Wednesday, December 30, 2009
“Tentative”
Here’s another option when responding to sales’ calendar requests for demo resources: Choose “Tentative”. You can leave your response as “Tentative” pending receiving sufficient pre-demo qualification/discovery information.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Remote Demos – Consider Using Two Computers
Consider hosting your Remote Demo sessions (e.g., using WebEx, GoToMeeting, Adobe Connect, etc.) on separate computer – not the one you are using for the demo. This can help with bugs, crashes, managing the meeting, etc. It also makes it safer when using IM between vendor participants and presenters (sales person, presales, etc.)!
Friday, December 18, 2009
“A Link and a Login”
Software has always been an “intangible”, making it difficult to understand the value of what the software offers – and it only gets harder.
In the mainframe era, a new software customer would expect to receive a box containing tapes and administrator manuals, plus several boxes with user manuals, quick start guides, and even keyboard templates (to help remember the arcane keyboard commands). Additionally, one might expect several people from the vendor to arrive on-site to perform the installation, migrate data, implement customization, and then train administrators and users.
When PC software became the norm, the physical deliverable might include shrink-wrapped boxes of floppy disks, installation and quick guides, manuals, etc. for each user in the customer’s organization. As users, our shelves often held more boxes of software than books!
Today, the “deliverable” for hosted, on-demand, and SaaS offerings may simply be a link and a login. No boxes, no installation, no physical manuals; everything is online and accessed via a link and a login. Talk about intangible!
This makes it harder than ever for vendors to communicate the value of the software – and why it is so important to uncover customer perceptions of value during qualification and discovery, as expressed in measurable numbers (time, people, money), and present that value during demos.
In the mainframe era, a new software customer would expect to receive a box containing tapes and administrator manuals, plus several boxes with user manuals, quick start guides, and even keyboard templates (to help remember the arcane keyboard commands). Additionally, one might expect several people from the vendor to arrive on-site to perform the installation, migrate data, implement customization, and then train administrators and users.
When PC software became the norm, the physical deliverable might include shrink-wrapped boxes of floppy disks, installation and quick guides, manuals, etc. for each user in the customer’s organization. As users, our shelves often held more boxes of software than books!
Today, the “deliverable” for hosted, on-demand, and SaaS offerings may simply be a link and a login. No boxes, no installation, no physical manuals; everything is online and accessed via a link and a login. Talk about intangible!
This makes it harder than ever for vendors to communicate the value of the software – and why it is so important to uncover customer perceptions of value during qualification and discovery, as expressed in measurable numbers (time, people, money), and present that value during demos.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
‘Twas the Night Before The Big Demo
‘Twas the Night Before The Big Demo
(with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore)
‘Twas the night ‘fore the demo and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, ‘cept my SC and his mouse;
I’d proposed a big licensing deal with great care
In hopes a big order soon would be there;
Management was restless and not in their beds
As visions of bonuses danced in their heads;
And my VP with his forecast and me with my own,
Had just started a long EOQ roam,
When out from my mobile there came a great ring-tone,
I sprang from my chair to answer my phone,
What could it be? Was it good news or no?
A last-minute order? A contract? PO?
Greetings, said my assistant, who spoke on the line,
It was someone to see me, offering help at this time!
Who could it be at this late eleventh-hour,
To make the deal sweet and avoid something sour?
Away to the door I flew in a flash,
And swept it open in my quest for fast cash,
When who to my wondering eyes should appear,
The DemoGuru! And standing so near!
He came in my office and, while dusting off snow,
Said, “I have some news that you’ll want to know.”
He drew up a chair and asked for some tea,
And said to my VP, SC and to me:
“Your deal is in trouble and I’ll tell you now,
Your demo’s confusing, complex and lacks ‘Wow!’
It’s riddled with features and functions and more,
And too many cool things, mouse clicks galore,
Don’t flog them with features and other neat stuff,
Stick with the substance, stay away from the fluff,
The more that you show is not always nice,
Customers may say, ‘Please lower the price!’
The Buzzword-Compliant Vocabulary list,
Are words, I’m afraid, that are better-off missed,
Not Flexible, nor Powerful, nor Easy-to-Use,
Not Robust, nor Seamlessly Integrated abuse,
And no corporate overview, please don’t do that,
After ten minutes they’re grabbing their hats,
Present as a team, so if things get hairy,
Sales folks aren’t lost in the back with Blackberry.
Your customer’s queued and ready to go,
They love the vision you’ve built with them so
They want Technical Proof in the demo you’ve planned,
Just the key capabilities, everything else banned.”
“But how can we do this?” I heard myself cry,
“We’re victims of momentum, we’re nervous to try,
Another approach, a new way to go,
We have to admit we’re just a bit slow!”
“Do the Last Thing First!” he said with a smile,
“Then peel back the layers, and Do It with style,
Peel it back in accord with their interest,
Stay focused and execute, and you’ll find it best,
Your customer’s Situation is a great way to intro,
Their Reasons and needs, from CBI flow,
Review these and check – is this still the case?
Are we aligned or are we off-base?
Start with the end, that big pay-off piece,
Illustrate and describe, those are the keys!
Capture their interest, compel their attention,
Make sure it aligns with their mode of consumption.
When it clicks and they’re hooked, they’ll then ask for more,
There’s absolutely no way that they’ll head for the door,
They’ll say, “Please show us, prove that it’s so,
Show us the rest, please do demo.”
Then Do It, just Do It, with no extra clicks,
To return to that Illustrative image that sticks,
Make it simple, make it fast, make it easy and clear,
Then they will realize they’ve nothing to fear,
Encourage their questions, most are not new,
Good ones and Great ones and Stupid ones too,
Treat Hostiles with courtesy, use your Not Now List so
Those mean, nasty folks can’t damage your flow,
Peel back the layers, Do It Again,
Show only what’s needed, put nothing else in,
Let them drive the demo, let them think they’re in charge,
While their Vision Solution you work to enlarge!
Summarize, summarize, tell them again,
‘Cause adults do learn by repetition,
And when you show a key take-away screen,
Leave it up, let it linger, so they’ll know what they’ve seen!
“I get it – I’ll do it!” exclaimed my SC,
“This is all so obvious, it’s way clear to me!”
And he sprang into action, his mouse flew like lightening,
(Frankly, his speed was a little bit frightening!)
And with that the DemoGuru smiled and he said,
“Your way is now clear, put that baby to bed,
Your deal’s now on track, your order secure,
You’ll make your numbers at the end of the year,
Then he strode from my office in a blink of a pun,
Turned ‘round and he said, “My job here is done,”
Ere he drove out of sight, I did hear him say,
“Great Demo! to all and to all a Great Day!”
(with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore)
‘Twas the night ‘fore the demo and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, ‘cept my SC and his mouse;
I’d proposed a big licensing deal with great care
In hopes a big order soon would be there;
Management was restless and not in their beds
As visions of bonuses danced in their heads;
And my VP with his forecast and me with my own,
Had just started a long EOQ roam,
When out from my mobile there came a great ring-tone,
I sprang from my chair to answer my phone,
What could it be? Was it good news or no?
A last-minute order? A contract? PO?
Greetings, said my assistant, who spoke on the line,
It was someone to see me, offering help at this time!
Who could it be at this late eleventh-hour,
To make the deal sweet and avoid something sour?
Away to the door I flew in a flash,
And swept it open in my quest for fast cash,
When who to my wondering eyes should appear,
The DemoGuru! And standing so near!
He came in my office and, while dusting off snow,
Said, “I have some news that you’ll want to know.”
He drew up a chair and asked for some tea,
And said to my VP, SC and to me:
“Your deal is in trouble and I’ll tell you now,
Your demo’s confusing, complex and lacks ‘Wow!’
It’s riddled with features and functions and more,
And too many cool things, mouse clicks galore,
Don’t flog them with features and other neat stuff,
Stick with the substance, stay away from the fluff,
The more that you show is not always nice,
Customers may say, ‘Please lower the price!’
The Buzzword-Compliant Vocabulary list,
Are words, I’m afraid, that are better-off missed,
Not Flexible, nor Powerful, nor Easy-to-Use,
Not Robust, nor Seamlessly Integrated abuse,
And no corporate overview, please don’t do that,
After ten minutes they’re grabbing their hats,
Present as a team, so if things get hairy,
Sales folks aren’t lost in the back with Blackberry.
Your customer’s queued and ready to go,
They love the vision you’ve built with them so
They want Technical Proof in the demo you’ve planned,
Just the key capabilities, everything else banned.”
“But how can we do this?” I heard myself cry,
“We’re victims of momentum, we’re nervous to try,
Another approach, a new way to go,
We have to admit we’re just a bit slow!”
“Do the Last Thing First!” he said with a smile,
“Then peel back the layers, and Do It with style,
Peel it back in accord with their interest,
Stay focused and execute, and you’ll find it best,
Your customer’s Situation is a great way to intro,
Their Reasons and needs, from CBI flow,
Review these and check – is this still the case?
Are we aligned or are we off-base?
Start with the end, that big pay-off piece,
Illustrate and describe, those are the keys!
Capture their interest, compel their attention,
Make sure it aligns with their mode of consumption.
When it clicks and they’re hooked, they’ll then ask for more,
There’s absolutely no way that they’ll head for the door,
They’ll say, “Please show us, prove that it’s so,
Show us the rest, please do demo.”
Then Do It, just Do It, with no extra clicks,
To return to that Illustrative image that sticks,
Make it simple, make it fast, make it easy and clear,
Then they will realize they’ve nothing to fear,
Encourage their questions, most are not new,
Good ones and Great ones and Stupid ones too,
Treat Hostiles with courtesy, use your Not Now List so
Those mean, nasty folks can’t damage your flow,
Peel back the layers, Do It Again,
Show only what’s needed, put nothing else in,
Let them drive the demo, let them think they’re in charge,
While their Vision Solution you work to enlarge!
Summarize, summarize, tell them again,
‘Cause adults do learn by repetition,
And when you show a key take-away screen,
Leave it up, let it linger, so they’ll know what they’ve seen!
“I get it – I’ll do it!” exclaimed my SC,
“This is all so obvious, it’s way clear to me!”
And he sprang into action, his mouse flew like lightening,
(Frankly, his speed was a little bit frightening!)
And with that the DemoGuru smiled and he said,
“Your way is now clear, put that baby to bed,
Your deal’s now on track, your order secure,
You’ll make your numbers at the end of the year,
Then he strode from my office in a blink of a pun,
Turned ‘round and he said, “My job here is done,”
Ere he drove out of sight, I did hear him say,
“Great Demo! to all and to all a Great Day!”
Friday, December 11, 2009
Remote Demos – Three Audio Considerations
[Many thanks to The Webinar Blog for these ideas]
If they can’t hear you, it is all over even before you begin…! Here are a few ideas specifically regarding the audio for Remote Demos:
International Call-in Numbers: A few U.S. collaboration software providers still list “800” numbers as the sole connection possibility – make sure that non-“800” numbers are also provided, so that participants outside the U.S. can call in.
“Barge Tones”: Have you ever been participating in a webinar and noted the annoying “bonnnnng” sounds announcing the “arrival” and “departure” of participants? Even worse, an automated voice often announces, “John Doe has joined the call…” During set up, before a webinar, find out if these alerts can be turned off!
Muzak madness: Along the same lines, who hasn’t heard “muzak” playing from a participant who has put the call on “hold”? During set up, learn how to mute individual participants or the entire audience, if possible.
There are other guidelines at The Webinar Blog if you are interested in exploring them…
If they can’t hear you, it is all over even before you begin…! Here are a few ideas specifically regarding the audio for Remote Demos:
International Call-in Numbers: A few U.S. collaboration software providers still list “800” numbers as the sole connection possibility – make sure that non-“800” numbers are also provided, so that participants outside the U.S. can call in.
“Barge Tones”: Have you ever been participating in a webinar and noted the annoying “bonnnnng” sounds announcing the “arrival” and “departure” of participants? Even worse, an automated voice often announces, “John Doe has joined the call…” During set up, before a webinar, find out if these alerts can be turned off!
Muzak madness: Along the same lines, who hasn’t heard “muzak” playing from a participant who has put the call on “hold”? During set up, learn how to mute individual participants or the entire audience, if possible.
There are other guidelines at The Webinar Blog if you are interested in exploring them…
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Implementation Strategies – For Great Demo! and Other Methodologies
When presenting new ideas to teams that may include sales, presales and marketing, there are some strategies that work better than others, with respect to the degree of implementation and ongoing improvement of the overall team’s level of practice.
Many organizations simply ask for a Workshop as an “event”, where methodology information is presented and practiced in role-play exercises. Without any follow-up or coaching on the part of management, these situations yield the lowest levels of implementation – not surprising.
Along similar lines, an event that simply includes presales participants – and no sales people – may result in some levels of frustration on the part of the presales team, as they have to “train” and coach their sales counterparts on the new ideas and processes. With the support of good presales management, this can still be a very successful plan.
Better, however, is to include sales (and marketing) folks in a Workshop with their presales peers, so that everyone is exposed at the same time. Role-play exercises reinforce the team-play aspects, and the team overall is clear about the specific roles for each job title.
Coaching, by management, is often key to seeing new ideas take hold. This means, implicitly, that managers need to participate in the Workshop, so that they understand what they are coaching!
Other activities that help with implementation success include:
- Weekly calls with the presales team to present success stories and discuss new challenges
- Harvesting and communicating success stories
- Capturing and sharing good example Situation Slides and corresponding Illustrations
- Holding period “Demo Days” so the team can see one another’s demos, props, tricks, etc.
- Creating Mentors who can coach and train new (and existing) team members.
One non-obvious strategy that yields very high levels of successful implementation is to invite managers to a pre-Workshop Coaching Seminar. This event exposes managers to the key ideas – and provides specific guidance and tactics on coaching staff and team members.
This is a starter list – other ideas and experiences solicited…!
Many organizations simply ask for a Workshop as an “event”, where methodology information is presented and practiced in role-play exercises. Without any follow-up or coaching on the part of management, these situations yield the lowest levels of implementation – not surprising.
Along similar lines, an event that simply includes presales participants – and no sales people – may result in some levels of frustration on the part of the presales team, as they have to “train” and coach their sales counterparts on the new ideas and processes. With the support of good presales management, this can still be a very successful plan.
Better, however, is to include sales (and marketing) folks in a Workshop with their presales peers, so that everyone is exposed at the same time. Role-play exercises reinforce the team-play aspects, and the team overall is clear about the specific roles for each job title.
Coaching, by management, is often key to seeing new ideas take hold. This means, implicitly, that managers need to participate in the Workshop, so that they understand what they are coaching!
Other activities that help with implementation success include:
- Weekly calls with the presales team to present success stories and discuss new challenges
- Harvesting and communicating success stories
- Capturing and sharing good example Situation Slides and corresponding Illustrations
- Holding period “Demo Days” so the team can see one another’s demos, props, tricks, etc.
- Creating Mentors who can coach and train new (and existing) team members.
One non-obvious strategy that yields very high levels of successful implementation is to invite managers to a pre-Workshop Coaching Seminar. This event exposes managers to the key ideas – and provides specific guidance and tactics on coaching staff and team members.
This is a starter list – other ideas and experiences solicited…!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Performance Challenges - (Not) Waiting For the Hourglass…
You’ve just started a process that will take several seconds to complete, in your demo, and now the audience’s attention is riveted watching the hourglass cursor do its thing, emphasizing the delay.
A recent Great Demo! Workshop participant noted that moving the mouse to the far right of your screen (or bottom-right corner) hides the cursor from view, reducing the impact of what might be perceived as less-than-optimal performance!
A recent Great Demo! Workshop participant noted that moving the mouse to the far right of your screen (or bottom-right corner) hides the cursor from view, reducing the impact of what might be perceived as less-than-optimal performance!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Fuze – Another Entry in the Web Collaboration Marketplace
Fuze Box, Inc. (www.Fuzebox.com) has announced three offerings to enable presentation and sharing of information over the web:
- Fuze Meeting – (www.fuzemeeting.com)
- Fuze Messenger – integrates multiple IM accounts into a single app
- Fuze Movie – ability to share, view and annotate video, audio and pictures.
