Choose software without the sales pitch

⏱ 40 min7 steps

Most software gets bought on a sales call, with a discount that ends on Friday. You'll build a from what your business needs, then a list of questions for every : the price after year one, getting your data out, canceling, and who sees your data. Claude never tells you which brand to buy. Plenty of people feel out of their depth on a sales call. The questions are written so you can read them out word for word.

scorecard A short table that gives each part of something a score, with the reason next to it. All wordsdemo When someone shows software working, often on a call, usually to sell it. All words

Steps

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Write down what you need it to do
Start from the job, not the app. A plumber might need job scheduling that works on a phone. A store might need a register that tracks stock. An office might need shared files and calendars, and a one-person tutor might need online booking that takes a deposit.
1. Write the one job the software has to do.
2. List what it must do. These are your must-haves.
3. List what would be nice, but you could live without.
4. Write who'll use it, and what it has to work with, like your accounting or your website.
5. Write what you can spend a month, or FILL IN if you don't know yet.
That's not what I see
I'm not sure I need software at all.
Try the lesson "Fix it once" first. A rule, a or a shared often does the job for nothing.template A starting point with blanks to fill in, so you don't start from nothing every time. All wordsfolder A place on your computer that holds files and other folders, like a drawer in a filing cabinet. All words
Start a new chat and build the scorecard
This turns your list into a scorecard, with the four questions every option has to answer added as must-haves.

drafts and sorts; a person approves anything with a price, a date or your name on it. Claude builds the scorecard. You score the options, and you choose.
1. Open the or claude.ai and start a new chat.
2. Copy the prompt below.
```
I own a small business, [what you do], and I'm choosing software for one job: [the job]. You'll help me build a scorecard to compare options in this chat. The rules: don't recommend, name or rank any brand or product, and don't tell me which to buy. I'll fill in the options myself. Build the scorecard from my needs only. Make a table with one row for each need and these columns: need, must-have or nice-to-have, weight, and three empty columns called Option A, Option B and Option C, where I'll score each from 0 to 2. Give each must-have a weight of 3 and each nice-to-have a weight of 1, unless I say otherwise. Add four must-have rows if they aren't there: price after the first year, getting all my data out, how to cancel, and who can see my data. Add a row at the bottom for the weighted total, and explain in one line how it's added up. My needs: [paste your list]
```
1. Paste it into the chat. Replace the first two parts in square brackets with what you do and the job, like a bike shop and tracking repairs.
2. Replace the last part in square brackets with your list from Step 1.
3. Send it.
prompt What you type to Claude. A good one says what you want, how to work and what never to do. All wordsAI Short for artificial intelligence. Here it means a program like Claude that reads what you write and writes back in plain words. All wordsClaude app Claude on your phone or computer, where you chat with it by typing. claude.ai is the same thing in a web browser. All words
You should see:
A table of your needs with a weight for each, three empty option columns, the four extra rows and a total row.
That's not what I see
Claude named a product anyway.
Reply: Take out every product name. I'll fill in the options myself.
Have Claude write the demo questions
This prompt writes the questions salespeople tend to skip over. Price after the first year, getting your data out, canceling and who sees your data are the ones that cost you later.
1. Copy the prompt below.
```
Write the questions I should ask on a sales demo or call, under these headings. Price: what it costs after the first year or after any offer ends, what costs extra, and how I'm told about price increases. My data: whether I can export all of it, in what kind of file, and what happens to it if I leave. Leaving: how to cancel, the notice I must give, any fee, and whether it renews by itself. Who sees my data: which of their staff or other companies can see it, and whether it's used to train AI. Then, for each must-have on my list, add one question asking them to show it working, not tell me about it. Keep each question short enough to read out.
```
1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
2. Print the questions, or put them on your phone.
You should see:
Questions grouped under Price, My data, Leaving and Who sees my data, then one show-me question for each must-have.
That's not what I see
Nobody has reported a snag on this step yet. Getting stuck is normal. Read the step again one line at a time, and compare your screen with the video.
Ask the same questions on every demo
1. Book a demo or a call with at least two companies.
2. Ask every question on your list, in the same order, and write down each answer.
3. When they show a must-have, ask them to do it on screen, not describe it.
4. Ask them to email the price after year one and how to cancel.
5. Don't sign anything on the call.
That's not what I see
The salesperson won't say what it costs after year one.
Write "not given" next to that question, and score it 0 on the scorecard. Ask them to email the answer.
They're offering a deal that ends today.
Ask them to put the offer in writing, and say you'll decide after you've compared.
Have Claude fill in the scorecard from your notes
This prompt scores each option from your notes only, with a quote for every score.

Replace each company's name with Option A, Option B or Option C in your notes, and keep a note of which is which. That way Claude scores what you heard, not what it thinks of the brand.
1. Copy the prompt below.
```
Here are my notes from the demos, with each company's name replaced by Option A, B or C: [paste your notes]. Fill in the scorecard from my notes only. For each score, quote the line from my notes it comes from. If my notes don't cover a need for an option, write FILL IN, not 0. Where my notes say not given, score it 0. Work out the weighted totals and show the sums. Don't say which one to choose.
```
1. Paste it into the same chat. Replace the part in square brackets with your notes.
2. Send it.
3. Check two or three of the totals on a calculator.
You should see:
The scorecard filled in with a quote for each score, FILL IN where your notes don't say, and the sums for each total.
That's not what I see
Claude gave a score my notes don't back up.
Reply: Use only my notes. If they don't say, write FILL IN. Then fill it in yourself.
Decide yourself
1. Read the totals, and read the price-after-year-one and canceling rows again. A high score with a hard way out may not be the best pick.
2. Before you sign, read the contract. The lesson "Read the contract for me" walks you through it.
3. If you can, start on a monthly plan or a trial, not a yearly one.
4. Put the renewal date in your renewal calendar.
That's not what I see
Nobody has reported a snag on this step yet. Getting stuck is normal. Read the step again one line at a time, and compare your screen with the video.
Save a blank scorecard and the demo questions
This prompt saves a blank copy, so next time you start from your needs and not from the sales pitch.
1. Copy the prompt below.
```
Give me a blank copy of the scorecard, with my needs and weights but no scores, and the demo questions, on one page called Software scorecard. At the top, write these rules: Score from my needs, not the sales pitch. Ask every company the same questions. Get the price after year one and the way to cancel in writing. Read the contract before I sign. Claude doesn't pick the brand. I do.
```
1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
2. Copy the page into a document called Software scorecard.
You should see:
One page with the rules at the top, then a blank scorecard and the demo questions.
That's not what I see
The page looks messy when I paste it.
Ask Claude for it as plain text, with a blank line between sections. Then copy it again.

Your challenge

Next time you're tempted by an app, or a salesperson calls, build the scorecard before the demo. Ask every demo question, get the price after year one in writing, and score at least two options before you sign anything.

Last checked 2026-10-20

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