Applicant Tracking System Vendor Shortlist and Demo Request Email Template

For an applicant tracking system vendor shortlist and demo request email template, write one short brief, score a long list of vendors on the same sheet to reach three, then send each the same email asking for a demo built on your own job and CVs. Same brief, same sheet, same questions makes the comparison fair.

Why a written brief beats a calendar full of demos

The usual way to choose an applicant tracking system is to book demos with whoever replies first, watch each vendor's best story, and pick the one that left the best feeling. It is fast and it is unreliable. Every vendor shows a different job, a different workflow and a different set of strengths, so you cannot compare what you saw.

The fix is simple and takes about two hours: write down what you need, cut the long list to three with a scoring sheet, and send all three the same email. When each vendor gets the same brief, you learn how they behave under the same conditions, and you learn quickly who answers plainly and who dodges. This guide gives you the brief, the scoring sheet, four word-for-word emails you can paste, a demo script, and a worked example. It is written for small and mid-size teams who will run the process themselves. For background on the category see /applicant-tracking-system and /recruitment-software, and for the evaluation of specific features see /compare. Check each vendor's current features and pricing yourself, because they change.

Step one: write a one-page brief

The brief is the document you will use to screen vendors and to run every demo. Keep it to one page, in plain words.

Include the following. Who you are: company size, industry, and where you hire. How you hire now: spreadsheet, shared inbox, an older tool. Volume, as examples to plan with: roles per year, candidates per role, number of recruiters, number of hiring managers who need access. The three problems you want solved, written as sentences, such as "we lose track of who has been contacted" or "feedback from interviewers arrives in five formats". Your must-haves, such as email stored on the record, electronic signing for offers, an export route, and a budget ceiling. Your nice-to-haves. Your timeline: when you want to decide and when you want to be live.

Then write one sentence of what you do not need. That sentence saves more time than any other, because it lets you drop vendors who are built for something else, such as high-volume multiposting or deep payroll integration. Share the brief with whoever will use the tool and ask each person to add one line. A tool that the recruiter likes and the hiring managers ignore is a failed purchase.

Step two: build a long list, then cut it to three

Gather eight to twelve candidates from three sources: your network (ask peers what they use and what they dislike), software review sites (read them for patterns, not stars), and a search for your specific need. Do not treat any list as neutral. Many ranking pages are paid placements, and a vendor's own comparison page will always favor the vendor.

Then cut by facts that are easy to check. Does the vendor publish pricing, or say clearly who it is for? Does its site describe the features you need, in specifics? Does it support your size of team? Is there a free trial or a live demo you can use without a call? Has it published changes recently, which signals the product is alive? Drop any vendor that fails a must-have or cannot be understood in ten minutes.

Use this scoring sheet for the cut. Score each row 0 to 3 from the vendor's public material, weight the rows by your brief, and keep the top three.

Multiply score by weight, add up, and write the totals next to each name. This is a screening tool, not a verdict. The demo is where the final score gets decided.

Email 1: the first contact with a vendor

Send this to the sales or contact address of each of your three. It is short on purpose, and it tells the vendor you are organized, which usually gets a faster and more honest reply.

Subject: Demo request: hiring for a [number]-person team

Hello [Name or team],

I am [your name], [role] at [company]. We hire about [number] people a year with [number] recruiters and are choosing an applicant tracking system this quarter. I would like a [30 or 45]-minute demo in the next [two weeks].

To make the demo useful, could you cover these three things with our own scenario rather than a standard one: [problem 1], [problem 2] and [problem 3]. I will send a sample job and three anonymized CVs beforehand.

Before we meet, could you reply with: current pricing for [number] users on a [monthly or annual] plan, what is included in that price, and whether export of candidates, notes and files is included.

We are speaking to a small number of vendors and plan to decide by [date]. Thank you.

[Name, role, company, phone]

Send it as written, change the brackets, and send the same version to each vendor. Do not ask for a custom proposal at this stage. You want the answers to two questions: how quickly does the vendor respond, and how plainly do they answer the price question.

Email 2: the question list before the demo

A few days before each demo, send the vendor a short list of questions so the demo covers what you need rather than what they planned. Paste this.

Subject: Questions to cover in our demo on [date]

Hello [Name],

Looking forward to our demo on [date]. To use the time well, could you cover these in the session:

1. Show a candidate arriving by an apply link and by a CV emailed to an inbox, and where each appears. 2. Show how screening works on three CVs I will send, including how a score or ranking is explained. 3. Show scheduling an interview and what the candidate sees. 4. Show collecting feedback from two interviewers and a debrief. 5. Show an offer being drafted, approved and signed, and where the signed file is stored. 6. Show exporting all candidates, notes and files, and tell me what the file contains. 7. List which integrations work today, which need a third-party tool, and which are planned.

Please also tell us which features in the demo are not on the plan you quoted.

Thank you, [Name]

The last line is the most important. Demos often show premium features, and the answer tells you what you would really get. It also tells you whether a vendor is willing to be plain. Keep their reply, because the contract should match it, and so should the plan you are finally quoted. For terms to check before you sign, see /blog/applicant-tracking-system-contract-and-renewal-checklist-terms-to-read-before-you-sign.