Unfortunately, Fuze Meeting does not support annotation over a live application. This continues to leave GoToMeeting, WebEx and Adobe Connect as the leading packages suitable for Remote Demos.
- Fuze Meeting – (www.fuzemeeting.com)
- Fuze Messenger – integrates multiple IM accounts into a single app
- Fuze Movie – ability to share, view and annotate video, audio and pictures.
Unfortunately, Fuze Meeting does not support annotation over a live application. This continues to leave GoToMeeting, WebEx and Adobe Connect as the leading packages suitable for Remote Demos.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Show Document – Web Sharing Tool
A reader noted another tool for sharing content over the web: Show Document (http://www.showdocument.com).
While it doesn’t appear to have capabilities to support sharing of live applications for demos, it does appear to support sharing documents and PowerPoint presentations (and mutual editing of some document types). And it is free, currently. Any comments or experiences on using it?
While it doesn’t appear to have capabilities to support sharing of live applications for demos, it does appear to support sharing documents and PowerPoint presentations (and mutual editing of some document types). And it is free, currently. Any comments or experiences on using it?
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Best, Bester, Most Bestest
I was watching a demo yesterday and heard the presenter say, “Now here’s the best part of our software…” at least 5 times. Hmmmm.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Attention-Retention Curves – The “Serial Position Effect” – The Basis Behind a Very Important Concept
In Great Demo! Workshops we execute a wonderful exercise designed to help participants understand the importance of “chunking” information – of organizing demos into consumable components, rather than a long, serial delivery of features and functions. The “Attention-Retention” exercise enables Workshop participants to prove these ideas to themselves.
The basis for the Attention-Retention exercise is known as the “Serial Position Effect”. More on this can be found on Wikipedia for those who are interested (and who wouldn’t be?) at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_position_effect. (Many thanks to the Great Demo! Workshop participant who provided this information!)
The basis for the Attention-Retention exercise is known as the “Serial Position Effect”. More on this can be found on Wikipedia for those who are interested (and who wouldn’t be?) at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_position_effect. (Many thanks to the Great Demo! Workshop participant who provided this information!)
Friday, November 20, 2009
Props for Demos
I saw a great prop yesterday in a Great Demo! Workshop: one of the participants used his laptop as the prop, holding it up for audience view while saying, “it’s like having mainframe in your laptop!” (They provide software to support mainframe emulation and some very cool related capabilities).
Props are interesting and energizing – they capture audience attention and reinforce concepts. They help bring life to demos – both for the audience and the presenter!
I typically use a range of props in Great Demo! Workshops, such as:
- CD
- Cell Phone
- Newspaper
- Book
- Telescoping pointer
- Stack of papers
- Customer collateral
- Raft of razor-sharp pencils…
What props could be used in your demos?
Props are interesting and energizing – they capture audience attention and reinforce concepts. They help bring life to demos – both for the audience and the presenter!
I typically use a range of props in Great Demo! Workshops, such as:
- CD
- Cell Phone
- Newspaper
- Book
- Telescoping pointer
- Stack of papers
- Customer collateral
- Raft of razor-sharp pencils…
What props could be used in your demos?
Monday, November 16, 2009
Mikogo – New Web Collaboration Tool
Mikogo (www.mikogo.com) is providing a free web collaboration tool, for sessions with up to 10 users. My understanding is that they currently support Windows and have Mac support in beta testing.
Free? Yes – they are offering Mikogo free, in the hope and expectation that customers will move up to their for-sale BeamYourScreen offerings.
Mikogo appears to offer many of the “standard” capabilities you’d expect for Remote Demos – including, I believe, the ability to annotate over the live application being demonstrated. This appears to be part of their “Whiteboard” functionality – but needs to be confirmed.
Comments and feedback from users welcomed…
Free? Yes – they are offering Mikogo free, in the hope and expectation that customers will move up to their for-sale BeamYourScreen offerings.
Mikogo appears to offer many of the “standard” capabilities you’d expect for Remote Demos – including, I believe, the ability to annotate over the live application being demonstrated. This appears to be part of their “Whiteboard” functionality – but needs to be confirmed.
Comments and feedback from users welcomed…
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
DimDim NOT Recommended for Remote Demos
Another new player to the web collaboration tools space is DimDim (www.dimdim.com), who offer a range of web presentation and webinar tools. While part of their positioning is as a low-cost provider, which can be attractive, they do not offer the ability to annotate over a live application (e.g., the product you want to demo). This is an important limitation which prevents me from recommending it for use with Remote Demos.
They do offer a free version of their tool, but I’ve yet to see it in use.
Interestingly, I was unable to find out if they support annotations over live apps from exploring their website –and it took two emails and two calls to finally get the information, over the period of a week. Their sales/support was not impressive.
Equally (or more) interestingly, I had sent a single email to the folks at eConference Pro (www.netbriefings.com) with the same question, with a much more positive outcome. A response came within a day – and it included a “player” version showing the capability in use. Very nicely done, remarkable, and memorable!
Other comments, notes and opinions solicited!
They do offer a free version of their tool, but I’ve yet to see it in use.
Interestingly, I was unable to find out if they support annotations over live apps from exploring their website –and it took two emails and two calls to finally get the information, over the period of a week. Their sales/support was not impressive.
Equally (or more) interestingly, I had sent a single email to the folks at eConference Pro (www.netbriefings.com) with the same question, with a much more positive outcome. A response came within a day – and it included a “player” version showing the capability in use. Very nicely done, remarkable, and memorable!
Other comments, notes and opinions solicited!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Great Demo! Implementation Tactic - Weekly
For Presales Managers:
Hold weekly progress calls with the presales team to encourage and uncover success stories, Illustrations, tips, etc. and to reinforce the key ideas. Teams that do this (or similar) report excellent success with the method for individuals and appear to achieve high implementation rates for their teams as a whole.
This shouldn’t be a surprise… Management support (particularly first-line management) is typically very important for achieving substantive change with personal skills and processes.
Management support, however, can be passive or active. Passive support is often weak and may manifest in terms of not being negative…! Active support, such as the weekly team calls, serves to catalyze positively the process of change. A little effort each week can yield enormous overall returns over time.
Hold weekly progress calls with the presales team to encourage and uncover success stories, Illustrations, tips, etc. and to reinforce the key ideas. Teams that do this (or similar) report excellent success with the method for individuals and appear to achieve high implementation rates for their teams as a whole.
This shouldn’t be a surprise… Management support (particularly first-line management) is typically very important for achieving substantive change with personal skills and processes.
Management support, however, can be passive or active. Passive support is often weak and may manifest in terms of not being negative…! Active support, such as the weekly team calls, serves to catalyze positively the process of change. A little effort each week can yield enormous overall returns over time.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Manager “Chaperone” for Demo Prep Calls
Here’s a terrific implementation tactic, suggested by a Great Demo! Workshop manager: Join pre-demo discussions (via phone, for example) between sales people and their presales counterparts as a “chaperone”. The idea is to both facilitate the conversation between the sales and presales participants, and to guide the discussion as necessary or appropriate.
Additionally, this approach can help identify those sales people who need more “encouragement” to gather discovery and qualification information that might be needed before a delivering a demo. Similarly, this tactic helps to train presales people to ask the right questions to get the information they need to prepare credible demos. Terrific idea!
Additional thoughts or comments on this are welcomed…
Additionally, this approach can help identify those sales people who need more “encouragement” to gather discovery and qualification information that might be needed before a delivering a demo. Similarly, this tactic helps to train presales people to ask the right questions to get the information they need to prepare credible demos. Terrific idea!
Additional thoughts or comments on this are welcomed…
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Public Great Demo! Workshop – San Francisco Bay Area – November 19
[Warning: Shameless self-promotion alert!]
In conjunction with the 280 Group, we are offering an Open (public) 1-Day Great Demo! Workshop in San Jose, California on November 19th.
You can find more information including an overview, agenda, location and pricing at the 280 Group website. Registration for the event is available here.
This is a terrific opportunity for individuals or small groups.
[And this should be the last posting for this event on this blog...]
In conjunction with the 280 Group, we are offering an Open (public) 1-Day Great Demo! Workshop in San Jose, California on November 19th.
You can find more information including an overview, agenda, location and pricing at the 280 Group website. Registration for the event is available here.
This is a terrific opportunity for individuals or small groups.
[And this should be the last posting for this event on this blog...]
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
“Not Yet…”
Very often, presales managers are asked to qualify sales opportunities before assigning a presales resource for a demo. This often takes the form of reviewing the information entered into a CRM system by a sales person or submitted by that sales person on an internal form. There are typically only two answers:
“Yes” – you have provided enough information/the opportunity is sufficiently qualified (or senior management has decreed that it is…!) and yes, we’ll schedule a presales resource for your demo.
“No” – the opportunity is insufficiently documented; no demo resource for you. [“No soup for you…!” – my apologies for the Seinfield reference…]
“No” answers often cause trauma in the organization. Sales people may run to their managers to complain, etc.etc. Here’s a wonderful alternative to consider: “Not yet”.
“Not Yet” – you don’t have enough information yet; please go back and do a more complete effort of qualification/discovery. Here are a few questions we need answered – then we should be able to provide you with a demo resource…
A wonderfully gentle, but firm way of accomplishing the same objective!
“Yes” – you have provided enough information/the opportunity is sufficiently qualified (or senior management has decreed that it is…!) and yes, we’ll schedule a presales resource for your demo.
“No” – the opportunity is insufficiently documented; no demo resource for you. [“No soup for you…!” – my apologies for the Seinfield reference…]
“No” answers often cause trauma in the organization. Sales people may run to their managers to complain, etc.etc. Here’s a wonderful alternative to consider: “Not yet”.
“Not Yet” – you don’t have enough information yet; please go back and do a more complete effort of qualification/discovery. Here are a few questions we need answered – then we should be able to provide you with a demo resource…
A wonderfully gentle, but firm way of accomplishing the same objective!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Using the Bicycle Story to Get Customers to Talk
A recent Great Demo! Workshop participant noted that we can use the “bicycle story” (follows in a moment, be patient…) to encourage customers/prospects to talk about their needs and interests - rather than to show them a long stream of stuff they are not interested in. Here’s the story:
“You are riding a bicycle rather fast. You skid on some gravel and fall, scraping your legs and arms. You are bleeding moderately and you hurt, but your bike seems to be ok.
Someone sees you fall and comes to offer help. He offers you water – but you aren’t thirsty, you’re bleeding. He offers you a patch kit for your bike, but your tires are fine – and you are still bleeding. Now you are not only hurt, but also irritated! He offers food, music, asthma medicine, dancing girls, a new chain, a map, handlebars, bicycle bags, and a cell phone.
All are very nice offers, but clearly what you need is:
1) a few bandages and
2) a couple of aspirin”
The point behind the story, of course, is to present the Specific Capabilities the customer is interested in, rather than present a pile of features and functions that are of no interest for the customer at that time.
The Workshop participant commented that many customers will say, “Just show us what you have…” instead of allowing a discovery or qualification session to take place. He noted that sharing this story (via a PowerPoint slide) may help the customer realize that a conversation before doing a demo makes better sense!
“You are riding a bicycle rather fast. You skid on some gravel and fall, scraping your legs and arms. You are bleeding moderately and you hurt, but your bike seems to be ok.
Someone sees you fall and comes to offer help. He offers you water – but you aren’t thirsty, you’re bleeding. He offers you a patch kit for your bike, but your tires are fine – and you are still bleeding. Now you are not only hurt, but also irritated! He offers food, music, asthma medicine, dancing girls, a new chain, a map, handlebars, bicycle bags, and a cell phone.
All are very nice offers, but clearly what you need is:
1) a few bandages and
2) a couple of aspirin”
The point behind the story, of course, is to present the Specific Capabilities the customer is interested in, rather than present a pile of features and functions that are of no interest for the customer at that time.
The Workshop participant commented that many customers will say, “Just show us what you have…” instead of allowing a discovery or qualification session to take place. He noted that sharing this story (via a PowerPoint slide) may help the customer realize that a conversation before doing a demo makes better sense!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
It looks like Netbriefings has released a new or improved version of their web collaboration tool (http://www.netbriefings.com/solutions/econfpro.shtml). I haven’t yet seen it in action, but the collateral sounds good…!
Does anyone have experience using it for Remote Demos?
From their website:
Netbriefings Conference Pro Feature List
Flash-based Meeting Viewer - Participants only need a web browser and Flash to attend a meeting.
Cross-platform solution - Host or attend a meeting from a PC, Mac, or Linux computer.
Screen sharing - Show your entire desktop or a window on your desktop to all attendees. Annotate a shared display.
Zoom in on important areas.
Adjustable resolutions.
Full screen viewing for attendees.
Presentation sharing - Import a PowerPoint presentation and share it with meeting attendees. Display slide thumbnails and titles in a navigation window.
Annotate (and allow attendees to annotate) shared slides.
Support Flash slides including animations.
Full screen viewing for attendees. Whiteboard sharing - Share an interactive whiteboard and allow anyone to draw.
Support multiple whiteboards in a meeting.
Media streaming - Stream Flash videos or MP3 audios to all attendees and control their playback.
Allow everyone to annotate and draw on the shared video.
Picture sharing - Share a picture with all attendees and allow everyone to annotate and draw on the shared picture.
Control the zooming and panning of the picture.
Video/Voice over IP - Show up to 12 webcam windows with voice over IP.
File transfer - Transfer desktop files to meeting attendees.
Desktop snapshot - Take a desktop snapshot and send it to all attendees.
Pass presenter control - Promote an attendee to be a presenter during a meeting and allow the attendee to control a presentation or share his screen.
Remote control - Allows an attendee to control your desktop during a screen sharing session. Chat messaging - Send text messages or web page links to meeting attendees.
Open or restricted as configured by Moderator.
Attendee management - View a list of meeting attendees and their profiles.
Give attendees permission to draw on a whiteboard or a slide.
Remove unwanted attendees.
Lock the meeting.
Audio conference integration and controls - Control an audio conference from the attendee list, including mute, un-mute, hang-up a caller, or dial-out to a participant.
Full audio integration with toll-free audio service.
Meeting recording - Record audio and web conference as a synchronized
Flash-based recording on the server.
Viewers can play recording right in their browser without having to download any proprietary players.
Embeddable Content - Embed live meetings or archived on-demand recordings in any website. Polling/Quiz - Poll attendees with multiple-choice questions and monitor the responses in real-time.
Show polling results to attendees instantly.
Create impromptu or scheduled meetings - Instantly create and start impromptu meetings. Create a scheduled meeting and add it to your calendar.
Meeting invitations - Send meeting URL via email or IM, or simply ask a participant to join with a meeting ID.
Access control - Control meeting access with a password or to registered users only.
Publish meetings - Publish a meeting to the web site home page to allow anyone to join without an invitation.
Personal meeting room - Create a personal meeting room for all meetings.
Customize Meeting Viewer - Customize meeting viewer to display your own logo, banner, and background image.
Online content storage - Store presentation slides, video, and audio files in a personal content store online for accessing from any computer.
Activity reports - Activity reports log all meeting sessions, attendees, and time.
Export activity reports in XML or CSV formats.
User registration - Option to require user registration prior to attending a meeting.
Export registered user profiles for post-meeting follow-ups.
Feedback and comments - Allow participants to post comments and feedback to your meetings and publish them in the Homepage.
Does anyone have experience using it for Remote Demos?
From their website:
Netbriefings Conference Pro Feature List
Flash-based Meeting Viewer - Participants only need a web browser and Flash to attend a meeting.
Cross-platform solution - Host or attend a meeting from a PC, Mac, or Linux computer.
