How to Demo (like, really well)

A short, useful laundry list of things to practice to go from good to great demos.

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I’ll assume that you know enough about your product or that you’ve had multiple client interactions to skip the basics. Instead, I'll list the subtleties that can mean the difference between a good demo and one that actually converts.

Have a story in place: It is a lingering temptation to go from feature to feature, especially if you’ve built them over many nights’ work. But, that’s the equivalent of reading bullet points. Unless someone is evaluating you against a checklist, it just isn’t effective. Instead, figure out your story. Could well be something like, “Imagine I’m a salesperson, what do you think is my most important task for the day?” This also makes the demo memorable.

Know your story: A good story has a hook, conflict, build up and resolution. What are these in your demo? What is your superhero feature? And how can you build up to it? What is the problem you are solving and how have you resolved it in the end? This is an essential part of stringing it all together so that your product doesn't seem like a laundry list of features but a more cohesive solution. Again, this is essentially what a person recalls - the context and not the mechanics.

Keep it interactive: It’s fair to assume that people cannot listen to more than 60 seconds of new information, however interesting, at a stretch. So, always interject with questions or ask for opinions. It can be something like, “We think this solves a very basic need for salespeople, do you feel the same?” or “What would you like to add to this workflow?" This is also an effective way of gathering opinion along the way, rather than leaving it all for the end.

Don’t be sequential: ‘Login' is the most ubiquitous feature in all applications, and also probably the most demo’d. If you have to show ‘login’, then have something to say about it, like “This is a one-step authentication process that helps you migrate all of your data records.”. But, you don’t have to start with this. Position your features around your story and not the other way around. So, if that means you skip login, do it.

Make small talk: Do not dive into the demo immediately. A short 2-minute talk will ease people into the conversation (for that’s what it is). It will also lend useful context on where the person is coming from - have they seen similar applications before? What do they have planned for today / this quarter or year? What do they like/dislike? It will help make your demo more personal and will open the door to your closing.

Always be closing: What do you want out of this demo? Is it to set up another meeting with the decision maker? Is it an introduction to a client? Figure this out and close with it. For example, if you want a client introduction, these are a useful series of questions to ask - “Do you think organizations would see value in a solution like this?”, “What kind of organisations, in your experience, would most likely benefit from this?”, and “Anybody that you’ve spoken to recently who’s indicated a need?” No points for being a wallflower.

Can you think of some additions to this list? Comment, below.

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PS - Behaviors lead to outcomes. With Vymo, an AI-enabled personal sales assistant, you can nudge good behaviors to your sales reps and help them proactively meet their quotas. Curious? See how - know more.

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