How can you effectively use a demo to address customer pain points?

To understand your audience you need to have relationships with the audience prior to the demo. Also the audience would have agreed only if they believe you could solve problems. Hence need to reflect on those discussions and build on it.

I agree with this. A good understanding of the audience, challenges, and goals will guide the delivery approach of the demo. Different audiences have different expectations; therefore, the knowledge will guide the content to be shared. For example, when presenting to end users, they will be interested in understanding how the solution speaks to their KPIs and how it addresses the current challenges they may be facing; ease of use of the solution is also crucial for end users, etc., on the other hand, the executives may be more interested in understanding how the solution contributes towards them achieving the overall business goals and how soon they can recoup their ROI.

A key insight is the concept of "contextual customization" in technology demos. This involves deeply understanding the customer's specific environment, challenges, and workflows. By tailoring your demo to fit their unique context, you transform it from a simple product showcase into a relevant, personalized experience. This approach not only demonstrates the product's functionality but also how it seamlessly integrates into and addresses the customer's specific pain points, making the demo much more impactful and likely to resonate with their needs.

while it's crucial to map customer needs/asks, and pain points before getting into the demo stage.. another aspect, especially for B2B business success is the content strategy and its impact on the purchase journey of customers. following are the stages to consider 1. Awareness Stage - some needs even customers are not aware. 2. Problem Recognition Stage - Well articulated needs/asks /pain points. 3. Interest Stage - well crafted solution/demo addressing the solutions for the needs/pain points. 4. Consideration/Pipeline Stage - Prioritising and showcasing relevant use cases of solutions. 5. Closing Stage -The solution guide addresses objections on auto-pilot. 6. Expansion Stage - Capturing use cases, and testimonies for future reference.

And DON'T do a demo if you don't know you are going to be demonstrating something that will address a customer challenge you understand well. Demos rarely end well when you are using them to present your product or services to an audience you don't know or understand. You might get away with it at a cooking show if you have the best thing since sliced bread, but not in most other situations. Unless you can articulate how this is going to resolve an issue or pain the customer has articulated in their own word (not an article you read or belief of a point point you learnt through other customer engagements), DON'T DO IT.

Fully agree with this. A better question to ask oneself before a demo is done is “So what will be benefit to this persona if I show this feature” . Using that objective based questioning helps prepare benefits vs features and communicate and connect better with the audience. Also helps to understand key areas audience is interested in and key KPIs they are measured on ..

Today one of the easiest way to close a deal is giving the lowest price to a customer (Commoditization is about destroying value). If we focus on differentiation, add value, benefits, impact, ROI, etc.. we will be always one step ahead from competitors and customers will see us as true partners. In this topic, it will be key to be really well prepare for every customer meeting. Be prepare will give confidence to the team, which will become a powerful message and make the client more confident. Focus on benefits will give us a "Competitive Advantage". That is why, develope skills on how to communicate a Value Proposition is key for sales people today.

Absolut - Feature sind nett, helfen aber i.d.R. nicht den Verst?ndnis. Wichtiger ist mir immer die Vorteile erkennbar zu zeigen und am besten den Kunden dazu zu bringen in seinen Worten die Zusammenfassung der Demo zu machen. 1) Ich merke, was verstanden wurde 2) Kunde merkt sich das einfach besser.

According to the saying "Talk about functionalities and you will have questions about the price, talk about benefits and you will have questions about the order", the task is to show the benefits on selected Use Cases.

the key question before giving any demo at all should be to clarify the client needs. You need to tell a storyline that fits the expectations and needs of you client. derailed features can be addressed way later in am RFP unless you have one killer feature that no one in the market has and delivers massive business benefits

An example of knowing your audience is customizing your demo so you are maximizing your time together during the demonstration. It's key to be providing valuable insights and share how other customers in the similar industry are using your product.

As always, it depends. To be concrete it depends on where you are in the sales cycle. If its one of your first meetings with the client and its not even clear if and who has a budget to finance this I would consider not to pitch this first demo in a way that the client actually asks for a deep dive. Also the client should provide more intel and data to use in that deep dice. Then and only then would I recomend customising a demo

A demo should not be done before a needs analysis, discovery, whatever vernacular you want to use. From that discovery, choose 3-5 things that the prospect is trying to solve for. In the demo, say "you said X, this is how we solve for that". Don't go into every single aspect of your product, but customize it to them, highlighting the functionality that will impact THEM. After that, if they ask about other things, you can go into it, but addressing their needs will set you apart from others who Dump & Demo.

Strategy, needs and challenges, may vary from cutomer to customer. In my experience as a Sales Leader, having a customize demo, offer or solution will become a powerful Competitive Advantage. Sharing real examples will add more value and better support what we are providing to the customer. One thing will be key at this topic: Our Value Proposition should match with the Customer Value Proposition.

Perform your demo only after intense, careful discovery and listening sessions to reveal what matters to your prospective client and what they care about most. It is in this way you will be able to customize your demo using their words, their stories and their examples of the business outcomes they seek. Then, map your solutions to their desired outcomes.

