OutlookSoft, maker of business-process management software, sees customers as more savvy and demanding. The company has, in fact, built its business model to cater to that smarter crowd.

Software vendors often send consultants--who got paid by the hour--for large-scale implementations. Now, says Mike Morini, chief operating officer at OutlookSoft, "Customers are prepared. They know what they want." What they don't want is a team of consultants and staff working on a project that will go live in eight to 12 months. Instead, they want a team of two that delivers applications in weeks.

Instead of paying consultants by the hour, OutlookSoft pays quarterly bonuses based on a customer's willingness to be a reference. The strategy helped sell U.S. Sugar, which is wrapping up a three-phase deployment of financial-reporting tools. Ellen Wine, controller, and John Brady, IT director, called some of OutlookSoft's references and actually visited a user before beginning their own implementation in January. Now, U.S. Sugar compares the implementation with prior, not-so-pleasant projects.

OutlookSoft's consultant is in constant communication with U.S. Sugar. Wine and Brady say the new apps were instantly usable and easier to maintain because all necessary parties have been familiar with the project since the beginning.