The 5 Characteristics of the Best Demo I Have Ever Done
Today, I want to talk to you about planning and sales planning.
If you read my newsletter and follow me on the internet, you see that I talk a lot about sales.
I talk about things I have seen, learned and, most importantly, I have done.
I have been in sales for 15+ years, and only the past 6 have been in leadership roles.
Before that, I was an IC (individual contributor).
My most significant experience as an IC has been my 4 years at Linkedin.
I was the first Relationship Manager (account manager) for the Italian market there.
I managed around 50+ SMB and Enterprise accounts, ensuring they renewed and upselled their contracts.
I have been selling for many years myself, and there is one thing I love the most: delivering demos to prospects and customers.
I loved the stage of the demo.
I was obsessed with it, and every time I did a discovery call and found a potential interest or pain, I would schedule the demo immediately.
That's why I want to talk to you about the best demo I have ever done and what are the characteristics within.
Consider one thing: I had a 35/40% conversion from demo to won. This means if I run 10 demos, I would close 3/4 contracts. Average. Nothing major.
But always tried to improve and get better at it.
The demo is the second most crucial step in the sales cycle after the discovery call.
Most salespeople don't prepare for it; even worse, they always run the same demo.
And conversions go down.
The good news is that when I look back at my personal experience and what I have seen in the later years of management, the best demos have 5 things in common:
Relevant and Specific to the Pains.
There is Storytelling.
There is a Closing phase.
There is a Wow moment.
The Promised Land.
1. Relevant and Specific
The best thing you can do when demoing your product is to be within 15-20 minutes.
Attention spam these days is short, and it is challenging to hook a decision-maker for more than that.
If your product has 10 features but only 3 are relevant to the pains you gathered during the discovery call, show those 3 and leave behind the rest.
The best demos are tailored, not generic.
2. Storytelling
The best demo I have ever run was like a movie.
It started to hook the prospect, which made them feel negative emotions, then positive and hopeful.
You need to bring your prospects through different emotional states, and that is very effective to do through storytelling.
Show your prospect that there is a happy place turning this exact moment and that your product/solution drives that place.
3. Closing
There is no demo without the next step.
Regardless of how significant your ACV (average contract value) is, you should try to close at the end of the demo.
I love go/no call calls (calls done after the demo to finalise the contract), but if I could, I would try to close within the demo stage.
That is a potential structure/agenda for the stage:
Recap pain points and prioritisation (10 min)
Demo of the actual product (15-20 min)
Pricing & Next Steps (10 min).
In less than 1 hour, you should be done and dusted and get a yes/no.
4. The WOW Moment
Each demo you deliver needs to have this. You want the prospect to say, "Wow!". It means you impressed them, and they are letting positive emotions flow. Chase the Wow, and you will get the prospect.
5. The Promised Land
The ultimate goal of any demo you do is to show the promised land. What's behind the curve? What does the future look like? Based on the information you have and the features of your product, what is the brightest future for your prospect? Show them through the demo.
Summary
I love demos.
The discovery call is a crucial moment for pains. The demo gets you home.
The demo lets you finally show how to solve your prospects' pains and finally move towards the closing of the deal.
Nail the demo, and you will nail your deal.
Thanks for reading this far; see you next week, ciao!
