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Demo Environment #6: The Deep Dive Demo
Congratulations! You’re first demo went so well that you were awarded the dubious honor of presenting your solution all over again! Hooray! But seriously, chances are in your initial demo you hit all the high points, and on this follow up, you are expected to do a deeper dive. Here you really get to show off your depth (or lack) of knowledge. You get to show some of the more detailed features of your solution and really roll your sleeves up. But there are some unique features to a follow up demo that can be taken advantage of due to the nature behind a follow up demo. There are 3…
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Demo Environment #4: The Webinar Demo
As Solution Consultants, we are often the ones tapped to be the ‘talent’ on a marketing webinar, and I gotta say, this is probably the most polarizing type of demo for an SC. On the one hand, it’s very controlled so you can be sure that you will be able to stay on script (‘Scripters‘ love this kind of demo). On the other hand, it’s like speaking into the vacuum of outer space, because the audience is typically muted, so you don’t get any immediate feedback. It’s like sports during the pandemic of 2020; athletes are playing but you can’t hear the roar of the crowd. Webinars are great because…
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Demo Environment #3: The Trade Show Floor Demo
There’s really only one tip I need to give for when someone walks up to your booth and asks to see a demo. DON’T DO IT. It’s generally a big waste of time. 1. The people that ask to see demos at conferences are never the decision makers. 2. Your shooting in the dark. You really don’t know what their needs are and could hurt yourself by leading them down the wrong path. 3. The environment is noisy, awkward, and crowded. How effective can you really be? So avoid doing one on one demos on the trade show floor if possible. But in the rare situations where you decide it’s worth it,…
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Demo Environment #2: The Web Demo
Nowadays the remote demo is the bread and butter of most Pre-Sales Consultants. And understandably so. Tools like GotoMeeting, Webex, or Zoom give an SC the ability to connect to prospects with technology like never before. For me, over 90% of my demos are done over the web. Although you don’t get the same non verbal cues you would on an in person demo, you can leverage the features that the sharing technology offers when you remotely demo. Here are some things you can do in a web demo you can’t easily do live. Record the session: Sometimes I wish I had a DVR for life. I could rewind it…
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Demo Environment #1: The Live Demo
One of my favorite recent movies is The Greatest Showman. It’s just so much damn fun! For the uninitiated it’s a movie loosely based on the life of PT Barnum. Barnum famously said: “No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.” The live demo, where you are onsite, live and in person, presents the greatest opportunity to stand out from the crowded competition. Here are my top 5 tips for when you are live and in the flesh presenting to a single company. Give them a taste – There’s no faster way to bridge a prospect from where they are to what might be than letting them get behind…
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Blog Series: Adjusting to Different Demo Environments
If every demo was the same, i would have left this career a long time ago. As a matter of fact, I think that the fact that there are so many various arenas of combat is what makes it so interesting. Like gladiators, sometimes we find ourselves in a dust bowl on the edge of civilization and other times we are in the Coliseum. OK maybe I’m being overly dramatic. What I mean is that the demo you give in your PJ’s over Zoom should not be the one you give in front of a group of conference attendees (besides the wardrobe of course). Over the next several blog posts…
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Annoying Sales Rep Stereotypes
Have you ever had those meetings where the rep gets up to do his part and it’s straight amateur night? In a previous post I talked about different Pre-Sales stereotypes. Now it’s time to pick on the sales reps. Call them Account Executives, Account Managers, Business Developer, Muppets in Suits., I’m just gonna call them ‘reps’ for now. And if you are someone I’ve worked with in the past, none of these stereotypes apply to you 😉 Dr. No Show – Some reps think that the demo part of the sales cycle is all about the SC showing product, and that they don’t even need to be there. They are…
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Unexpected Lessons from the World Series of Poker (WSOP)
Playing poker is a lot like giving a demo. In both events, you need both technical knowledge and people skills. You need to know the math and probabilities in poker, just as you need to know your product’s technical aspects. And you need to know how to read your opponents and their tendencies, like you need to know your audience’s likes and read their reactions. In both ‘games’ you need to have a plan of action, as well as the ability to adapt and adjust on the fly. A few years back, I played at the WSOP and had the pleasure of sitting next to an all time poker…
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Pre-Sales Pros Stereotypes
Personally I hate putting labels on people, but at the same time I detest people that are overly politically correct, so i put together my list of top 5 Pre-Sales Consultant Stereotypes. All 5 of these SC’s are seasoned pros. Under the brightest lights, on the biggest stage, they deliver. They just each get there a different way. Which one are you? Leave a comment below. #1 The Prepper. This consultant has watched too many episodes of Doomsday Prepper and The Walking Dead, or any of the million other survivalist shows. These are the guys with military grade laptop bags adorned with carabiners and waterproof matches. They’ve got 2 backup…
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Why I don’t take notes anymore in demos.
You know how it goes. Someone in the audience asks a question, or wants to see a specific feature. We do a little ‘discovery on the fly’ to confirm our understanding. Then we address the question with an answer and a quick demo of the feature. Straight forward so far. My problem comes in the follow up. Obviously if someone asked about a specific feature, it’s important to them. This should be used by your sales rep as they reiterate value and move to close. But here’s the rub. I suck at taking notes. So when it comes time to debrief with my rep, I have to rely on my…
