that identifies the solutions best positioned to deliver long-term value for your enterprise. 

The strategic advantage of a prepared approach 

A proactive approach ensures that every subsequent engagement, from targeted demonstrations to in-depth discussions, focuses solely on solutions that have already demonstrated strong potential for alignment with your unique operational needs and strategic vision.  

With the right planning, you can change the selection process from a reactive series of presentations into a streamlined, data-driven evaluation that delivers a true partner capable of delivering a truly unified, intelligent, and scalable FM solution for your enterprise. 

Frequently asked questions 

  • What is pre-demo qualification for facility management software, and why does it matter? 

    Pre-demo qualification involves asking targeted questions to vendors before scheduling full product demonstrations. This approach saves time by filtering out solutions that lack the necessary depth, scale, or specialized capabilities for your complex enterprise needs. By investing a small amount of time upfront, you avoid the frustration of generic presentations and ensure every demo focuses on truly viable partners. 

  • What are the most important questions to ask FM software vendors before a demo? 

    Focus your questions across four critical areas: platform depth and enterprise scalability like data consolidation, integration, performance at scale, operational efficiency and workforce empowerment, including mobile capabilities, analytics, reporting, workplace experience optimization like space planning, occupancy tracking, flexible work arrangements, and long-term partnership commitment, which includes customer success resources, product roadmap, client feedback integration. Strong answers across all four areas indicate a vendor with deep FM expertise and proven enterprise experience. 

  • How do I know if a vendor's responses indicate a good fit for my enterprise? 

    Look for responses that demonstrate deep understanding of multi-location FM complexities, concrete details about integration approaches, specific examples of enterprise-scale deployments with measurable ROI, and evidence of ongoing product innovation. Red flags include vague or generic answers, heavy reliance on extensive customization for core functionalities, lack of specific deployment examples, or evasive responses about performance at scale. 

  • How many vendors should I include in my pre-demo qualification process? 

    Start with a broader list of potential vendors, then use pre-demo qualification to narrow down to three to five strong candidates for full demonstrations. This targeted shortlist ensures you invest demonstration time only with vendors who have already proven they understand your enterprise requirements and can deliver specialized facility management capabilities at scale. 

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As Vice President of Content and Customer Marketing at Eptura, Erin Sevitz oversees teams responsible for providing worktech insights and engaging 25 million Eptura users worldwide. With over 10 years in thought leadership on workplace management and the built environment, Erin brings deep industry knowledge to her role. Previously, she led communications for the International Facility Management Association, a global nonprofit dedicated to professional development for workplace strategists and building managers, and served as editor in chief for IFMA’s FMJ magazine.