FROM DEMO TO DEAL: THE SECRET TO DELIVERING BETTER PRODUCT DEMONSTRATIONS | MARKETING MYTHBUSTERS

For many businesses, especially in B2B, product demonstrations are still a critical part of the sales process. Sure, some products have a trial phase which serves a similar purpose, but for more complex or enterprise-grade products, it's still the case that the prospective customer has some kind of product demo prior to the sale. So if demonstrations are so important, why are the majority of them so bad? Most demos are generic canned walkthroughs or scenarios of how a typical user might use the product. The demo will not have been tailored around a particular situation that the buyer will identify with, their own individual use case. Instead, the demonstrator will explain how such and such a feature works, what that button over there does, or why that light over there changes from blue to yellow. In effect, the demo has turned into little more than a live performance art version of the instruction manual. The most effective demos begin with everyone sitting down and going through the particular issues, challenges, and problems that the particular buyer is facing. It's then a question of the demonstrator going through a scenario that resonates with the prospective customer. No deviations, alterations, modifications, or improvisations. Just the walkthrough. Now's not the time to get sidetracked into showing some cool feature that you think is great but has no relevance with the customer use case. Buyers only care about how your product will make their world better and their life easier. So that's what your product demonstration should do and nothing more.