Screen sharing - Show your entire desktop or a window on your desktop to all attendees. Annotate a shared display.
Zoom in on important areas.
Adjustable resolutions.
Full screen viewing for attendees.
Presentation sharing - Import a PowerPoint presentation and share it with meeting attendees. Display slide thumbnails and titles in a navigation window.
Annotate (and allow attendees to annotate) shared slides.
Support Flash slides including animations.
Full screen viewing for attendees. Whiteboard sharing - Share an interactive whiteboard and allow anyone to draw.
Support multiple whiteboards in a meeting.
Media streaming - Stream Flash videos or MP3 audios to all attendees and control their playback.
Allow everyone to annotate and draw on the shared video.
Picture sharing - Share a picture with all attendees and allow everyone to annotate and draw on the shared picture.
Control the zooming and panning of the picture.
Video/Voice over IP - Show up to 12 webcam windows with voice over IP.
File transfer - Transfer desktop files to meeting attendees.
Desktop snapshot - Take a desktop snapshot and send it to all attendees.
Pass presenter control - Promote an attendee to be a presenter during a meeting and allow the attendee to control a presentation or share his screen.
Remote control - Allows an attendee to control your desktop during a screen sharing session. Chat messaging - Send text messages or web page links to meeting attendees.
Open or restricted as configured by Moderator.
Attendee management - View a list of meeting attendees and their profiles.
Give attendees permission to draw on a whiteboard or a slide.
Remove unwanted attendees.
Lock the meeting.
Audio conference integration and controls - Control an audio conference from the attendee list, including mute, un-mute, hang-up a caller, or dial-out to a participant.
Full audio integration with toll-free audio service.
Meeting recording - Record audio and web conference as a synchronized
Flash-based recording on the server.
Viewers can play recording right in their browser without having to download any proprietary players.
Embeddable Content - Embed live meetings or archived on-demand recordings in any website. Polling/Quiz - Poll attendees with multiple-choice questions and monitor the responses in real-time.
Show polling results to attendees instantly.
Create impromptu or scheduled meetings - Instantly create and start impromptu meetings. Create a scheduled meeting and add it to your calendar.
Meeting invitations - Send meeting URL via email or IM, or simply ask a participant to join with a meeting ID.
Access control - Control meeting access with a password or to registered users only.
Publish meetings - Publish a meeting to the web site home page to allow anyone to join without an invitation.
Personal meeting room - Create a personal meeting room for all meetings.
Customize Meeting Viewer - Customize meeting viewer to display your own logo, banner, and background image.
Online content storage - Store presentation slides, video, and audio files in a personal content store online for accessing from any computer.
Activity reports - Activity reports log all meeting sessions, attendees, and time.
Export activity reports in XML or CSV formats.
User registration - Option to require user registration prior to attending a meeting.
Export registered user profiles for post-meeting follow-ups.
Feedback and comments - Allow participants to post comments and feedback to your meetings and publish them in the Homepage.
Monday, October 26, 2009
The “Rule of Three”
It is said that humans hear and retain information presented in groups of three very well. A Blog reader offered the following article that explores this further:
http://www.presentationmagazine.com/rule-of-three-836.htm (Thanks, Kevin!)
I certainly see the same effect and map accordingly in Great Demo! methodology. For example:
Questions:
- Great Questions (which we address right away)
- Good Questions (which we queue-up for later)
- Stupid Questions (which we also queue-up for later)
Bugs and Crashes:
- Cosmetic Bugs (which we ignore)
- Serious Bugs (we acknowledge, jump over and move on)
- Crashes (we acknowledge, direct attention away from the disaster, and move on)
General Great Demo! Method:
- Illustrate (show the Wow!, the main take-away, the end result)
- Do It (the fewest steps to get to that end result)
- Peel Back the Layers (in accord with audience depth and level of interest)
[And, of course, Learning:
- Adults learn by repetition (let me say that again…)
- Adults learn by repetition (one more time…)
- Adults learn… (yes, by repetition!)]
I’d be grateful for more insight into why the “Rule of Three” works so well – as well as other examples…
http://www.presentationmagazine.com/rule-of-three-836.htm (Thanks, Kevin!)
I certainly see the same effect and map accordingly in Great Demo! methodology. For example:
Questions:
- Great Questions (which we address right away)
- Good Questions (which we queue-up for later)
- Stupid Questions (which we also queue-up for later)
Bugs and Crashes:
- Cosmetic Bugs (which we ignore)
- Serious Bugs (we acknowledge, jump over and move on)
- Crashes (we acknowledge, direct attention away from the disaster, and move on)
General Great Demo! Method:
- Illustrate (show the Wow!, the main take-away, the end result)
- Do It (the fewest steps to get to that end result)
- Peel Back the Layers (in accord with audience depth and level of interest)
[And, of course, Learning:
- Adults learn by repetition (let me say that again…)
- Adults learn by repetition (one more time…)
- Adults learn… (yes, by repetition!)]
I’d be grateful for more insight into why the “Rule of Three” works so well – as well as other examples…
Friday, October 23, 2009
Great Examples of Using PowerPoint – Wonderful YouTube Videos
Very funny and excellent examples using PowerPoint (extra amusing for those who were/are chemists and related…)!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXFi7AdhhGk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRzCG3_LceI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-JhqMVHT8c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IydcSuhWoW0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXFi7AdhhGk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRzCG3_LceI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-JhqMVHT8c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IydcSuhWoW0
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Which Would You Prefer?
I often hear that companies “Eat their own dog-food…” to communicate the idea that they use their own products for their internal processes. Nice thought, but potentially rather unappetizing – and arguably an unsavory description of one’s own offerings.
I heard a wonderful alternative yesterday to communicate the same idea, “We drink our own champagne…”
I heard a wonderful alternative yesterday to communicate the same idea, “We drink our own champagne…”
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Stunningly Awful PowerPoint Examples – Wonderful YouTube Video
For some, this may be a repeat posting, but well worth 4 minutes to review. Very funny and illustrative!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp8dugDbf4w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp8dugDbf4w
Friday, October 16, 2009
The Effectiveness of Odd Numbers of Bullet Items
A colleague commented that people appear to better absorb and remember lists when they are in groups of odd numbers (as opposed to even numbers). This includes bulleted PowerPoint slides, verbalized lists, and lists developed on whiteboards and other media.
I’ve noted, personally, that there appears to be a “power of three” effect – that people remember lists of three items very well. Conversely, we certainly know that a list of 10 words is very tough to remember…!
As a self-test, it would be interesting to read and compare/contrast your own marketing literature’s bulleted lists of features/benefits with that of your competition or related third parties…
Does anyone have feedback, comments or data regarding the effectiveness of remembering odd-numbered lists vs. even?
I’ve noted, personally, that there appears to be a “power of three” effect – that people remember lists of three items very well. Conversely, we certainly know that a list of 10 words is very tough to remember…!
As a self-test, it would be interesting to read and compare/contrast your own marketing literature’s bulleted lists of features/benefits with that of your competition or related third parties…
Does anyone have feedback, comments or data regarding the effectiveness of remembering odd-numbered lists vs. even?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Public Great Demo! Workshop – San Francisco Bay Area
[Warning: Shameless self-promotion alert!]
In conjunction with the 280 Group, we are offering an Open (public) 1-Day Great Demo! Workshop in San Jose, California on November 19th.
You can find more information including an overview, agenda, location and pricing at the 280 Group website.
This is a terrific opportunity for individuals or small groups.
In conjunction with the 280 Group, we are offering an Open (public) 1-Day Great Demo! Workshop in San Jose, California on November 19th.
You can find more information including an overview, agenda, location and pricing at the 280 Group website.
This is a terrific opportunity for individuals or small groups.
Monday, October 12, 2009
How About a “Do It” in Zero Mouse Clicks?
A recent Great Demo! Workshop participant semi-seriously suggested implementing a Forecast/Pipeline-screen-saver for VP’s of sales. This would be a terrific example of a “Do It” in zero clicks…! (And how many heads of sales wouldn’t like this idea?)
Friday, October 9, 2009
The Menu Approach Using a Spreadsheet
A recent Great Demo! Workshop participant cleverly noted that using a spreadsheet (e.g., Excel) for the dynamic process of a group voting on individual menu items of interest enables rapid sorting of the results. This yields a ranked, prioritized list of topics in accord with group’s overall interests.
Previously, I’ve used Word or PowerPoint for the same process, but have to drag-and-drop items to rearrange the order as a result of the vote. With a spreadsheet, multiple steps can be reduced to a couple of clicks!
Previously, I’ve used Word or PowerPoint for the same process, but have to drag-and-drop items to rearrange the order as a result of the vote. With a spreadsheet, multiple steps can be reduced to a couple of clicks!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Corporate Overview Presentation – The Good News and the Bad News…
A recent Great Demo! Workshop participant described a wonderful tactic he uses to introduce the fact that he will not be starting with a painful and boring corporate overview presentation:
He says, “Regarding our corporate overview presentation, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I have a 90 slide PowerPoint deck that takes 40 minutes to go through; the good news is that I’m not going to inflict it on you!”
(Sighs of relief and occasional applause from the audience…)
He says, “Regarding our corporate overview presentation, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I have a 90 slide PowerPoint deck that takes 40 minutes to go through; the good news is that I’m not going to inflict it on you!”
(Sighs of relief and occasional applause from the audience…)
Monday, October 5, 2009
Scroll-Zoom in Internet Explorer
Microsoft Internet Explorer provides the ability to zoom the view (enlarge or shrink) using Control-Scrolling-Wheel. This is a great way to help customers focus on the specific items you want them to see on the screen. Give it a try!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Another Webinar Listing Service – www.webinar-directory.com
We’ve come across a another website that provides the ability to post and search for upcoming webinars and past webinars: www.webinar-directory.com.
You do have to register to use the service… This could be a good service to use both as a marketing vehicle and to aid in personal or team-member growth. Check it out…
You do have to register to use the service… This could be a good service to use both as a marketing vehicle and to aid in personal or team-member growth. Check it out…
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Webinar Listing Service – WebinarHero.com
We’ve come across a new website that provides the ability to post and search for upcoming webinars – it’s essentially a webinar clearinghouse: www.WebinarHero.com.
This could be a good service to use both as a marketing vehicle and to aid in personal or team-member growth. Check it out…
This could be a good service to use both as a marketing vehicle and to aid in personal or team-member growth. Check it out…
Friday, September 25, 2009
Assessing and Using Risk Factors For Assigning Presales Resources
Consider including or calculating a relative Risk Factor on Request for Demo (resource) forms. This could be based on the amount and quality of information received and captured on a Request for Demo Form prior to a demo and could be used to determine whether to commit a presales resource to that demo.
For example, we can assign a point for each useful piece of information on a Situation Slide, per key person in a demo (Job Title, CBI, Reason(s), Specific Capabilities, Delta, Critical Date…). The more points, the better prepared and hence the better (lower) the risk.
[One could also call this a Probability of Success Factor, rather than Risk Factor, since the number actually is the inverse risk. Those who love math and formulae might also contemplate multiplying this Inverse Risk Factor (or a conversion thereof) against the forecasted amount of the opportunity to give a Risk-Reward Factor. Go nuts…!]
In cases where there are resource constraints or competition for internal presales resources, a Request for Demo form with a higher score beats out another Request for Demo with a low score…
However applied, this idea of scoring demo risk may be a good tool to help increase the amount and quality of information provided by sales to presales people prior to demos.
For example, we can assign a point for each useful piece of information on a Situation Slide, per key person in a demo (Job Title, CBI, Reason(s), Specific Capabilities, Delta, Critical Date…). The more points, the better prepared and hence the better (lower) the risk.
[One could also call this a Probability of Success Factor, rather than Risk Factor, since the number actually is the inverse risk. Those who love math and formulae might also contemplate multiplying this Inverse Risk Factor (or a conversion thereof) against the forecasted amount of the opportunity to give a Risk-Reward Factor. Go nuts…!]
In cases where there are resource constraints or competition for internal presales resources, a Request for Demo form with a higher score beats out another Request for Demo with a low score…
However applied, this idea of scoring demo risk may be a good tool to help increase the amount and quality of information provided by sales to presales people prior to demos.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Excellent 5 Minute “Demo” Example
Here’s a terrific example of showing the “what” and holding back on the details of “how”… Wonderful!
http://www.ted.com/talks/josh_silver_demos_adjustable_liquid_filled_eyeglasses.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/josh_silver_demos_adjustable_liquid_filled_eyeglasses.html
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Retro Encabulator – Stunningly Funny Demo Example
This is so amusing – and such a good example of showing the “how” and largely ignoring the “what”…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXJKdh1KZ0w
Note that if you search on YouTube, you will find other versions of the video. It is interesting to the genesis and how much effort has gone into this spoof!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXJKdh1KZ0w
Note that if you search on YouTube, you will find other versions of the video. It is interesting to the genesis and how much effort has gone into this spoof!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Four Stages of Learning and Implementation
The following is a wonderfully crisp capture of four stages of learning and implementation:
1. Unconsciously Incompetent
2. Consciously Incompetent
3. Consciously Competent
4. Unconsciously Competent
The first stage is typical for people who have not had skills or knowledge training, and who are often unaware of their weaknesses and situation.
The second stage takes place after a skills development or training session, with the participants recognizing that they have new skills and information to put into practice. They are now aware of their short-comings.
As participants consciously put their new learnings into practice, they move to the third stage – they are working hard to apply what they have learned.
Stage four is where participants are now practicing the new methods and concepts as part of their day-to-day operations, without having to devote additional thought to their application – the ideas are now imbedded and applied unconsciously.
I’d suggest that there is (at least) one additional stage to consider – any suggestions as to what it might be?
1. Unconsciously Incompetent
2. Consciously Incompetent
3. Consciously Competent
4. Unconsciously Competent
The first stage is typical for people who have not had skills or knowledge training, and who are often unaware of their weaknesses and situation.
The second stage takes place after a skills development or training session, with the participants recognizing that they have new skills and information to put into practice. They are now aware of their short-comings.
As participants consciously put their new learnings into practice, they move to the third stage – they are working hard to apply what they have learned.
Stage four is where participants are now practicing the new methods and concepts as part of their day-to-day operations, without having to devote additional thought to their application – the ideas are now imbedded and applied unconsciously.
I’d suggest that there is (at least) one additional stage to consider – any suggestions as to what it might be?
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Live Meeting Full-screen Mode
F5 pushes Microsoft Live Meeting into full-screen mode (as a toggle) – this is in addition to the icon that accomplishes the same task, located in the bottom-right of the screen. F5 is easier to ask audience members to do…
It is important to make sure your audience sees everything you believe they are seeing – using full-screen mode helps make sure.
It is important to make sure your audience sees everything you believe they are seeing – using full-screen mode helps make sure.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Public Great Demo! Workshops – San Francisco Bay Area
[Warning: Shameless self-promotion alert!]
In conjunction with the 280 Group, we are offering two 1-Day Great Demo! Open (public) Workshops this fall in the San Francisco Bay Area. The first is scheduled on October 1st; the second on November 19th.
You can find more information including an overview, agenda, location and pricing at the 280 Group website.
This is a terrific opportunity to send individuals or small groups.
In conjunction with the 280 Group, we are offering two 1-Day Great Demo! Open (public) Workshops this fall in the San Francisco Bay Area. The first is scheduled on October 1st; the second on November 19th.
You can find more information including an overview, agenda, location and pricing at the 280 Group website.
This is a terrific opportunity to send individuals or small groups.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Stunningly Awful Demo Example (But Very Funny)
A Great Demo! Workshop participant shared this Saturday Night Live recording that includes a terrifically poor “demo”. The segment is from Fall 2008 in the midst of the U.S. presidential elections – the “demo” is about 90 seconds into the recording…
Here’s the link: http://www.hulu.com/watch/40678/saturday-night-live-update-freds-mapfix-it#s-p1-st-i4. Enjoy!
