How To Run Demos & Presentations

Demos or product demonstrations are a subset of presentations with a very specific goal. They introduce a challenge for sellers, because they are often asked for by the buyer. This means two things. The first is that by asking for the demo and getting it, the buyer, either consciously or subconsciously, is in control of the situation. The second is that a demo allows the buyer to evaluate a solution and compare it to those of other vendors on their own terms. The buyer gets to be the judge, and the frame is around what problems the solution has, and how it could be better. The frame we, as sellers prefer, is one that focuses on the buyer’s problems and the need for a solution to change the current status quo.

This means that as sellers, we want to be talking about problems and desired outcomes, and skip over the conversation about solutions. When we are talking about problems and outcomes, we are in control, when we are talking about solutions, the judge of the solution, or the buyer is in control. A demo, on the other hand, is axiomatically about solutions. Sometimes the client pushes a seller towards giving a demo, and sometimes it just makes sense to do one as you progress towards the latter stages of a sales cycle, but regardless, it is important to know how to run a demo in order to avoid the framing problem mentioned above. If you find yourself subservient and your solution being judged you may have a perfectly cordial interaction with the buyer, but you will lose the ability to influence the decision.

One thing to think about before we jump into the meat of the conversation is that whenever possible, it should be a solutions engineer, or account manager, or sales specialist who runs the demo. Basically it should be anyone the seller trusts, but not the seller. The two high level problems with the seller talking about solutions are that it puts the buyer in product judgment mode, which we discussed above, and it exposes the presenter as biased, and focused on the sale when the seller should remain positioned as a consultant whenever possible. Having another person run a demo at least helps to alleviate the latter problem, and it leaves the seller more readily able to combat the former. This can actually be accomplished by pointing out slight flaws in the solution that the demo giver did not point out. These flaws should be in areas that are of less concern to the buyer when possible. This increases trust in the seller, but also serves to highlight the positives of the solution as they are contrasted with the slight negatives.

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Regardless of who ends up doing the demo, whether it be the seller or another person with the seller there to add color, there are a few things to think about.

Frame: Frames are very important. It is essential to frame the solution by talking about the problem first. A frame can also be set by positioning the solution against something that is qualitatively different. If there are a few options that the buyer can decide between that have qualitative similarities, those options can be bundled and labeled as the set of solutions that would be helpful to them. But the qualitative difference between your solutions and that bundle can be labeled as what can really get them to the desired outcome.

Illustrate: The solution should be framed as something that can be really great and exciting, but there is a nuance here; it is actually the solution that leads to the desired outcome that can get the client to that really great state, not the solution itself. In other words, avoid the trap of talking about features and products; every set of solutions solves a problem and is framed by the outcome it drives, not the solution itself.

Balance: When you position your product as being great but you mention a small detraction or issue it actually has the effect of letting the buyer feel as if their job has been done for them. When we talk about the buyer framing themself as the all-knowing judge, and looking for problems with any solution, if they feel that their job has been done for them, they are less likely to aggressively look for issues to bring up.

Label: I alluded to labels above, but they are very important. Label your sales engineer as an expert, label your solution as transformational for their business, label a specific feature as the lynchpin that allows for a true qualitative difference. Labels are important if they are defensible and relevant because they will stick in the buyer’s head and become their way of thinking about your presentation.

It is also important to make sure to ask questions throughout demos and as you are finishing your demo. Ask the client if they can envision themselves and their team using the solutions, this will help drive visualization. Ask the client if the workflow you are showing helps them understand how to combat the problem they are having. Ask them if there are any other issues that are making the day-to-day tougher for the individuals using the tools. All of these questions help the demo giver relate directly to the client in real time.

More importantly, remember that the demo is a story like any other story. It starts with an intro, and then moves to a framing of the problem. After that, it focuses on the solution. But, it does not focus on the solution as a list of features, rather, it focuses on the solution as a story about how each individual using the tool will be made more efficient from the start of the business process that the solution drives through the end of it, and then how that efficiency reflects on the overall business. The demo giver, or the seller aiding the demo giver, has to be consistently orienting the client as to where in the workflow they are, they have to be constantly stepping back and explaining the whole workflow, and how each part fits in, and they need to be constantly asking questions, and then asking the client to visualize the workflow as a whole and think about how it would improve efficiency.

Regardless of the type of presentation you are giving, it is imperative to have a plan. There is a well known quote from President Dwight D. Eisenhower that I love, and it fits the situation well.

“No battle was ever won according to plan, but no battle was ever won without one.”

–Dwight D. Eisenhower

Having a plan is not important because you will have the opportunity to stick to it the entire time. Rather, having a plan is important because it is a baseline to fall back on when your meeting gets derailed. It acts as your north star. It is much easier to reform, or iterate on something that already exists than to try to develop something from scratch on the spot.

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This means that in addition to your story, and your materials, you should develop a plan for any meeting, demo, or presentation that is completely separate from your story and your slides. The plan should include the following:

1. Build a list of questions and divide them up into different types that you can reference including, situation questions, problem questions, implication questions, value establishment (needs/payoff) questions, open ended questions, closed questions.

   
   

2. Develop a plan and an understanding of who the key people are in the room. Understand who needs to be engaged, who should be empowered, who should be tolerated, and who needs to be in consensus on problems and establishment of fundamentals before moving forward.

   
   

3. Build yourself an agenda. Give yourself time limits, and bucket topics so that you know which are most important to get to today, and which should be saved for future meetings if possible. There is no easier way to lose control of a meeting than to lose the agenda; that essentially gives others license to take over.

   
   

4. Establish the goals that you need to accomplish for this interaction and the next one so that you always have your eye on one specific place that you need to get to, and can work towards buyer centric next steps that align with those goals.

   
   

Your plan should also include thoughts on how you plan to build rapport with the individuals on the buying team, how you plan to discuss ongoing partnership and support setup, and how you plan to address any outstanding issues or support concerns brought up in previous meetings.

If you plan well, and prepare to focus on the core competencies of successful demonstrations, you may not always gain buy-in right away, but you will be likely to avoid many of the traps that see sellers and their solutions relegated to the pile, or treated like the offers of just one of a number of vendors out there. Executing on the skills above will give you the opportunity to remain relevant and influential with the buyer.

The Frame Dictates The Success Rate