This sounds like the usual sour grapes from an overlooked vendor. I have lost count of the number of times I have been contacted by an aggrieved sales director spinning a line exactly like the one above, whining that they should have been on the shortlist, (more or less politely) suggesting that I am some kind of idiot for not considering them and implying my job will be on the line when the partners find out I've sold them down the river. This is just the last ditch attempt to sow a bit of FUD and re-open the sales process. It is to be expected and it never works. What is surprising is that they have gone semi-public about it - perhaps a sign of the desperate times in which many vendors are living? Whilst I have come across a few (usually newly promoted) individuals who are wet behind the ears and know little or nothing about the market for a particular piece of software, most of us have been round the block and can cut to the chase when it comes to drawing up a shortlist of vendors. There is always a good reason why vendor x/y/z wasn't included, for example (all drawn from real conversations I've had in this context): - We're an international firm and your PMS doesn't do multi-currency (properly or at all), go away and do your research. - I've had dealings with your organisation in the past (before you joined it) and you let me down badly. If you'd spoken to your colleagues before calling, you'd know that. - You're known throughout the industry as a bare-faced liar who would say anything to get a deal. Strangely enough I don't trust you as far as I can throw you. - You claim that you do a better deal for us is based on no information whatsoever. I've already done a detailed financial model and everything you've just said backs up my orginal conclusions. It's nice to be proved right. - I've used your software and it's crap. - If you can provide me with a single (comparable) reference site that's currently using the product you are flogging, I'll think again.