Here’s the link: http://www.hulu.com/watch/40678/saturday-night-live-update-freds-mapfix-it#s-p1-st-i4. Enjoy!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
99-to-1 Is a Tie
In the world of committee-based decisions, it was pointed out that a score of 99-to-1 may well be a tie score!
Monday, August 31, 2009
3.5 Minute Great Demo! Promotional Video
[Warning – shameless self-promotion alert!]
We’ve just completed a 3.5 minute Great Demo! video, created largely for promotional purposes. If you are interested in subjecting yourself to this (and losing 3.5 minutes that you’ll never get back in your life!) you can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSOsSh3XJPY.
Comments and feedback solicited and appreciated!
We’ve just completed a 3.5 minute Great Demo! video, created largely for promotional purposes. If you are interested in subjecting yourself to this (and losing 3.5 minutes that you’ll never get back in your life!) you can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSOsSh3XJPY.
Comments and feedback solicited and appreciated!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Stunningly Awful Demo Evolution - Have You Ever Seen Demos Get Shorter?
When a demo is first created for a new product, it is often short and well-focused. With each successive release, demos get longer as new capabilities and workflows are added. Year-by-year they grow, inexorably…! After several years, demos have accreted multiple layers of demo detritus and can be painfully long, complex, and confusing.
The result? Audiences are bored, frustrated and often leave mid-way through, causing sales teams to exclaim, “Wait – don’t leave! We haven’t gotten to the really good stuff yet!” Why has this happened and what can we do?
Founders Frustration
Waaaaay back when the company was founded and the product was sparkling new, demos were fairly crisp and focused. There were two reasons for this, typically:
1. The founders understood their prospects’ needs clearly and mapped the demo accordingly, and
2. The product was rather thin on features – there wasn’t too much that could be shown!
The resulting demos were correspondingly clear – and the (very small) selling team interacting with prospects knew their prospects’ needs and situations. Early adopters embraced the product and the company grew.
As new people came aboard, they learned “the demo” and were introduced to typical sales situations. However, each new hire suffered a “dilution effect” – their understanding of the rationale of the software and customer needs grew further and further from the founders’ vision.
As the market moved from early adopters to majority buyers, it grew harder to achieve fast sales. Founders were frustrated – “How come I could close business in a few weeks but it now takes 9 months or longer? Aren’t these guys supposed to be professional sales people?”
Developers Did It
As developers create new functionality, they show it to their product management counterparts. The code is often pre-release, but the new capabilities are often very cool. Product managers want to show the new features to the field and do so – carefully following the same pathway that the developer originally presented (since it works, typically, and other pieces of the code may have bugs or not yet be complete). As the product is released and rolled-out, field sales and presales staff often continue to follow the same demo path (we are victims of momentum…!).
Hmmm… Very interesting. Note that the field is now presenting these new capabilities from the developer’s perspective – and certainly not the customer’s. Developers want to show all the really cool options they’ve created and the range of possibilities they enabled. The resulting demos are about as far from focused as one can imagine!
Layers Upon Layers Upon Layers
With each new release, new functionality is added. More modules, more wizards, more customization, more navigation, more options, more reports… And each new chunk of functionality brings its own corresponding demo pieces that get added to the old, existing demo.
After all, don’t we want to show the new stuff that’s just been released to our prospects? Don’t we want to show them the latest and greatest? And the slightly older stuff is also good, and the release before that has some really cool capabilities and…
What started as a 10 minute demo at version 1.0 grows to 30 minutes, to an hour, to 2 hours or more. Have you ever heard someone say, “We couldn’t possibly show you our product in less than a half a day…”
The demo grows, inexorably, release by release, like (choose your favorite metaphor/analogy):
· An oyster, adding layers to its shell each year (hiding the pearl within).
· Sands sifting down to the bottom of the ocean, creating expansive sedimentary rock.
· Onions, growing larger each day – and when cut and exposed in many pieces, you cry!
· [Suggest your own…]
New-Hire Numbness
If you have recently joined a mid-size or larger software company in sales, presales or marketing, you know this issue: You have an immense amount of information to learn in a short time.
You are sent to On-boarding training – often two to four weeks of detailed exposure to the company’s products, markets, competition, customers, and internal processes. At the end of the training, you’re expected to be competent – and may have to prove it as part of the process!
Training inevitably includes learning “the demo” for each product. You follow a standard script that walks through the major functions and capabilities, mirroring what your predecessors have done before (over and over and over…). Initially, your emphasis is survival – not understanding – so your playback of the demo is rather rote. It may take months or years to become sufficiently familiar with the market, the customers, and your offerings before you feel comfortable to make real changes to the demo script.
The result? Demos that miss the mark, regardless of the amount of discovery and qualification done. How many times have you seen situations where the demo presented to a prospect appears to ignore the prospect’s needs and situation, even after lengthy discovery or qualification?
A Wordy Example
Imagine that you are part of a sales team offering Microsoft Word. What might the “standard demo script” look like? How long would it take to demonstrate the range of capabilities currently available in the product – got a few days?
The Traditional Approach
The traditional approach to creating standard demos is to create a long, tortured, convoluted story, using a handful of fictional characters to try to tie things together. Demos become training sessions, describing how to navigate the interface, how to customize for specific user types, how to set up records, enter data, run wizards and generate reports.
Intricate interdependencies seek to link disparate parts of the demo together – “Remember the record that we had ‘Jane’ create an hour ago? Now we’ll show how to take that information and edit it as Jane’s manager Jack and then pass it on to John and Jill in marketing and accounting…”
These demos often show multiple ways to accomplish individual tasks (why would a user want to see anything but the fastest possible way?). These demos focus on how to use the software, not what good things the software can do for the customer. These demos are recipes for failure!
An Orthogonal Approach – Great Demo!
Don’t throw those standard demo scripts away, but also don’t inflict them on your prospects! Instead, gently cut the scripts into their component parts. Kill the fictional characters (use your prospect’s real names, instead). Remove the interdependencies. Re-form the resulting demo chunks into consumable components that can stand on their own.
Find the key take-away(s) for each component (Illustrations) and prepare to present these at the beginning of each component. Show completing each task in the fewest number of steps.
The result? Demos that are configurable, that can be mapped to each customer’s specific needs. Prospects see demos that appear to be customized for their individual situations. Demos are crisp, prospects’ needs are clearly addressed, and the sales process moves forward productively!
The result? Audiences are bored, frustrated and often leave mid-way through, causing sales teams to exclaim, “Wait – don’t leave! We haven’t gotten to the really good stuff yet!” Why has this happened and what can we do?
Founders Frustration
Waaaaay back when the company was founded and the product was sparkling new, demos were fairly crisp and focused. There were two reasons for this, typically:
1. The founders understood their prospects’ needs clearly and mapped the demo accordingly, and
2. The product was rather thin on features – there wasn’t too much that could be shown!
The resulting demos were correspondingly clear – and the (very small) selling team interacting with prospects knew their prospects’ needs and situations. Early adopters embraced the product and the company grew.
As new people came aboard, they learned “the demo” and were introduced to typical sales situations. However, each new hire suffered a “dilution effect” – their understanding of the rationale of the software and customer needs grew further and further from the founders’ vision.
As the market moved from early adopters to majority buyers, it grew harder to achieve fast sales. Founders were frustrated – “How come I could close business in a few weeks but it now takes 9 months or longer? Aren’t these guys supposed to be professional sales people?”
Developers Did It
As developers create new functionality, they show it to their product management counterparts. The code is often pre-release, but the new capabilities are often very cool. Product managers want to show the new features to the field and do so – carefully following the same pathway that the developer originally presented (since it works, typically, and other pieces of the code may have bugs or not yet be complete). As the product is released and rolled-out, field sales and presales staff often continue to follow the same demo path (we are victims of momentum…!).
Hmmm… Very interesting. Note that the field is now presenting these new capabilities from the developer’s perspective – and certainly not the customer’s. Developers want to show all the really cool options they’ve created and the range of possibilities they enabled. The resulting demos are about as far from focused as one can imagine!
Layers Upon Layers Upon Layers
With each new release, new functionality is added. More modules, more wizards, more customization, more navigation, more options, more reports… And each new chunk of functionality brings its own corresponding demo pieces that get added to the old, existing demo.
After all, don’t we want to show the new stuff that’s just been released to our prospects? Don’t we want to show them the latest and greatest? And the slightly older stuff is also good, and the release before that has some really cool capabilities and…
What started as a 10 minute demo at version 1.0 grows to 30 minutes, to an hour, to 2 hours or more. Have you ever heard someone say, “We couldn’t possibly show you our product in less than a half a day…”
The demo grows, inexorably, release by release, like (choose your favorite metaphor/analogy):
· An oyster, adding layers to its shell each year (hiding the pearl within).
· Sands sifting down to the bottom of the ocean, creating expansive sedimentary rock.
· Onions, growing larger each day – and when cut and exposed in many pieces, you cry!
· [Suggest your own…]
New-Hire Numbness
If you have recently joined a mid-size or larger software company in sales, presales or marketing, you know this issue: You have an immense amount of information to learn in a short time.
You are sent to On-boarding training – often two to four weeks of detailed exposure to the company’s products, markets, competition, customers, and internal processes. At the end of the training, you’re expected to be competent – and may have to prove it as part of the process!
Training inevitably includes learning “the demo” for each product. You follow a standard script that walks through the major functions and capabilities, mirroring what your predecessors have done before (over and over and over…). Initially, your emphasis is survival – not understanding – so your playback of the demo is rather rote. It may take months or years to become sufficiently familiar with the market, the customers, and your offerings before you feel comfortable to make real changes to the demo script.
The result? Demos that miss the mark, regardless of the amount of discovery and qualification done. How many times have you seen situations where the demo presented to a prospect appears to ignore the prospect’s needs and situation, even after lengthy discovery or qualification?
A Wordy Example
Imagine that you are part of a sales team offering Microsoft Word. What might the “standard demo script” look like? How long would it take to demonstrate the range of capabilities currently available in the product – got a few days?
The Traditional Approach
The traditional approach to creating standard demos is to create a long, tortured, convoluted story, using a handful of fictional characters to try to tie things together. Demos become training sessions, describing how to navigate the interface, how to customize for specific user types, how to set up records, enter data, run wizards and generate reports.
Intricate interdependencies seek to link disparate parts of the demo together – “Remember the record that we had ‘Jane’ create an hour ago? Now we’ll show how to take that information and edit it as Jane’s manager Jack and then pass it on to John and Jill in marketing and accounting…”
These demos often show multiple ways to accomplish individual tasks (why would a user want to see anything but the fastest possible way?). These demos focus on how to use the software, not what good things the software can do for the customer. These demos are recipes for failure!
An Orthogonal Approach – Great Demo!
Don’t throw those standard demo scripts away, but also don’t inflict them on your prospects! Instead, gently cut the scripts into their component parts. Kill the fictional characters (use your prospect’s real names, instead). Remove the interdependencies. Re-form the resulting demo chunks into consumable components that can stand on their own.
Find the key take-away(s) for each component (Illustrations) and prepare to present these at the beginning of each component. Show completing each task in the fewest number of steps.
The result? Demos that are configurable, that can be mapped to each customer’s specific needs. Prospects see demos that appear to be customized for their individual situations. Demos are crisp, prospects’ needs are clearly addressed, and the sales process moves forward productively!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Location Location Location
In Great Demo! Workshops, we typically discuss when the technical player (SE, SC, etc.) actually receives qualification and discovery information – with the emphasis on “earlier is (much) better”. Cynical Workshop participants often note that pre-demo prospect information is communicated “in the car, on the way to the demo” or “in the lobby at the prospect’s site”.
One deeply cynical participant pointed out that for doing en-route (and in-automobile) demo preparation, the rear seats of most rental cars have more room than the front, if you need to use a laptop and spread out papers…
In what exciting or unusual locations have you seen pre-demo information communicated?
One deeply cynical participant pointed out that for doing en-route (and in-automobile) demo preparation, the rear seats of most rental cars have more room than the front, if you need to use a laptop and spread out papers…
In what exciting or unusual locations have you seen pre-demo information communicated?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
“Blood is merely a caffeine delivery system…”
“Blood is merely a caffeine delivery system…”
Offered by a recent Great Demo! Workshop participant, after lunch..
Offered by a recent Great Demo! Workshop participant, after lunch..
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Informational Demo = “Real-Estate Tour”
A Great Demo! Workshop participant recently equated educational and informational demonstrations with real-estate tours done by inexperienced (or arrogant) real estate agents. They drive you around showing you houses you have no interest in, wasting hours of your time and theirs.
A handful of simple questions asked before the tour would have made the trip much more targeted and worthwhile…!
A handful of simple questions asked before the tour would have made the trip much more targeted and worthwhile…!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Public Great Demo! Workshops – San Francisco Bay Area
[Warning: Shameless self-promotion alert!]
In conjunction with the 280 Group, we are offering two 1-Day Great Demo! Open (public) Workshops this fall in the San Francisco Bay Area. The first is scheduled on October 1st; the second on November 19th.
You can find more information including an overview, agenda, location and pricing at the 280 Group website.
This is a terrific opportunity to send individuals or small groups.
In conjunction with the 280 Group, we are offering two 1-Day Great Demo! Open (public) Workshops this fall in the San Francisco Bay Area. The first is scheduled on October 1st; the second on November 19th.
You can find more information including an overview, agenda, location and pricing at the 280 Group website.
This is a terrific opportunity to send individuals or small groups.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
“Unopened” Email Message – Mark as Unread
I often suggest starting a “Do It” pathway in Outlook by opening an unopened email message (that contains a report as an Illustration, or link to a dashboard or other Illustration key screen). This has proven to be a very compelling approach.
Recent Great Demo! Workshop participants noted that they want to test the message before the demo to make sure that it contains the correct information/links. One participant commented that you can open the message, check it, close it, and then right-click on it to choose “Mark as Unread”. This returns the message to the bold appearance, making it look as though it was never opened. Nice!
Recent Great Demo! Workshop participants noted that they want to test the message before the demo to make sure that it contains the correct information/links. One participant commented that you can open the message, check it, close it, and then right-click on it to choose “Mark as Unread”. This returns the message to the bold appearance, making it look as though it was never opened. Nice!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Optimizing Screen Resolution for Recorded Demos and Remote Demos
A few years ago there was no question that the most common screen resolution on target customer computers was 1024x768. As the table below shows, this is changing…
1280x800 36.88%
1024x768 24.69%
1440x900 20.12%
1280x1024 16.99%
1680x1050 1.33%
The common denominator is still 1024x768, if you want to embrace the largest proportion of target viewers, but 75% of audience computers now have higher resolution.
1280x800 36.88%
1024x768 24.69%
1440x900 20.12%
1280x1024 16.99%
1680x1050 1.33%
The common denominator is still 1024x768, if you want to embrace the largest proportion of target viewers, but 75% of audience computers now have higher resolution.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Remote Demos and Presentations – Audience Participation Seating Chart
A recent Great Demo! Workshop participant had a terrific suggestion to both increase interactivity and to make sure that participant names are captured correctly in Remote Demo and presentation situations: have the participants enter their own names on a seating chart.
This works particularly well when individual audience members or small groups are in disparate locations.
Prepare a simple seating chart before the meeting, with sufficient space for all of the expected participants. This can be as simple as a blank Word document or as elegant as a mock-up of a conference table with chairs (I lean towards the former!).
As you begin your web session, pass control to the audience and ask each person to type in their name and job title. This ensures that name spelling is correct – another nice advantage. Additionally, it forces people to be interactive – a refreshing change from a typical introductions segment!
This works particularly well when individual audience members or small groups are in disparate locations.
Prepare a simple seating chart before the meeting, with sufficient space for all of the expected participants. This can be as simple as a blank Word document or as elegant as a mock-up of a conference table with chairs (I lean towards the former!).
