How can you showcase your products to customers using virtual demos?

The best platform for Virtual meetings is Zoom, as it allows you to annotate your software screen. In this way, you can guide the eyes of the audience to look where you want them to look. Unfortunately, 'Teams' doesn't have this capability. Be careful and don't use an unfamiliar platform as your customers won't know how to use it, and you lose time at the start of your demo to get everybody in. Some people might not be able to interact or don't know how to turn on their cameras.

I use VideoCom Presenter app for my demos. It integrates easily with Zoom, Webex, Teams and other conferencing platforms. It's virtual camera capability is super useful when presenting live. It's like a portable studio, so I can have my slides, screenshare, videos and other engaging elements prepared in advance and presented all in one place.

Selecting the right virtual demo platform is crucial, and Zoom excels with its screen annotation feature, enabling precise audience guidance. In contrast, 'Teams' lacks this capability, limiting control during the presentation. Consider audience familiarity when choosing a platform to avoid delays and engagement issues. Introducing an unfamiliar platform may lead to participant struggles with interaction or camera settings, affecting the overall experience. To maximize success, balance platform capabilities with audience ease. While Zoom's annotation enhances control, ensuring familiarity guarantees a seamless demo. Efficient platform choice minimizes disruptions, optimizing your virtual demo for a more engaging and effective presentation.

I think it is less about choosing the "right" platform and more about choosing a platform that you are comfortable presenting in. Use Zoom all the time? Great. More of a Teams person? You do you. Being able to share screen, draw in a person's attention virtually, or share data back and forth are all common tasks when delivering a demo. Being comfortable accomplishing these things is more important than the platform of choice.

With virtual demo , there are couple of things you need to check. - Selecting the right platform as this determines the capabilities and options you have like screen share or whiteboard. - Before the meeting, make sure everything is ready and fully functional. - And Try reviewing your materials a day or hours before the demo to make sure you are ready to go.

There is more to control. When you show a PowerPoint presentation, make sure that it doesn’t take over the entire machine. This is a setting. If you can not see or use the 'Zoom' or 'Teams' functionality while presenting, you might lose the connection to the audience. You simply don’t see that they are interacting. Log in as a participant with your iPad, tablet or mobile phone. Now you can see what your audience is seeing and get direct feedback on latency.

Choosing the right platform is just the beginning; meticulous demo preparation is key. Ensure your product is ready with a contingency plan. Verify your device's battery, memory, and processing power for seamless performance. Assess internet stability to avoid glitches. Craft a professional background—plain wall, virtual backdrop, or branded banner—for a lasting impression. Consider finer details: prevent PowerPoint from monopolizing the system for seamless interaction on 'Zoom' or 'Teams.' If hindered, you risk losing audience connection. Log in as a participant with a mobile device for immediate feedback on latency, enhancing your control during the virtual demo.

The demo environment is only one element of the demo (and often one that you have little control over directly). Preparing all of your documents, browser tabs, demo screens, and talking points are important to ensuring a smooth flow. However knowing how to adjust on the fly is important too since things can (and will) go wrong at some point.

In my case , I used to prepare the environment and test everything a day before and some hour before. With access to lab you never know what will happens. So you need to review your environment setup and your scripts. Depending on some factors it is also recommended to records a short video of your demo in case you have any access issue during the demo , this could help you making a progress with your customers.

Uhm, actually no. Start by allowing your audience to introduce themselves. Stop asking each person what things they want to see covered and waste 15 minutes of their time. Don't lose your audience before you even get started. Say this: "Please type in chat your job title and what you'd like to get out of the demo." Give them a minute or 2 to enter their data while you review their inputs. Next step: Pick a response from someone at a senior level and ask them for more information on their input. Now, you have started the conversation, and they know it's all about THEM, not about YOU.

