A free trial is a great mechanic for a tool one person uses for ten minutes. It is a terrible mechanic for the system that runs an entire clinic. The trial creates an illusion of evaluation without giving the buyer enough surface area to actually evaluate.
We don't do free trials. We do something we call the two-week sandbox, and it works.
The two-week sandbox
After the demo, we set up a private Vetch tenant for the practice. We import a sample of their actual data — usually three months of charts, schedule, AR, and recall queues. They run their actual workflows in it for two weeks. We watch what they do and what they don't do. They watch how Vetch behaves.
What it costs us
Practice success spends roughly 10 hours per sandbox over two weeks. That's not free; it's load-bearing. We do it because the alternative — a free trial — produces a worse experience for the practice and a worse signal for us about whether they'll succeed on Vetch long-term.
What it produces
- 83% of clinics that complete the sandbox sign within four weeks.
- 6% sign on the spot at end of sandbox.
- 11% defer (usually because of an unrelated practice transition).
- Of the ones that sign, 94% are still on Vetch 12 months later.
What it taught us
Buyers don't want unlimited free time with a half-deployed product. They want a structured, time-bounded conversation with experts who treat their decision seriously. That's a sandbox, not a trial.