As you begin your web session, pass control to the audience and ask each person to type in their name and job title. This ensures that name spelling is correct – another nice advantage. Additionally, it forces people to be interactive – a refreshing change from a typical introductions segment!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Going Waaaaaay Beyond Email – Ontier Pixetell
Have you ever been frustrated by the inability to clearly communicate ideas via simple email? Ontier (www.Ontier.com) has created a tool called Pixetell that enables email to be dramatically supplemented (or replaced, really) with a combination of voice, video, and annotated, dynamic screen capture.
This could be an excellent ancillary tool to support sales, demos, POC’s and evaluations.
Check it out at http://www.ontier.com/videos/demo.html.
Comments and feedback solicited…!
This could be an excellent ancillary tool to support sales, demos, POC’s and evaluations.
Check it out at http://www.ontier.com/videos/demo.html.
Comments and feedback solicited…!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Purchasing Perspective – Anticipating Salespeople’s Moves
A recent article in Purchasing (June 2009, page 52) is a delight to read – it summarizes what purchasing people should expect to see (and hear) from salespeople going into a negotiation discussion.
Interestingly, it identifies what it expects from good salespeople, including:
Content: “Good salespeople try to be business advisors… They strike a collaborative tone.”
Qualification: “Salespeople will attempt to clarify that you really can make the final decision…”
Value: “Sales will always emphasize the value and benefits of their product rather than the price.”
Probing: “Salespeople will try to find out all aspects of your business and your specific need…”
Sounds very reasonable!
Reading trade publications targeted at buyers, purchasing, IT and related job titles can provide wonderful information on guidance on our customers’ perspectives.
Interestingly, it identifies what it expects from good salespeople, including:
Content: “Good salespeople try to be business advisors… They strike a collaborative tone.”
Qualification: “Salespeople will attempt to clarify that you really can make the final decision…”
Value: “Sales will always emphasize the value and benefits of their product rather than the price.”
Probing: “Salespeople will try to find out all aspects of your business and your specific need…”
Sounds very reasonable!
Reading trade publications targeted at buyers, purchasing, IT and related job titles can provide wonderful information on guidance on our customers’ perspectives.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Demo Success Metric
Establishing and tracking metrics for sales opportunities is often a challenge – and defining success metrics for demos can also be tough. Here is one metric that can provide top-level insight into your demo practices:
Number of Demos/Closed Sales $
Very simply, measure how many demos are delivered per closed opportunity dollar (or Euro, Yen, etc.). I recommend normalizing to something like Demos/$10K closed or Demos/$100K closed to make the resulting numbers easy to work with.
Why should you care?
Tracking some additional level of granularity will typically reveal interesting and “actionable” information. For example:
- Tracking Demos/$100K on a per-salesperson basis provides direct insight into each salespersons’ ability to effectively utilize presales resources.
- Tracking Demos/$100K on a per-presales-person basis sheds light onto presales individual effectiveness.
The overhead to set up and track these two metrics on an ongoing basis should quite low. Many organizations already track the number of demos delivered by each presales person; crossing this information with revenues and sales people is the additional work.
The rewards of establishing, tracking and comparing these metrics over time can be remarkable!
Number of Demos/Closed Sales $
Very simply, measure how many demos are delivered per closed opportunity dollar (or Euro, Yen, etc.). I recommend normalizing to something like Demos/$10K closed or Demos/$100K closed to make the resulting numbers easy to work with.
Why should you care?
Tracking some additional level of granularity will typically reveal interesting and “actionable” information. For example:
- Tracking Demos/$100K on a per-salesperson basis provides direct insight into each salespersons’ ability to effectively utilize presales resources.
- Tracking Demos/$100K on a per-presales-person basis sheds light onto presales individual effectiveness.
The overhead to set up and track these two metrics on an ongoing basis should quite low. Many organizations already track the number of demos delivered by each presales person; crossing this information with revenues and sales people is the additional work.
The rewards of establishing, tracking and comparing these metrics over time can be remarkable!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Add Critical Dates and Events to “Situation Slides”
To prepare for demos I recommend generating Situation Slides for each key member of a prospect’s team (those who will be participating in the demo). Previously, the element of time or time-specific constraints was not explicitly included on the slide – I’m now suggesting that this be added:
1. CBI (Critical Business Issue): What is the major problem he/she has?
2. Reasons: Why is it a problem or what is the problem due to?
3. Specific Capabilities: What capabilities are needed to address the problem?
4. Delta: What is the value associated with making the change?
5. Critical Date or Event: When does the change need to take place (and why)?
Here’s an example:
Job Title/Industry: VP of Sales, Mid-size Software Company
Critical Business Issue: Concerned about achieving quarterly numbers
Reason: Too many opportunities falter or fail as a result of demos
Specific Capabilities: Make presales' demos crisp, compelling and effective
Delta: Close 10% more business in the second half of the year
Critical Date/Event: Field training event scheduled for October 4
Critical Dates/Events place a time-based boundary on when a solution needs to be in place – and enables you to walk backwards from that date to define other key activities that need to be completed first (implementation, training, assessment, agreement completed, etc…).
1. CBI (Critical Business Issue): What is the major problem he/she has?
2. Reasons: Why is it a problem or what is the problem due to?
3. Specific Capabilities: What capabilities are needed to address the problem?
4. Delta: What is the value associated with making the change?
5. Critical Date or Event: When does the change need to take place (and why)?
Here’s an example:
Job Title/Industry: VP of Sales, Mid-size Software Company
Critical Business Issue: Concerned about achieving quarterly numbers
Reason: Too many opportunities falter or fail as a result of demos
Specific Capabilities: Make presales' demos crisp, compelling and effective
Delta: Close 10% more business in the second half of the year
Critical Date/Event: Field training event scheduled for October 4
Critical Dates/Events place a time-based boundary on when a solution needs to be in place – and enables you to walk backwards from that date to define other key activities that need to be completed first (implementation, training, assessment, agreement completed, etc…).
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Public Great Demo! Workshops
[Warning: Shameless self-promotion alert!]
In conjunction with the 280 Group, we are offering two 1-Day Great Demo! Open (public) Workshops this fall in the San Francisco Bay Area. The first is scheduled on October 1st; the second on November 19th.
You can find more information including an overview, agenda, location and pricing at the 280 Group website.
This is a terrific opportunity to send individuals or small groups.
In conjunction with the 280 Group, we are offering two 1-Day Great Demo! Open (public) Workshops this fall in the San Francisco Bay Area. The first is scheduled on October 1st; the second on November 19th.
You can find more information including an overview, agenda, location and pricing at the 280 Group website.
This is a terrific opportunity to send individuals or small groups.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Stunningly Awful Demos Team Practices – Where 1 + 1 = 0
Here’s a collection of torturous team tactics, awful errors and faulty communications you can follow to increase the likelihood that your team’s demos will fail. We recommend that you avoid doing these things!
If your team’s demos are not as successful as you might wish, consider using this list as an assessment tool. If these items are occurring in your day-to-day demos then you may want to contemplate making some changes…
Some quick definitions:
Salesperson = Salesperson, Account Manager, Sales Rep, etc.
SC = Sales Consultant, Sales Engineer, Presales Person, etc.
Part 1 – Salesperson Strategies for Failure
No pre-call, no set-up, no info, no intro – (no order, no wonder)!
“And now, here’s Bob, my SC technical guy, who will tell you all about our product…”
Scenario: Set up a demo meeting with a prospect and be sure not to provide any qualification or discovery information on the prospect’s needs or situation to your SC. This will ensure that he presents a “Harbor Tour1” demo, showing all possible features, functions, applications and tasks that can fit in the allowed time.
This also ensures that the prospect will be bored and annoyed, with the high-ranking people leaving early in the demo…
Rescue: Pick up your phone and call your SC well before the scheduled date. Review what you know about the prospect – and what you don’t know. Agree on what capabilities will be presented and what shouldn’t be shown. Contemplate scheduling a conference call with your SC and the prospect together to discuss the prospect’s specific situation and interests.
[1Harbor Tour Demo – aka: Show-up-and-throw-up, Spray-and-pray, Deluge-and-drown, Educate-edify-and-exhaust, Death-by-demo, Oh-my-God-when-will-this-be-over? etc.]
Now I can get some other work done…
“I’ll be in the back with my Blackberry…”
Scenario: Kick things off and then retire to the rear of the room, where you tap away at your Blackberry. After all, you’ve seen the demo dozens of times! No need to be an active participant… Even better, go out into the hall way and make a few calls – might as well make good use of the time…
Your prospect will certainly appreciate the low level of importance you give to their meeting. Your absence will let them know what to expect for the balance of the sales process and (if they were to purchase) implementation steps.
Rescue: Be an active participant in the meeting. Be prepared to rescue your SC in the case of serious bugs or crashes; be ready to help “park” questions that will take him off-track. Watch audience body language and listen for comments. Step in to summarize, when necessary or appropriate.
A demo should be perceived, by the prospect, as a two-way conversation between the vendor and the prospect, rather than a one-way “fire-hose” delivery. The salesperson needs to serve as a facilitator and as an active listener.
Death by Corporate Overview
“Let me tell you about our company…”
Scenario: Start the meeting with a twenty minute corporate overview presentation. Regale your audience with your company’s formation and history (yawn), your revenues over time (yawn), office locations, markets, products, your mission statement (ick) and that smorgasbord of customer logos (yawn, yawn, yawn, snooze…). Add a few analysts’ statements and quotes to achieve a total disconnect.
This strategy will ensure that (1) the most important people leave before they even see the product and (2) everyone is already bored before your SC starts the demo.
Rescue: Reduce your corporate overview to a single slide – or, even better, to three simple verbal statements:
1. How long you’ve been in business
2. How many customers you’ve served and where they are located
3. Your general marketplace, as is relevant to the current prospect
Example: “Hi, we’re ACME Software. We’ve been in business since 1985 helping over 3000 customers in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific address their sales and marketing effectiveness and productivity challenges. But enough about us, let’s talk about your situation…”
Surprise…!
“Hey Bob, show them the new Biframulator feature…”
Scenario: In the midst of the demo, tell your SC to show capabilities that you did not discuss previously. For the greatest effect, ask him to show the newest features or those not yet formally released – to maximize the probability that they won’t work properly. Nothing generates confidence in the prospect like running into bugs or crashes!
For more confusion, instruct your SC to show these capabilities in the midst of his flow to take him off path.
Rescue: Discuss and reach agreement on what you’d like to show the prospect (and what not to show) before the demo. (“Before” doesn’t mean in the lobby at the prospect’s site or in the car on the way there…!)
Alternative: verbally introduce the capability you’d like your SC to show – via a biased question – and “park” it yourself on a whiteboard, initially. This will let your SC know that you feel it is important to show the capability, yet lets him work it into his flow as appropriate (or to defer it until a later time, if necessary). Very elegant!
Crash…!
“Wow – Bob sure can sweat…!”
Scenario: Your SC’s computer just crashed. Add to his torment by focusing attention on him rebooting – make sure everyone is watching while he struggles to restart his machine and the applications needed for the demo. Be sure to blame the crash on someone else’s software. Tell a bad joke. Talk about sports. Tap dance…
Rescue: Be matter-of-fact and say, “Looks like Bob’s machine just suffered a crash.” Disconnect the LCD projector cable from his laptop – or turn off the projector. Draw the audience’s attention away from the scene of the disaster by addressing “parked” questions or similar topics. When your SC indicates he is ready, professionally pass control of the meeting back to him.
Alternative: if rebooting will take 10-15 minutes, call a break.
Part 2 –Presales Pathways to Pain
Show as much as possible…
“Wait – don’t go – we haven’t gotten to the really cool stuff yet…!”
Scenario: Demonstrate all the wonderful things your offering can do. Pack as much demo into your 1-hour slot as you possibly can. Delay showing your best material until the end so that people are glassy-eyed when you finally do get to it – and so that the high-ranking people have already left the meeting.
Since you have a range of job titles in the audience, spin a long, complicated story that attempts to integrate all of their needs and interests into one convoluted, tortured pathway. Make sure to add loops, flashbacks, flash forwards, and detailed digressions. Mix fictional names with real names and pronouns compound the confusion. This will ensure that their memory of your demo will consist of “Hi, my name is Bob…” and “In conclusion…”
Rescue: Do the Last Thing First. Start with the payoff screens that are most compelling. Show how to get to those in the fewest number of steps. Peel back the layers in accord with your audience’s depth and level of interest.
For groups with multiple job titles and interests, organize your demo into consumable components – chunks – that can be introduced, explored as deeply as desired (by the prospect audience members) and then exited via a verbal summary.
For extra credit: if you are done before the end of the allotted time, stop! Give that time back to your audience (they’ll love you for it…!).
Answer all questions immediately and in depth…
“You asked what time is it? First, let me tell you how this watch was made…”
Scenario: Someone asks about database support – you begin to discuss which databases, which versions, how much file space is needed, how they will grow over time, the impact of patches, etc. Meanwhile, the audience has checked-out – even the person who asked, “Do you support SQL Server?” (A simple “Yes” would have been sufficient…)
Rescue: Parse questions: Is it a Great Question, which you should answer crisply and right away? Or is it a Good Question, which you should capture on a “Parking Lot” and queue up to be addressed later.
You are not obligated to know all of the answers to all of the questions in the universe, even though you are the technical person on the team…!
Alternative: your salesperson can also step in to rescue you, by gently suggesting that you “park” the question if she senses that you are going too deep into the answer.
Hit a bug? Try it again…
“Insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result…”
Scenario: You say, “Let me show you this really cool new capability they put into the last release and *wham*! That was weird, I’ve never seen it crash there before. Hmmm… Let me try that again…” and *wham*! again.
You’ve now proven that (1) your software really doesn’t work and (2) you, the technical player, don’t even know it. For added pain, your salesperson counterpart starts to tell you to “try clicking on xxx…”
Rescue: Announce, calmly, that you hit a bug. Don’t try it again, simply explain what the audience should have seen. Either you or your salesperson can do this. Use other visuals (screenshots captured in PowerPoint, for example) to illustrate, if available. Then, jump over the bug and go on, if possible, into another portion of your demo.
Later on, if the capability is important for the audience to see, you can test and find a path to show it. Setting this up in a break is a good strategy…
Part 3 – Team Tactics for Torture
Dry Run? We don’t have time to practice…
“Why’d you show them that?”
Scenario: An important portion of the quarter’s quota depends on the outcome of the upcoming demo. Bias towards failure by:
- Don’t do a dry run or practice session with the sales team.
- Don’t discuss or provide updates or changes to the prospect’s situation or needs.
- Don’t review the infrastructure plan.
- Don’t capture key screenshots or reports into PowerPoint as backups.
- Definitely don’t dry run the demo with your customer champion – to make sure that you’ve really addressed all of the key capabilities his team needs to see…
This tactic helps to ensure that surprises (really bad ones) will be certain to take place during the demo, leaving you embarrassed, your quota at risk – and your champion’s credibility damaged for supporting you.
Rescue: Many people say that they don’t have time to practice. Other people say that because they practice, they find they have more time!
Dry runs help reduce surprises, uncover bugs, and establish the best demo pathways for specific capabilities. Practice sessions also enable you choreograph your meeting – who should introduce, who should review the customer’s situation, when to hand-off to one another, what topics to plan to “park” for later, opportunities for biased questions, etc.
Remote Demos – Make sure nobody from your team is at the customer site…
“They didn’t say a thing the whole time – just the sound of crickets in an empty room!”
Scenario: Both of you stay in your office for a Remote Demo to a prospect. For an even worse effect, go into a conference room and use (yell into) a speaker-phone.
For added pain, don’t use the annotation tools in the collaboration software, point at your own screen repeatedly with your finger, and never pause when speaking into the speaker-phone so that your audience has no chance to break in with a question or comment.
Rescue: Split your forces and have one of you travel to the customer’s site (Salesperson, most typically). That way your audience’s attention is compelled (by you being present).