Step three involves captivating your audience by making the demo interactive and personalized. Instead of a one-way presentation, start by having your audience introduce themselves. Avoid spending time individually asking about their preferences, as it can lead to disengagement. Instead, encourage participants to share their job titles and expectations in the chat. This approach keeps the focus on them, not you. Review their inputs, select a senior-level response, and ask for more details, initiating a meaningful conversation. This strategy ensures that the demo revolves around addressing their needs and interests, enhancing engagement and making the session more valuable for your audience.

Even in a demo meeting, you should be doing less of the talk among all the people on the call. Customers should introduce themselves first since their roles/titles will give you an indication of what will matter to them. Once intros are done, you should outline a quick agenda that you've prepared for the call and then ASK for their buy-in. Don't proceed until you are clear on what they want to see covered and tweak your agenda to match.

I'd like to add that while we can't always read our audience's reactions without video, ensuring our own video setup is top-notch can make a huge difference. Professional lighting and camera positioning to include hand gestures enhance clarity and engagement. Using a clicker for smooth transitions and a dual-screen setup allows for seamless application switching. A pro tip: Position your camera at eye level to maintain direct eye contact. Check out the setups from professional streamers! This builds a more personal connection, akin to an in-person meeting, building trust and keeping your audience engaged throughout the demo.

The best practice is giving your audience time to introduce themselves, after you’ve done it first. During the demo , try focusing on what is important to your audience, there is no need of spending time on topic their aren’t interested in. Try getting their feedback as you move on , if they are silent and not asking questions, you may need to re-engage with them and make sure they are not lost or not interested. Take notes of any concerns and follow up later.

The fourth step emphasizes clearly and convincingly showcasing your value proposition, distinguishing your product from competitors. Illustrate how it addresses audience goals and resolves pain points. Emphasize benefits and outcomes rather than just features, supporting claims with evidence and data. Utilize metrics, charts, and case studies for quantifiable impact. Tailor your proposition to audience needs, emphasizing how your product aligns with their workflow, budget, or timeline. In virtual settings, the approach remains consistent with in-person meetings: tie each capability to tangible customer value, moving beyond technical benefits to convey substantial business value.

Conveying value in virtual meetings is the same as in in-person meetings. It is equally important and done in the same way. Tie each capability to value for the customer. Go beyond the technical benefit and convey business value.

Holding online training workshops is the best way of virtual advertising to introduce the company, products and advertisements, while Expert teaching content.

Outcomes > Use Cases > Features. If you don't understand the outcome your audience is trying to achieve it will be impossible to showcase how you can help them get there.

You should make sure you know who your competitors are , and use some metrics, case studies or data to compare your product with the competition and show how your solution is better than others to your audience. Try highlighting the key differentiators and provide some numbers on your footprint in the market , you may provide some use cases you had to address with other customers so they feel confident in what you are selling.

Finalizing your demo effectively involves a clear call to action for the next steps in the sales process. Summarize key points and benefits, restating your value proposition. Solicit feedback and address objections, expressing gratitude for their time and attention. Confirm next steps and timelines while sending a follow-up email with a demo recap, additional resources, and a reinforced value proposition. Track results, adjusting your strategy as needed for ongoing improvement. Consistent with the logic applied earlier, this approach ensures a comprehensive and impactful conclusion to your virtual demo.

Before going into a demo, you should know what exit criteria you are trying to achieve. The close out of the meeting should be ensuring that a clear next step is agreed, followed by execution of that next step (eg a meeting scheduled, content follow up, reference call, etc.). Don't wait until the call is over to complete your next step if possible...action it in real-time.

A deal is only concluded when the customer is satisfied and willing to move forward. So make sure you take their feedback and follow up after your meeting. Provide input on any outstanding questions or concerns from the customer and keep in touch during each step. Keep in mind the customer is trying to address a problem, they aren’t really going to buy if their problem isn’t addressed in your offer. So provide an appropriate solution to them.

Learn more about virtual demos and read the Great Demo! book or attend a Great Demo! workshop. You can find the book on Amazon.

Consider short form content if it's an initial demo! Demos don't have to be long and boring. Alexis Bertholf on LinkedIn does a great job at this!