Email 3: the follow-up after the demo

Within a day of each demo, send the same follow-up. It captures promises while they are fresh and gives you a paper trail.

Subject: Follow-up from our demo on [date]

Hello [Name],

Thank you for the demo. To confirm what I understood, please reply to correct anything I have wrong:

• Price for [number] users on [plan]: [amount], billed [monthly or annually].
• Included: [list]. Not included: [list].
• Integrations that work today: [list]. Planned or third-party: [list].
• Export: [what it includes, any cost].
• Contract: term [length], renewal [terms], notice [days].
• Data storage location and who processes candidate data: [answer].

Please also send: a sample of your terms or order form, and a link to your data protection information.

We will decide by [date]. If a trial or sandbox is available, I would like to use it with our own sample job.

Thank you, [Name]

The confirm-back format works because it is easy to answer and easy to hold them to. If a vendor corrects a figure, you have the corrected number in writing, which is exactly what you want in hand when the contract arrives and a price or term has quietly changed. If a vendor goes quiet, you have learned how support will feel after you pay.

Email 4: declining politely and keeping the door open

Do not leave losing vendors without an answer. Declining well takes two minutes and sometimes unlocks a better price or useful feedback. Use this.

Subject: Our decision on our hiring software

Hello [Name],

Thank you for your time and for the clear answers during the process. We have decided to go with another option for this round. The deciding factors were [price, integration, fit for our team size]. I would be glad to hear if anything changes on [specific point], and we may revisit in [period].

Best wishes, [Name]

If you are choosing between two close options, a variation works: tell the runner-up your top two concerns and ask whether they can improve them in writing, such as a lower price for an annual term or a longer export window. Be honest and only do it if you would really switch. Do not invent a competing quote. Vendors talk, and the market for small-team hiring software is smaller than it looks. A polite note also helps the vendor decide whether to keep a product, because decline reasons are rare and useful.

Run the demo with a script

Run each demo with the same script and score as you go. Invite the people who will use the tool, and give each person one job to watch. The recruiter watches screening, the hiring manager watches feedback, and the person who signs watches price and terms.

Start by sharing your sample job and three anonymized CVs ahead of time, and ask the vendor to use them. Ask the vendor to share their screen and let you drive for at least one task, such as adding a candidate or moving a stage. A product that is easy only in the vendor's hands is not easy.

Score after the demo, within an hour, on a sheet like this one. Score 0 to 3 for each row.

Add up the scores and compare vendors only after all three demos are done, so the first demo does not set the standard by default. The row that vendors rarely expect is "honest answers to hard questions". Ask something awkward, such as "what can this not do?" and "who is this wrong for?". A vendor who answers plainly is easier to work with after the sale, and one who cannot name a single limit is telling you something too. Write the exact answers in the notes column, not your impression of them, because impressions fade within a day.

A worked example

Here is an example with invented numbers. A 40-person design studio hires about 10 people a year with 2 recruiters and 5 hiring managers. Their brief says the three problems are lost follow-ups, scattered feedback and slow offers, and the budget ceiling is about 3,000 a year. Their long list has ten names. After the paper cut, three remain.

Vendor B looked best on paper and worst in the demo, and its quote is over budget with a thin export. Vendor C had the lowest paper score but the best demo, with the studio's own CVs scored and explained, an offer signed in the session, and a plain answer to the question about what it could not do. The studio sends Email 3 to A and C, learns that C has no calendar connection yet, decides candidate-chosen times are enough, and picks C with a one-month trial before committing. All the numbers are examples. The point is that two scores, one before and one after the demo, caught a mismatch that either alone would have missed.

Common mistakes in vendor shortlisting

Starting with demos. Without a brief, you compare stories, not products.

Letting vendors set the demo. Ask for your scenario, your CVs and a task you drive.

Keeping too many vendors. Three is plenty. More than three adds time and rarely improves the result.

Skipping the price question. If a vendor will not state a price range by email, expect surprises later.

Excluding the people who will use it. A choice made by one person tends to be unused by the others.

Believing a ranking page. Many are paid placements. Use them to find names, not to pick.

Accepting verbal promises. If it matters, put it in the follow-up email and then in the contract.

Not setting a deadline. A decision date keeps the process moving and gives you leverage on the final price.

Where Rezumz fits

Rezumz is an AI hiring workspace for small and mid-size hiring teams, and you are welcome to put it through the same process. You can use the live /demo and the free plan, which includes 2 free candidate analyses, before you talk to anyone.

Rezumz does not suit large enterprises that need deep HRIS or payroll connections, or teams that need one-click multiposting to job boards. If those are on your must-have list, score Rezumz accordingly and keep it off your three.

When a shortlist process is overkill

If you hire one or two people a year, a spreadsheet and a shared inbox may be enough, and /free-applicant-tracking-system describes the free route. If your company has a procurement process, it will impose its own questionnaire, and this article is a useful warm-up rather than a replacement. If you are replacing a tool you already know well, jump to Email 3 and skip the long list.

For everyone else, the process is short: one page of needs, one sheet to cut to three, one email to each, one script for the demo, and one follow-up in writing. Run it in a week and you will buy with your eyes open.