The role of the person at the customer’s site is to be an active conduit of information and status back to the person operating remotely: new people arriving, questions on people’s faces (but not yet verbalized), the lag time being seen on the audience computer, etc.
Part 4 – A True Story
Using Email (or IM) to communicate during a demo…
“Ignore that guy – he’s an idiot!”
Scenario – True Story: A vendor was presenting a demo to us, with the SC in the front of the room working from his laptop via our LCD projector and screen. His salesperson counterpart was in the back of the room, seated near the door.
One person on our team asked a question (granted, it wasn’t the most insightful question, but it was well-meaning and earnest). I noted the salesperson typing briefly on his Blackberry and then – suddenly, on the bottom-right corner of the projector screen we saw the email message that read, “Pay no attention to that guy – he’s an idiot.”
Rescue: There was no rescue! The vendor (1) didn’t get the business and (2) was never invited back. (“Parking” the question would have been a good strategy, instead…!)
Following the Scenarios described above will certainly increase the probability that your team’s demos will not help you achieve your goals. The Rescues, on the other hand, may help you secure the business you want – and make your quarterly and annual numbers!
Copyright © 2009 The Second Derivative – All Rights Reserved.
If your team’s demos are not as successful as you might wish, consider using this list as an assessment tool. If these items are occurring in your day-to-day demos then you may want to contemplate making some changes…
Some quick definitions:
Salesperson = Salesperson, Account Manager, Sales Rep, etc.
SC = Sales Consultant, Sales Engineer, Presales Person, etc.
Part 1 – Salesperson Strategies for Failure
No pre-call, no set-up, no info, no intro – (no order, no wonder)!
“And now, here’s Bob, my SC technical guy, who will tell you all about our product…”
Scenario: Set up a demo meeting with a prospect and be sure not to provide any qualification or discovery information on the prospect’s needs or situation to your SC. This will ensure that he presents a “Harbor Tour1” demo, showing all possible features, functions, applications and tasks that can fit in the allowed time.
This also ensures that the prospect will be bored and annoyed, with the high-ranking people leaving early in the demo…
Rescue: Pick up your phone and call your SC well before the scheduled date. Review what you know about the prospect – and what you don’t know. Agree on what capabilities will be presented and what shouldn’t be shown. Contemplate scheduling a conference call with your SC and the prospect together to discuss the prospect’s specific situation and interests.
[1Harbor Tour Demo – aka: Show-up-and-throw-up, Spray-and-pray, Deluge-and-drown, Educate-edify-and-exhaust, Death-by-demo, Oh-my-God-when-will-this-be-over? etc.]
Now I can get some other work done…
“I’ll be in the back with my Blackberry…”
Scenario: Kick things off and then retire to the rear of the room, where you tap away at your Blackberry. After all, you’ve seen the demo dozens of times! No need to be an active participant… Even better, go out into the hall way and make a few calls – might as well make good use of the time…
Your prospect will certainly appreciate the low level of importance you give to their meeting. Your absence will let them know what to expect for the balance of the sales process and (if they were to purchase) implementation steps.
Rescue: Be an active participant in the meeting. Be prepared to rescue your SC in the case of serious bugs or crashes; be ready to help “park” questions that will take him off-track. Watch audience body language and listen for comments. Step in to summarize, when necessary or appropriate.
A demo should be perceived, by the prospect, as a two-way conversation between the vendor and the prospect, rather than a one-way “fire-hose” delivery. The salesperson needs to serve as a facilitator and as an active listener.
Death by Corporate Overview
“Let me tell you about our company…”
Scenario: Start the meeting with a twenty minute corporate overview presentation. Regale your audience with your company’s formation and history (yawn), your revenues over time (yawn), office locations, markets, products, your mission statement (ick) and that smorgasbord of customer logos (yawn, yawn, yawn, snooze…). Add a few analysts’ statements and quotes to achieve a total disconnect.
This strategy will ensure that (1) the most important people leave before they even see the product and (2) everyone is already bored before your SC starts the demo.
Rescue: Reduce your corporate overview to a single slide – or, even better, to three simple verbal statements:
1. How long you’ve been in business
2. How many customers you’ve served and where they are located
3. Your general marketplace, as is relevant to the current prospect
Example: “Hi, we’re ACME Software. We’ve been in business since 1985 helping over 3000 customers in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific address their sales and marketing effectiveness and productivity challenges. But enough about us, let’s talk about your situation…”
Surprise…!
“Hey Bob, show them the new Biframulator feature…”
Scenario: In the midst of the demo, tell your SC to show capabilities that you did not discuss previously. For the greatest effect, ask him to show the newest features or those not yet formally released – to maximize the probability that they won’t work properly. Nothing generates confidence in the prospect like running into bugs or crashes!
For more confusion, instruct your SC to show these capabilities in the midst of his flow to take him off path.
Rescue: Discuss and reach agreement on what you’d like to show the prospect (and what not to show) before the demo. (“Before” doesn’t mean in the lobby at the prospect’s site or in the car on the way there…!)
Alternative: verbally introduce the capability you’d like your SC to show – via a biased question – and “park” it yourself on a whiteboard, initially. This will let your SC know that you feel it is important to show the capability, yet lets him work it into his flow as appropriate (or to defer it until a later time, if necessary). Very elegant!
Crash…!
“Wow – Bob sure can sweat…!”
Scenario: Your SC’s computer just crashed. Add to his torment by focusing attention on him rebooting – make sure everyone is watching while he struggles to restart his machine and the applications needed for the demo. Be sure to blame the crash on someone else’s software. Tell a bad joke. Talk about sports. Tap dance…
Rescue: Be matter-of-fact and say, “Looks like Bob’s machine just suffered a crash.” Disconnect the LCD projector cable from his laptop – or turn off the projector. Draw the audience’s attention away from the scene of the disaster by addressing “parked” questions or similar topics. When your SC indicates he is ready, professionally pass control of the meeting back to him.
Alternative: if rebooting will take 10-15 minutes, call a break.
Part 2 –Presales Pathways to Pain
Show as much as possible…
“Wait – don’t go – we haven’t gotten to the really cool stuff yet…!”
Scenario: Demonstrate all the wonderful things your offering can do. Pack as much demo into your 1-hour slot as you possibly can. Delay showing your best material until the end so that people are glassy-eyed when you finally do get to it – and so that the high-ranking people have already left the meeting.
Since you have a range of job titles in the audience, spin a long, complicated story that attempts to integrate all of their needs and interests into one convoluted, tortured pathway. Make sure to add loops, flashbacks, flash forwards, and detailed digressions. Mix fictional names with real names and pronouns compound the confusion. This will ensure that their memory of your demo will consist of “Hi, my name is Bob…” and “In conclusion…”
Rescue: Do the Last Thing First. Start with the payoff screens that are most compelling. Show how to get to those in the fewest number of steps. Peel back the layers in accord with your audience’s depth and level of interest.
For groups with multiple job titles and interests, organize your demo into consumable components – chunks – that can be introduced, explored as deeply as desired (by the prospect audience members) and then exited via a verbal summary.
For extra credit: if you are done before the end of the allotted time, stop! Give that time back to your audience (they’ll love you for it…!).
Answer all questions immediately and in depth…
“You asked what time is it? First, let me tell you how this watch was made…”
Scenario: Someone asks about database support – you begin to discuss which databases, which versions, how much file space is needed, how they will grow over time, the impact of patches, etc. Meanwhile, the audience has checked-out – even the person who asked, “Do you support SQL Server?” (A simple “Yes” would have been sufficient…)
Rescue: Parse questions: Is it a Great Question, which you should answer crisply and right away? Or is it a Good Question, which you should capture on a “Parking Lot” and queue up to be addressed later.
You are not obligated to know all of the answers to all of the questions in the universe, even though you are the technical person on the team…!
Alternative: your salesperson can also step in to rescue you, by gently suggesting that you “park” the question if she senses that you are going too deep into the answer.
Hit a bug? Try it again…
“Insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result…”
Scenario: You say, “Let me show you this really cool new capability they put into the last release and *wham*! That was weird, I’ve never seen it crash there before. Hmmm… Let me try that again…” and *wham*! again.
You’ve now proven that (1) your software really doesn’t work and (2) you, the technical player, don’t even know it. For added pain, your salesperson counterpart starts to tell you to “try clicking on xxx…”
Rescue: Announce, calmly, that you hit a bug. Don’t try it again, simply explain what the audience should have seen. Either you or your salesperson can do this. Use other visuals (screenshots captured in PowerPoint, for example) to illustrate, if available. Then, jump over the bug and go on, if possible, into another portion of your demo.
Later on, if the capability is important for the audience to see, you can test and find a path to show it. Setting this up in a break is a good strategy…
Part 3 – Team Tactics for Torture
Dry Run? We don’t have time to practice…
“Why’d you show them that?”
Scenario: An important portion of the quarter’s quota depends on the outcome of the upcoming demo. Bias towards failure by:
- Don’t do a dry run or practice session with the sales team.
- Don’t discuss or provide updates or changes to the prospect’s situation or needs.
- Don’t review the infrastructure plan.
- Don’t capture key screenshots or reports into PowerPoint as backups.
- Definitely don’t dry run the demo with your customer champion – to make sure that you’ve really addressed all of the key capabilities his team needs to see…
This tactic helps to ensure that surprises (really bad ones) will be certain to take place during the demo, leaving you embarrassed, your quota at risk – and your champion’s credibility damaged for supporting you.
Rescue: Many people say that they don’t have time to practice. Other people say that because they practice, they find they have more time!
Dry runs help reduce surprises, uncover bugs, and establish the best demo pathways for specific capabilities. Practice sessions also enable you choreograph your meeting – who should introduce, who should review the customer’s situation, when to hand-off to one another, what topics to plan to “park” for later, opportunities for biased questions, etc.
Remote Demos – Make sure nobody from your team is at the customer site…
“They didn’t say a thing the whole time – just the sound of crickets in an empty room!”
Scenario: Both of you stay in your office for a Remote Demo to a prospect. For an even worse effect, go into a conference room and use (yell into) a speaker-phone.
For added pain, don’t use the annotation tools in the collaboration software, point at your own screen repeatedly with your finger, and never pause when speaking into the speaker-phone so that your audience has no chance to break in with a question or comment.
Rescue: Split your forces and have one of you travel to the customer’s site (Salesperson, most typically). That way your audience’s attention is compelled (by you being present).
The role of the person at the customer’s site is to be an active conduit of information and status back to the person operating remotely: new people arriving, questions on people’s faces (but not yet verbalized), the lag time being seen on the audience computer, etc.
Part 4 – A True Story
Using Email (or IM) to communicate during a demo…
“Ignore that guy – he’s an idiot!”
Scenario – True Story: A vendor was presenting a demo to us, with the SC in the front of the room working from his laptop via our LCD projector and screen. His salesperson counterpart was in the back of the room, seated near the door.
One person on our team asked a question (granted, it wasn’t the most insightful question, but it was well-meaning and earnest). I noted the salesperson typing briefly on his Blackberry and then – suddenly, on the bottom-right corner of the projector screen we saw the email message that read, “Pay no attention to that guy – he’s an idiot.”
Rescue: There was no rescue! The vendor (1) didn’t get the business and (2) was never invited back. (“Parking” the question would have been a good strategy, instead…!)
Following the Scenarios described above will certainly increase the probability that your team’s demos will not help you achieve your goals. The Rescues, on the other hand, may help you secure the business you want – and make your quarterly and annual numbers!
Copyright © 2009 The Second Derivative – All Rights Reserved.
Friday, July 3, 2009
GoView – Citrix Screening Recording Tool
First of all, this tool is currently being offered free from Citrix. Simply navigate to http://goview.com/goldwyn/spring/play?method=indexPage, register, and you can begin using it.
Next, the recording is captured on Citrix’ servers, from which the recording can be edited, titles added, etc.
The recording is accessed via a URL, so distribution can be done by sharing the URL, adding it to emails, and so forth.
Support is currently limited to Mozilla Firefox 2.0/3.0 and Internet Explorer 6.0/7.0, so folks who have upgraded to IE 8 use at their own risk… It also uses a slightly older version of Java.
It is my understanding that the tool is currently in Beta testing, providing an opportunity to try it out and send feedback to Citrix.
Next, the recording is captured on Citrix’ servers, from which the recording can be edited, titles added, etc.
The recording is accessed via a URL, so distribution can be done by sharing the URL, adding it to emails, and so forth.
Support is currently limited to Mozilla Firefox 2.0/3.0 and Internet Explorer 6.0/7.0, so folks who have upgraded to IE 8 use at their own risk… It also uses a slightly older version of Java.
It is my understanding that the tool is currently in Beta testing, providing an opportunity to try it out and send feedback to Citrix.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Value of Value = 2.5x
In 2008 Gartner surveyed over 600 IT buyers, asking them to identify both the strengths and the weaknesses of marketing and sales efforts across all types of technology providers.
“More than half the respondents said the biggest weakness or shortcoming in IT sales and marketing efforts is the lack of a quantified value proposition. The survey data also showed that, on average, buyers are 2.5 times more likely to buy products if a vendor is able to effectively quantify its value proposition.”
[I’ve added the underlines]
This is a rather compelling reason to uncover the Delta, the value associated with the prospect making the change from their current situation to the solution you are offering. As Gartner points out, this Delta must be expressed in tangible terms of time, people or money – specific numbers.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Gwabbit – Capturing Email Contact Information Automatically
Ever found yourself cutting and pasting email signature information, line-by-line-by-line-by-line, into an Outlook contact record? Technicopia has produced a nifty little utility that makes this a one-click process.
Gwabbit (www.Gwabbit.com) is an Outlook Add-in that provides this capability. $19.95 purchase price; free trial available as well. Nice tool!
Gwabbit (www.Gwabbit.com) is an Outlook Add-in that provides this capability. $19.95 purchase price; free trial available as well. Nice tool!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Webinar Links: Make Your Numbers over the Web: Compelling Presentations and Demos for Inside Sales
[Warning: Shameless semi-self promotion!]
Here are links to my two most recent webinars, both entitled "Make Your Numbers over the Web: Compelling Presentations and Demos for Inside Sales". The first was targeted for U.S. audiences; the second for UK and European folks. Enjoy!
http://learn.gotomeeting.com/forms/060309-NA-G2MC-WBRARC?ID=701000000005DBC
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/519679179
In each webinar, a Citrix inside sales manager shared experiences to set the stage; I then presented ideas on how to engage a prospect, gather key pieces of information conversationally, and provide a brief demo in accord with the prospects' interest.
While the ideas are generally applicable to a range of sales situations, the content of this webinar was focused primarily on those working with highly "transactional" sales processes (many small orders).
Here are links to my two most recent webinars, both entitled "Make Your Numbers over the Web: Compelling Presentations and Demos for Inside Sales". The first was targeted for U.S. audiences; the second for UK and European folks. Enjoy!
http://learn.gotomeeting.com/forms/060309-NA-G2MC-WBRARC?ID=701000000005DBC
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/519679179
In each webinar, a Citrix inside sales manager shared experiences to set the stage; I then presented ideas on how to engage a prospect, gather key pieces of information conversationally, and provide a brief demo in accord with the prospects' interest.
While the ideas are generally applicable to a range of sales situations, the content of this webinar was focused primarily on those working with highly "transactional" sales processes (many small orders).
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Photo Clip Art Tips 2 of 3: Sources and Rights to Use
While great photos abound around the web, a few sources are set up specifically for presentations and similar uses. There are two main issues to be aware of:
1. Copyrights
2. Costs
Generally speaking, we should not simply copy images from company websites or the “image” areas of Google and Yahoo – these images are generally marked directly or indirectly with “Copyright xxx – All rights reserved”, meaning these images are not being offered for use. Using them, in fact, puts your organization at risk of copyright infringement. [The same is true for copying comic strips or “Dilbert”...]
