I have done this process wrong more times than I would like to admit. You call the references the vendor sends you. Three customers, all happy, all articulate, all saying roughly the same things. You hang up feeling good. You sign. Six months later you are dealing with a support team that responds every 72 hours and a renewal quote that is 40% higher than year one. The reference check told you nothing useful. Not because the customers lied. Because you asked the wrong questions. Here is...