The best demos i have seen have a clear story flow, embarking the audience through a structured storyline from problem context to resolution, high-lighting and explaining the selected relevant key capabilities and functionality that makes the solution a unique, rich, adaptable and user-friendly value proposition. Regular pauses must be leveraged to gauge, if the demo matches the expectations of the audience, and pivot or zoom in on points of interest. It is important to tell upfront what you will show, clarify what you show and remind what you have shown, making sure the audience expectations are fully addressed and they follow and adhere to the story flow.

The "Simple and clear" approach obviously rules :) It is also true that sometimes in order to prepare a solution that will be simple from the user's point of view, you have to face quite a few challenges. Then, at the presentation stage, it is worth adopting an appropriate form of hand-holding and going into details only when necessary (e.g. from the point of view of demonstrating unique value). Maintaining customer perception and engagement is actually a key task at the presentation stage... e.g. pauses for qualifying questions ("...how do you think this... will work?")

As mentioned above, not all features need to be shown. less is more. It all depends on the storyline where the client can recognise himself and his needs. This storyline should rather be short and crisp without too many detours otherwise the story wont stick. What are the 3 most importent key take aways you want your client to remember? If you practice this pitch in front of your kids and they cannot tell you these 3 topics at the end of the presentation you need to redo it until they or anyone who is not as deep in that topic as you are can tell it

In my experience technical engineers sometimes rush through demos unknowingly because they handle these products and tools so frequently while his audience is seeing it for the first time. Here is a simple rule that you could use while demoing . (1) tell them what you are going to show them (2) show them (3) tell them again what you showed them.

Creating a simple and clear demo is essential to effectively convey your message and ensure that your audience understands the value of your product or service. Here are some tips to keep your demo straightforward and easy to follow: Define Clear Objectives: Clearly outline the main objectives of your demo. Identify the key points you want your audience to take away from the presentation. Focus on Core Features: Highlight the most important and impactful features of your product or service. Avoid overwhelming your audience with excessive details. Prioritize User Interface: Emphasize the user interface and how easy it is to navigate. A clean and intuitive interface contributes to a positive user experience

Be open to disqualify at this point if there is no mutual allignment. Ask the prospect if what you have presented and what they have understood is the right solution they are looking for

Remember to make your call to action compelling, aligned with your overall goals, and easy for your audience to act upon. Whether it's initiating a trial, making a purchase, or further engaging with your company, a well-crafted call to action can significantly impact the success of your demo.

In my experience, ending a call with next steps or action items is key to moving the opportunity forward. Being able to quickly show the proof of value to customers enables trust and allows the customer to know the product will meet or exceed expectations.

If you work in accordance with the methodology, or if you have familiarized the client with the entire decision-making process that you will lead him through from the beginning, then at the end of the presentation it is worth: - remind where the process is located - what steps lie ahead and what will happen in these steps - at the beginning, it is worth asking whether the selection process and the client's needs have changed (often, changes on the client's side may occur dynamically and may affect the change of success criteria) - it is worth involving the client in the end in commenting on what he saw from the point of view of meeting expectations and addressing needs - how to ask, for example, about feelings towards the competition :)

Grunds?tzlich vereinbare ich mit dem Kunden die n?chsten Schritte. Das kann ein Protokoll mit den Ergebnissen sein vom Kunden (ich sehe, ob er die Botschaften verstanden hat), ein weiterer konkreter Termin zu Vertiefungen, oder oder. Theoretisch k?nnte es auch ein kommerzieller Termin sein - in meinem Bereich (Unternehmens ERP) eher die Ausnahme.

This is a practice I do with my customers. I seem to miss or understate a key point I was sure I captured, but when relistening, you find the hidden nuggets.

Competitive FUD ( Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt ) seeding can be done during the demo with customer stories slides Or story telling …

Recording your demos can be a great way to support the future project team and the leaders of the change management initiative share the main capabilities and value of the future solution to outsiders or new stakeholders, who missed the initial demo. Don’t miss this opportunity to share the demo to an extended audience. Making sure the recorded demo fornat is suitable for such re-use can save you both time and effort!

Highlighting the importance of data security and compliance, and your solution's competitive advantage is crucial. Equally vital elements to demonstrate in demo are: Integration & Adaptability: show seamless integration of your solution with their existing systems and its adaptability to changing needs. Scalability: demonstrate your solution's capacity to efficiently handle increased demands and grow with their business. Future-Proofing: show solution's long-term relevance through its ability to accommodate emerging technologies, industry trends, and regulatory changes. To achieve these, offer customers a trial/proof of concept. This allows them to experience firsthand the solution's comprehensive capabilities in real-world scenarios.

Divide the demo into different stages. You can create a discovery process in which the potential customer will be presented with various relevant insights across different sessions, preferably over a couple of weeks. Track the progress in the discovery of your product and how it addresses your prospect's needs. Generating this type of engagement with your prospect could help prevent potential ghosting from the customer