Here are a few sources that I’d recommend, along with comments on copyright and cost (caveat: based on my understanding – you should check on your own to be sure!):
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx
This is Microsoft’s clip art website, specifically created to support users of PowerPoint and other MS applications. A subset of these images is typically installed on computers with Office. The online listing is more “evergreen” and tends to include old and new images.
The great news about all of these images is that they are (1) able to be used freely (no copyright restrictions) and (2) can be used free of charge.
Searching is simple – in both meanings of the phrase. You may have to browse through piles of thumbnails to find images that work best for you.
http://www.istockphoto.com and www.fotolia.com
iStockphoto and fotalia each have a large range of images – some of which are really terrific – for sale. Searching is more effective than with the Microsoft website, in my opinion, and there are capabilities to rapidly expand each image to get a better view than in a thumbnail.
Pricing is based on buying “credits” which then are used to purchase images. Usage rights start at one-person-one-computer and can extend to larger, corporate-use arrangements. Images are typically prices in accord with resolution – higher resolution images require more credits. Images are also typically available in a range of sizes.
Cost for a typical image suitable for a PowerPoint presentation by projector (or the web) runs from ~$1-4. You generally have the right to use that image as many times as you like, without time or geographic restriction.
Other sources you’d recommend? Please let me know!
1. Copyrights
2. Costs
Generally speaking, we should not simply copy images from company websites or the “image” areas of Google and Yahoo – these images are generally marked directly or indirectly with “Copyright xxx – All rights reserved”, meaning these images are not being offered for use. Using them, in fact, puts your organization at risk of copyright infringement. [The same is true for copying comic strips or “Dilbert”...]
Here are a few sources that I’d recommend, along with comments on copyright and cost (caveat: based on my understanding – you should check on your own to be sure!):
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx
This is Microsoft’s clip art website, specifically created to support users of PowerPoint and other MS applications. A subset of these images is typically installed on computers with Office. The online listing is more “evergreen” and tends to include old and new images.
The great news about all of these images is that they are (1) able to be used freely (no copyright restrictions) and (2) can be used free of charge.
Searching is simple – in both meanings of the phrase. You may have to browse through piles of thumbnails to find images that work best for you.
http://www.istockphoto.com and www.fotolia.com
iStockphoto and fotalia each have a large range of images – some of which are really terrific – for sale. Searching is more effective than with the Microsoft website, in my opinion, and there are capabilities to rapidly expand each image to get a better view than in a thumbnail.
Pricing is based on buying “credits” which then are used to purchase images. Usage rights start at one-person-one-computer and can extend to larger, corporate-use arrangements. Images are typically prices in accord with resolution – higher resolution images require more credits. Images are also typically available in a range of sizes.
Cost for a typical image suitable for a PowerPoint presentation by projector (or the web) runs from ~$1-4. You generally have the right to use that image as many times as you like, without time or geographic restriction.
Other sources you’d recommend? Please let me know!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Photo Clip Art Tips – 1 of 3
Using photos in presentations can be a much stronger method of communicating ideas than using bulleted text. (After all, if “one picture is worth a thousand words” then you’d need a pile of PowerPoint bullets to achieve the equivalent…!)
For Great Demo! Illustrations, photos showing frustration, piles of paperwork, stacks of files and related photos can be terrific “before” images.
A number of presentation skills books recommend the same idea including:
- Beyond Bullet Points – Cliff Atkinson – available on Amazon.com
- Presentation Zen – Garr Reynolds – available on Amazon.com
In a live presentation or demo, an evocative photo enables and supports the verbal message you are delivering. Contrariwise, a long list of bulleted sentences on a slide forces the audience to read – and ignore the presenter’s words.
Interestingly, “real” photos have proven to be much more effective than drawn clip art. Consider reviewing your “in-use” presentations and overhaul them:
- Remove old drawn clip art and replace, as appropriate, with real photos
- Explore where you can condense text – shorten sentences to phrases
- Seek to replace slides of text with one or two strong photo images
I’ll explore a few sources for good photos and guidelines for use (size, orientation) in the next few tips.
For Great Demo! Illustrations, photos showing frustration, piles of paperwork, stacks of files and related photos can be terrific “before” images.
A number of presentation skills books recommend the same idea including:
- Beyond Bullet Points – Cliff Atkinson – available on Amazon.com
- Presentation Zen – Garr Reynolds – available on Amazon.com
In a live presentation or demo, an evocative photo enables and supports the verbal message you are delivering. Contrariwise, a long list of bulleted sentences on a slide forces the audience to read – and ignore the presenter’s words.
Interestingly, “real” photos have proven to be much more effective than drawn clip art. Consider reviewing your “in-use” presentations and overhaul them:
- Remove old drawn clip art and replace, as appropriate, with real photos
- Explore where you can condense text – shorten sentences to phrases
- Seek to replace slides of text with one or two strong photo images
I’ll explore a few sources for good photos and guidelines for use (size, orientation) in the next few tips.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Great Demo! Webinars
[Warning – shameless self-promotion alert!] Our next webinar is scheduled for June 3rd at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, on Surprisingly Compelling Demos for Inside Sales – Making Your Numbers Over the Web. Citrix will be hosting this event – you can register here for the event.
Another Citrix webinar is scheduled for June 23rd for European audiences on a related topic, at 3:00 PM London time. Please contact me for registration information at PCohan@SecondDerivative.com.
Another Citrix webinar is scheduled for June 23rd for European audiences on a related topic, at 3:00 PM London time. Please contact me for registration information at PCohan@SecondDerivative.com.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
www.salesengineer.com
Looking for new position? Looking to hire presales staff?
www.salesengineer.com appears to be a bulletin-board service to enable job-seekers and companies to connect. You need to register – I’m not sure whether a fee is involved either direction. Feedback solicited!
www.salesengineer.com appears to be a bulletin-board service to enable job-seekers and companies to connect. You need to register – I’m not sure whether a fee is involved either direction. Feedback solicited!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Why Structure Your Demos Like News Articles?
Pick up this morning’s newspaper or scan today’s web news and consider two things:
1. How you select which articles to read
2. How the articles are written
News organizations have been presenting information for several hundreds of years, in print and now via the web, and they have learned some highly effective practices that we can employ in demonstrating software.
Consider organizing your demonstrations like a news article. Here’s why:
Imagine you’ve just picked up today’s newspaper. What section do you turn to first? In many cases, people immediately select the sports section, or finance, or entertainment. Readers explore that section is as much depth as desired, then turn to the next section of interest.
Newspapers (and news websites) organize information in a hierarchy of consumable components – components that can be accessed rapidly, explored as deeply as desired, and the exited at any point to move to the next component. The top level of the news hierarchy is the section – sports, finance, international, entertainment, comics…
Next, how do you choose which article you want to read? Typically, you scan for headlines that catch your interest. For many articles, you may only read the headline and move on rapidly – you’re not interested in the topic. Other articles engage your attention sufficiently to review the first few paragraphs, after which you stop and move on. Some articles you read all the way through, because they address a topic of real interest to you.
Each individual article is cleverly organized to enable readers to make rapid decisions about their depth of interest. The headline presents the topic – providing a binary opportunity for readers to pursue it or move on. The first one or two paragraphs of the article summarize the story, concisely. Many readers are completely satisfied with this level of information and read no further, returning to scan other headlines.
The subsequent paragraphs drill deeper and explore the story in more detail. Readers who are truly interested in the topic are the typical consumers of this level of information.
This organization and presentation of information is sometimes referred to as the “inverted pyramid” style of writing. It presents the most important information right at the beginning, in the first few paragraphs. Material in subsequent paragraphs is more and more detailed and of less importance.
In the bad old days of paper and ink, newspaper editors were able to cut articles to fit the space available – by cutting from the bottom of the article upwards. That way they knew they’d be removing the least important information.
News organizations have evolved this “inverted pyramid” method of presenting information over literally hundreds of years. Why not take advantage of this learning?
Consider organizing your demonstrations like a news article. Present a “headline” succinctly and rapidly. In Great Demo! methodology we call this an Illustration.
Assuming your audience is interested, present the key capabilities using a minimum of mouse clicks – like reading the first one or two paragraphs in a news article. The audience just wants a summary at this point – not all of the details! This corresponds to the Great Demo! “Do It” pathway.
Finally, for audiences that are really interested, you can dig deeper and explore the breadth and depth of the relevant capabilities – similar to those who wish to read more of the article. In Great Demo! we call this “Do It Again” or “Peel Back the Layers”.
Interestingly, also note that there are very few readers of the news who read everything in a newspaper or news website – similarly, you are not obligated to present everything that your software can do...!
News organizations present information in a hierarchy of consumable components – why not apply the same ideas to your demos?
1. How you select which articles to read
2. How the articles are written
News organizations have been presenting information for several hundreds of years, in print and now via the web, and they have learned some highly effective practices that we can employ in demonstrating software.
Consider organizing your demonstrations like a news article. Here’s why:
Imagine you’ve just picked up today’s newspaper. What section do you turn to first? In many cases, people immediately select the sports section, or finance, or entertainment. Readers explore that section is as much depth as desired, then turn to the next section of interest.
Newspapers (and news websites) organize information in a hierarchy of consumable components – components that can be accessed rapidly, explored as deeply as desired, and the exited at any point to move to the next component. The top level of the news hierarchy is the section – sports, finance, international, entertainment, comics…
Next, how do you choose which article you want to read? Typically, you scan for headlines that catch your interest. For many articles, you may only read the headline and move on rapidly – you’re not interested in the topic. Other articles engage your attention sufficiently to review the first few paragraphs, after which you stop and move on. Some articles you read all the way through, because they address a topic of real interest to you.
Each individual article is cleverly organized to enable readers to make rapid decisions about their depth of interest. The headline presents the topic – providing a binary opportunity for readers to pursue it or move on. The first one or two paragraphs of the article summarize the story, concisely. Many readers are completely satisfied with this level of information and read no further, returning to scan other headlines.
The subsequent paragraphs drill deeper and explore the story in more detail. Readers who are truly interested in the topic are the typical consumers of this level of information.
This organization and presentation of information is sometimes referred to as the “inverted pyramid” style of writing. It presents the most important information right at the beginning, in the first few paragraphs. Material in subsequent paragraphs is more and more detailed and of less importance.
In the bad old days of paper and ink, newspaper editors were able to cut articles to fit the space available – by cutting from the bottom of the article upwards. That way they knew they’d be removing the least important information.
News organizations have evolved this “inverted pyramid” method of presenting information over literally hundreds of years. Why not take advantage of this learning?
Consider organizing your demonstrations like a news article. Present a “headline” succinctly and rapidly. In Great Demo! methodology we call this an Illustration.
Assuming your audience is interested, present the key capabilities using a minimum of mouse clicks – like reading the first one or two paragraphs in a news article. The audience just wants a summary at this point – not all of the details! This corresponds to the Great Demo! “Do It” pathway.
Finally, for audiences that are really interested, you can dig deeper and explore the breadth and depth of the relevant capabilities – similar to those who wish to read more of the article. In Great Demo! we call this “Do It Again” or “Peel Back the Layers”.
Interestingly, also note that there are very few readers of the news who read everything in a newspaper or news website – similarly, you are not obligated to present everything that your software can do...!
News organizations present information in a hierarchy of consumable components – why not apply the same ideas to your demos?
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Demo Builder – Tool for Preparing Recorded Demos
A Great Demo! Workshop participant noted another tool for creating recorded demos: Demo Builder, from Tanida Inc. Here is their contact information and more about the tool itself:
Sales@demo-builder.com
http://www.demo-builder.com/
+1 (914) 410-6429
2313 Lakeshore Blvd. W #914
Toronto
M8V 1A8, Canada
From their website:
“Demo Builder is the experts authoring tool of choice for creating professional and fully interactive application simulations, presentations and tutorials. The best part is that Demo Builder is so easy to use! Unlike some other tools, with Demo Builder there is no complex interface and no previous programming knowledge is required. You'll be up and running and creating superior presentations in no time. Your audience will love it and you'll get the results you deserve.
Demo Builder version 7 further extends and expands on the features available in previous versions to enable you to create audio-visual Flash movies that show how software, systems and processes work. It offers the ability to capture all actions taken in a running application, which can then be edited and annotated to produce interactive demonstrations and simulations.”
A free trial version is available for download.
Pricing is currently as follows:
Professional Version: $249 for 1 user; $559 for 3 users; $869 for 5 users.
Standard Version: $199 for 1 user; $449 for 3 users; $699 for 5 users.
Feedback solicited…!
Sales@demo-builder.com
http://www.demo-builder.com/
+1 (914) 410-6429
2313 Lakeshore Blvd. W #914
Toronto
M8V 1A8, Canada
From their website:
“Demo Builder is the experts authoring tool of choice for creating professional and fully interactive application simulations, presentations and tutorials. The best part is that Demo Builder is so easy to use! Unlike some other tools, with Demo Builder there is no complex interface and no previous programming knowledge is required. You'll be up and running and creating superior presentations in no time. Your audience will love it and you'll get the results you deserve.
Demo Builder version 7 further extends and expands on the features available in previous versions to enable you to create audio-visual Flash movies that show how software, systems and processes work. It offers the ability to capture all actions taken in a running application, which can then be edited and annotated to produce interactive demonstrations and simulations.”
A free trial version is available for download.
Pricing is currently as follows:
Professional Version: $249 for 1 user; $559 for 3 users; $869 for 5 users.
Standard Version: $199 for 1 user; $449 for 3 users; $699 for 5 users.
Feedback solicited…!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Dyyno - Video and Application Sharing Tool
I note the launch of a new web collaboration and sharing tool called Dyyno Personal Channel (http://www.dyyno.com/) and related tools.
It looks like Dyyno is working to address one of the weaknesses of the “WebEx” flock of offerings: the inability by the current vendors’ tools to rapidly render graphics-intensive applications.
They do not yet support Macintosh, which may be important if your audience is not entirely PC-based. In any case, they are offering a 1-month free trial period, so you can explore for yourself…
Feedback welcomed…!
It looks like Dyyno is working to address one of the weaknesses of the “WebEx” flock of offerings: the inability by the current vendors’ tools to rapidly render graphics-intensive applications.
They do not yet support Macintosh, which may be important if your audience is not entirely PC-based. In any case, they are offering a 1-month free trial period, so you can explore for yourself…
Feedback welcomed…!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Nice “Adaptive” Touch…
In a recent Great Demo! Workshop, held in a company’s training room, I noted a box full of various power-plug adapters for the use of the participants who may have arrived from out of the country. This was welcomed and several of the adapters were used during the Workshop. Nice touch!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Loss of Trust and Credibility
In a recent Great Demo! Workshop, an audience member suggested adding an item to the list of “What bad things happen when the demo goes poorly”: Loss of trust and credibility between sales and presales.
Very good point – this can be extremely damaging on a personal level in addition to a team or organizational level.
Very good point – this can be extremely damaging on a personal level in addition to a team or organizational level.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
What Do Cookbooks Have to Do with Demos?
You are paging through a new cookbook, trying to get ideas for an upcoming important meal. Which recipes do you tend to explore – those that are simply text descriptions or those that also include a photo of the finished dish?
Cookbook publishers know that most readers prefer cookbooks with photos of the finished product. The pictures help readers gain a rapid understanding of what the completed recipe should look like – if it looks appetizing, it has a higher likelihood of being pursued.
The Great Demo! concept of Illustrations works the same way: the prospect is presented with an image of what the final deliverable looks like, right at the beginning of the demo. If the end deliverable looks interesting, the prospect will be more likely to pursue exploring the offering further.
This suggests that we should work to make our Illustrations and end deliverables appear to be as appetizing as possible!
Cookbook publishers know that most readers prefer cookbooks with photos of the finished product. The pictures help readers gain a rapid understanding of what the completed recipe should look like – if it looks appetizing, it has a higher likelihood of being pursued.
The Great Demo! concept of Illustrations works the same way: the prospect is presented with an image of what the final deliverable looks like, right at the beginning of the demo. If the end deliverable looks interesting, the prospect will be more likely to pursue exploring the offering further.
