“We’d Like to See a Demo”

Problem: Technology companies place a great deal of reliance on demos to showcase their products and services. While a demo is a great way to show off your product, often it is not being properly utilized to close business. Salespeople arrive, anxious to show how their product will improve the prospect’s situation. They demo every feature and discuss every benefit. Typically when the demo is finished, the prospect expresses their interest and says they need some time to think it over and invite the salesperson to follow up in a week or two. Whatever the final result, too little business seems to be closed as a result of the demo.

Diagnosis: It’s yet another case of the buyer using his system successfully. They get the salesperson to cough up his information (the product demo) early in the cycle, carefully avoid making a commitment when the demo is concluded, and force the salesperson to invest considerable time following up. Unfortunately, companies believe that if the prospect would just take the time to see how the product works, they’d recognize the benefits and buy. Too bad that doesn’t happen as often as it should. The real problem lies not with the demo itself, but with the way the salesperson deals with the opportunity.

Solution: A prospect that asks for or agrees to a demo is not necessarily a qualified prospect. Take the time to find out not only what the issues are, but also their budget and decision making process. And when you do agree to do a demo, make sure you’ve asked these three questions beforehand:

• “What issues do you want the demo to address?”
• “How will you determine if they were addressed successfully?”
• “Assuming we are able to address your issues successfully, what would happen at the end of the demo?”

By getting answers to these questions you’ll be able to accomplish several very important things. First, you can focus the demo on the prospect’s pain and avoid showing other features that may not be relevant. Second, you’ll get an understanding of how your demo will be measured and you’ll have the right to ask whether or not you were successful. Finally, you’ll know what the next step should be after the demo and avoid the ubiquitous “I need to think it over.” In fact, you may even get an order.