The Wrong Way to Demo a Product

So how many times have you watched a Product Demo in a Webinar, Trade Show or in a face-to-face meeting and all you see is a Rep walking you through each feature and function on the webpage?

Then the Rep clicks on another page, shows you another feature (or the application settings) and does it all again. At the end of a 10 to 45-minute demo, they ask you if you have any questions.  Sound familiar?

Unfortunately, when you see this type of demo, you are watching a typical demo done by 80% of Sales Reps and Business Development Reps. Yesterday, I sat through another demo just like this.

There is a better way!

The Best Way to Demo a Product

To be successful in sales, you need to be as efficient as possible with your sales resources and time.  If you want to stand out from the crowd and beat your competition more often, you may want to consider practicing the delivery of a "User Workflow" Demo.

What I mean is that you focus on the "user needs" during the demo and show the person "how to do their job better using your product or service" and how to achieve the "benefits."  It is amazing how much  more effective this type of demo is for closing sales.  If you look carefully, you'll find most Top Sales Reps (the top 5-10 percent) do this every time.

Demo Example

Recently, I was working with a client to upgrade to a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application.  We looked at two top rated CRM companies who had highly rated products.   We were trying to find the best match for our client. As part of the selection process, we scheduled two CRM demonstrations with the management team.

One vendor did a traditional product feature demo and the other focused on the user needs and process issues.  The customer liked the "Workflow" demo so much better than the "Feature" demo.  They could relate to the product much better and could see how it would help them improve sales rep productivity and increase sales.  The company with the "Workflow" demo won the sales deal.

Best Practice - Bottom Line

So... the number one secret to a successful sales demo is to focus on the User Needs and Workflow... NOT on your Product Screens, Menus and Features.

It takes a bit of time and effort to transition to a "User Workflow" Sales Demo.  However, it's highly worthwhile.  Your future customers will thank you for not making the demo so boring and they will appreciate that you focused on their needs verses your own products or services.  

Sales Demonstration Tips

It's not hard to transition to a "User Focused Workflow" demo from a typical "Feature" demo.  Feel free to contact us if you would like some help with the transition. Good Selling!