This suggests that we should work to make our Illustrations and end deliverables appear to be as appetizing as possible!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Customer’s Perspective: The Impact of the Initial Screen in a Demo
I met a CFO on a plane flight recently who commented on the importance of the first screen he sees in a software demo. He noted that the more complicated that first screen appears to be, the less likely he will be to purchase the product.
He also commented that a key point here is “appearance”:
- He said that some screens that could have been perceived as complicated were made simple and clear by equally simple and clear descriptions by the demo presenter;
- Conversely, he also said that other screens started off appearing to be easy to understand, but became complicated and confusing by the too detailed and lengthy verbal descriptions.
Albert Einstein summed this up nicely when he observed, “Everything should be a simple as possible, but not simpler…”
He also commented that a key point here is “appearance”:
- He said that some screens that could have been perceived as complicated were made simple and clear by equally simple and clear descriptions by the demo presenter;
- Conversely, he also said that other screens started off appearing to be easy to understand, but became complicated and confusing by the too detailed and lengthy verbal descriptions.
Albert Einstein summed this up nicely when he observed, “Everything should be a simple as possible, but not simpler…”
Monday, April 13, 2009
What Does a Jigsaw Puzzle Have to Do with Demos?
Imagine that someone has just dumped a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle on a table in front of you – a large pile of unintelligible puzzle pieces – but you cannot see the box cover.
(And for those who are experienced at working jigsaw puzzles, to make things even tougher imagine that the puzzle appears to have no distinct edges…)
Where do you begin? Without a clear understanding of what the puzzle is supposed to look like, it will be very tough to complete it.
Imagine being presented a demo delivered the same way – lots of individual pieces but no clear picture of the end result…
On the other hand, if you are shown a picture of the completed puzzle up-front, then you have a reasonable possibility of working the puzzle. Similarly, it you are shown the end result of a demo at the beginning, then you have an understanding of how the various pieces contribute to the end deliverable.
A jigsaw puzzle is a wonderful example of a Great Demo! before-and-after Illustration in practice. The “before” is the image of the pile of confusing puzzle pieces; the “after” is the picture of the completed puzzle.
(And for those who are experienced at working jigsaw puzzles, to make things even tougher imagine that the puzzle appears to have no distinct edges…)
Where do you begin? Without a clear understanding of what the puzzle is supposed to look like, it will be very tough to complete it.
Imagine being presented a demo delivered the same way – lots of individual pieces but no clear picture of the end result…
On the other hand, if you are shown a picture of the completed puzzle up-front, then you have a reasonable possibility of working the puzzle. Similarly, it you are shown the end result of a demo at the beginning, then you have an understanding of how the various pieces contribute to the end deliverable.
A jigsaw puzzle is a wonderful example of a Great Demo! before-and-after Illustration in practice. The “before” is the image of the pile of confusing puzzle pieces; the “after” is the picture of the completed puzzle.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Great Quote
“Sure, I can show you a day-in-the-life demo, but it will take a week…!”
- Great quote from a Great Demo! Workshop participant.
- Great quote from a Great Demo! Workshop participant.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Another Reason to Arrive 15 Minutes Early for Web Meetings…
This sadly funny video shows why you may want to consider setting the time for your web meeting to start 15 minutes before the formal meeting is scheduled to begin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5bduokoNN8.
The folks at Glance (http://www.glance.net/) offer an alternative, “instant on” web meeting tool that also helps to address the problem so wonderfully articulated in the video.
The folks at Glance (http://www.glance.net/) offer an alternative, “instant on” web meeting tool that also helps to address the problem so wonderfully articulated in the video.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Annotating over Live Meeting Shared Applications
Can you recommend any third-party annotation tools - tools that can be used to annotate over a Live Meeting session, for example, since Live Meeting does not currently provide capabilities for annotating over a shared application.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Out-of-the-office Email Messages
Out-of-the-office email (automated) reponse messages range from non-existent to full-blown advertising. As a customer, it is good to know:
- The dates when the person is unavailable
- Whether or not the person will be checking voicemail/email
- Who are alternative people that can be contacted
Here is an example of a nicely executed out-of-the-office message:
**This is an Automatically Generated Message**
Thank you for your e-mail. I will be out of the office on vacation from Monday March 16 through Friday March 20, and will be back on Monday March 23rd. I will not have access to e-mail or voicemail during this time, but will respond as soon as I return.For any immediate concerns please contact:
Customer Service:
Toll-Free phone number: 1-800-555-5555
Email: service@OurCo.com
Hours: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm PST Mon-Fri
For Technical Support:
Toll-Free phone number: 1-800-555-5553
Email: techsupport@OurCo.com
Hours: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm PST Mon-Fri
Best Regards,
Bob
*******************************************************************
Bob Sanchez
OurCo Inc.
1538 Windblown Blvd.
Centerville, CA 94555
Telephone: +1 800 555 5525
Email: BSanchez@OurCo.com
Website: www.OurCo.com
*******************************************************************
- The dates when the person is unavailable
- Whether or not the person will be checking voicemail/email
- Who are alternative people that can be contacted
Here is an example of a nicely executed out-of-the-office message:
**This is an Automatically Generated Message**
Thank you for your e-mail. I will be out of the office on vacation from Monday March 16 through Friday March 20, and will be back on Monday March 23rd. I will not have access to e-mail or voicemail during this time, but will respond as soon as I return.For any immediate concerns please contact:
Customer Service:
Toll-Free phone number: 1-800-555-5555
Email: service@OurCo.com
Hours: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm PST Mon-Fri
For Technical Support:
Toll-Free phone number: 1-800-555-5553
Email: techsupport@OurCo.com
Hours: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm PST Mon-Fri
Best Regards,
Bob
*******************************************************************
Bob Sanchez
OurCo Inc.
1538 Windblown Blvd.
Centerville, CA 94555
Telephone: +1 800 555 5525
Email: BSanchez@OurCo.com
Website: www.OurCo.com
*******************************************************************
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Buyer’s Perspective – “That was very helpful…”
A colleague who often assists customers in selecting software relates a true-life story regarding the impact of poorly-constructed and poorly-delivered demos:
At the close of a demo from one of several candidate vendors, the key player at the prospect said, “That was very helpful….” The vendor went away happy.
However, after the vendor had left the room, the key player turned to the other meeting participants and elaborated. He said, “That was very helpful – they just helped us eliminate a candidate – them!”
At the close of a demo from one of several candidate vendors, the key player at the prospect said, “That was very helpful….” The vendor went away happy.
However, after the vendor had left the room, the key player turned to the other meeting participants and elaborated. He said, “That was very helpful – they just helped us eliminate a candidate – them!”
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
A Tool to Capture Discovery Information
A very nice tool is now available to capture and communicate prospect discovery/qualification information, internally within your organization.
At a high level, the tool from pebble Discovery (www.pebblediscovery.com) helps to avoid your prospect asking,
“Didn’t I just answer all of these questions from your sales person last week?” – told to the presales person…
“Didn’t I just answer all of these questions from your presales person, before we signed the contact?” – told to the implementation team…
Here’s more from pebble Discovery’s 1-pager overview:
We provide a software system to support presales discovery efforts for software vendors and VARs.
· Get more done in less time.
o Leverage resources.
o Produce the one document prospects say will speed up the buying process.
· Optimize the investment for your prospect and you.
o Provide continuity between presales and implementation.
This system helps you establish:
· Why do they need a new system now
· Who’s involved in the buying process
· What are their hot buttons
· What are the functional requirements
· Limitations of the current system
· How your system can help the prospect
· What’s needed for a winning demo.
How It Works
Pebble Discovery is a client-server system. Discovery templates are maintained, by industry, on the server. Your presales people can enter information into their laptops offline and then sync with the server database. If you have multiple people working on a prospect, everyone can sync with the database to keep up-to-date. The information is then available to the implementation team who can also work offline on their laptops reviewing and analyzing the information they need.
At a high level, the tool from pebble Discovery (www.pebblediscovery.com) helps to avoid your prospect asking,
“Didn’t I just answer all of these questions from your sales person last week?” – told to the presales person…
“Didn’t I just answer all of these questions from your presales person, before we signed the contact?” – told to the implementation team…
Here’s more from pebble Discovery’s 1-pager overview:
We provide a software system to support presales discovery efforts for software vendors and VARs.
· Get more done in less time.
o Leverage resources.
o Produce the one document prospects say will speed up the buying process.
· Optimize the investment for your prospect and you.
o Provide continuity between presales and implementation.
This system helps you establish:
· Why do they need a new system now
· Who’s involved in the buying process
· What are their hot buttons
· What are the functional requirements
· Limitations of the current system
· How your system can help the prospect
· What’s needed for a winning demo.
How It Works
Pebble Discovery is a client-server system. Discovery templates are maintained, by industry, on the server. Your presales people can enter information into their laptops offline and then sync with the server database. If you have multiple people working on a prospect, everyone can sync with the database to keep up-to-date. The information is then available to the implementation team who can also work offline on their laptops reviewing and analyzing the information they need.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
20,000 Words Per Day…
The author, Joseph Sommerville, notes:
"Effective communication skills are essential to successful business development. Yet they're often under-emphasized and sometimes completely ignored. Why? Because we communicate so much and so often (approximately 20,000 words per day) we often take it for granted. But regardless of how good your product or service is and how much expertise you have in your area, it all goes to waste unless you can communicate it to others."
"Effective communication skills are essential to successful business development. Yet they're often under-emphasized and sometimes completely ignored. Why? Because we communicate so much and so often (approximately 20,000 words per day) we often take it for granted. But regardless of how good your product or service is and how much expertise you have in your area, it all goes to waste unless you can communicate it to others."
Monday, March 16, 2009
Remote Demos – and Screen Savers
I’ve now seen this happen several times…
You are watching a vendor present a demo remotely and, after about 10 minutes, the “audience” computer switches to its screen-saver. There are a few moments of thrashing as someone leaps to move the mouse – and anything that was said or presented by the vendor during that time was lost.
This repeats, of course, every 10 minutes for the balance of the session…!
Instruct your key audience member(s) to turn off their screen-saver(s) or change the setting to longer than the expected event!
(Interestingly, the presenter will most likely be unaware that the screen-saver is kicking-in on the remote computer(s)…)
You are watching a vendor present a demo remotely and, after about 10 minutes, the “audience” computer switches to its screen-saver. There are a few moments of thrashing as someone leaps to move the mouse – and anything that was said or presented by the vendor during that time was lost.
This repeats, of course, every 10 minutes for the balance of the session…!
Instruct your key audience member(s) to turn off their screen-saver(s) or change the setting to longer than the expected event!
(Interestingly, the presenter will most likely be unaware that the screen-saver is kicking-in on the remote computer(s)…)
Thursday, March 12, 2009
"SE Whisperer"
Here is a great article/blog entry from a sales person’s perspective about interactions with their presales counterparts: http://www.salesgrok.com/grok/2008/11/se-whisperer.html.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Buyer’s Perspective: “Questioning Software’s Usability”
An article by Harold Hambrose in Baseline Magazine entitled “Questioning Software’s Usability” raises a number of buyer-perspective issues well worth noting:
· “How do they know the tool will be effective in the hands of your employees?” – this is, in essence, a direct recommendation for a POC or Evaluation. They author notes,
“Ask if the software vendor will allow your users to sit with the application and perform a familiar task… A vendor demo isn’t good enough, because these demos are basically infomercials.”
I often recommend “letting your customer drive” in demos – to prove ease-of-use for themselves and to help avoid the need for a POC or Evaluation. This is another strong reason to do so!
· “Show me the metrics!” – the author continues,
“Ask for performance numbers. Find out how many minutes, hours, days or weeks it will take for your employees to become comfortable with the system, and how long it will take for them to really get rolling.”
This is where the concept of building a Transition Vision with the customer is so important. The customer may like the ultimate vision, but is concerned about how they will get there from where they are today. A Transition Vision is a solution to this challenge (see my article here for more on how to accomplish this).
· “Does the application make sense to you?” – a long, complex, multiple-personality demo is a certain way to fail this criteria!
Performing your demo in small, consumable components – with a summary at the end of each section – will help address the question the author poses. Presenting each key segment via a “Do It” pathway, with no extraneous steps, helps even more!
The complete article is from the November 2008 issue of Baseline Magazine, page 14 (www.baselinemag.com); the author is Harold Hambrose of Electronic Ink (www.electronicink.com).
· “How do they know the tool will be effective in the hands of your employees?” – this is, in essence, a direct recommendation for a POC or Evaluation. They author notes,
“Ask if the software vendor will allow your users to sit with the application and perform a familiar task… A vendor demo isn’t good enough, because these demos are basically infomercials.”
I often recommend “letting your customer drive” in demos – to prove ease-of-use for themselves and to help avoid the need for a POC or Evaluation. This is another strong reason to do so!
· “Show me the metrics!” – the author continues,
“Ask for performance numbers. Find out how many minutes, hours, days or weeks it will take for your employees to become comfortable with the system, and how long it will take for them to really get rolling.”
This is where the concept of building a Transition Vision with the customer is so important. The customer may like the ultimate vision, but is concerned about how they will get there from where they are today. A Transition Vision is a solution to this challenge (see my article here for more on how to accomplish this).
· “Does the application make sense to you?” – a long, complex, multiple-personality demo is a certain way to fail this criteria!
Performing your demo in small, consumable components – with a summary at the end of each section – will help address the question the author poses. Presenting each key segment via a “Do It” pathway, with no extraneous steps, helps even more!
The complete article is from the November 2008 issue of Baseline Magazine, page 14 (www.baselinemag.com); the author is Harold Hambrose of Electronic Ink (www.electronicink.com).
Monday, March 9, 2009
“All Truth Pass Through Three Stages…”
“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
- Arthur Schopenhauer
- Arthur Schopenhauer
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
What Makes a Demo Truly Remarkable?
What makes customers say, “Remember the time that vendor did that really amazing demo?” What is the difference between a good demo and a Truly Great Demo!?
They’re remarkable. They’re memorable. They stand out from all of the other demos and presentations – because they were really different...
“…Remember the time that the SC brought in that huge stack of papers and books to search through one-by-one – it reached from his chin all the way down to his knees!”
“…It was so great when they had our VP of sales drive a portion of the demo – our VP could barely type. He used to do everything in all CAPS because he didn’t want to have to shift...!”
“… Remember when that salesperson showed receiving an article via the web – on a ship at sea on his Blackberry – that was truly amazing!”
“…I loved it when they let me search their database – I found answers that I didn’t know were possible, emailed them to myself and had my project done on-time and much better than I’d expected!”
They’re remarkable. They’re memorable. They stand out from all of the other demos and presentations – because they were really different...
“…Remember the time that the SC brought in that huge stack of papers and books to search through one-by-one – it reached from his chin all the way down to his knees!”
“…It was so great when they had our VP of sales drive a portion of the demo – our VP could barely type. He used to do everything in all CAPS because he didn’t want to have to shift...!”
“… Remember when that salesperson showed receiving an article via the web – on a ship at sea on his Blackberry – that was truly amazing!”
“…I loved it when they let me search their database – I found answers that I didn’t know were possible, emailed them to myself and had my project done on-time and much better than I’d expected!”
These demos were so remarkable that they got the business and stayed in customers’ minds long afterward. Let’s explore what makes certain demos truly great – and how to increase the proportion in your own organization.
Good vs. Better
Presentation skills classes help presenters improve their level of practice. Sales methodology courses provide processes to help sales people progress and secure business faster. Demonstration skills training enable sales teams to achieve improved demos.
All of these help people get better at what they do. For some of us, the starting point is low (e.g., “Our demos suck…”) – for others, they want to go from good to better (“Our team of seasoned veterans is good, but we can all improve…”).
Most training enables a step-change – a new way of doing things that goes beyond the status-quo. In the world of software demos, helping people to eliminate unneeded features and functions from their demos is good – but it is not going to result is a demo that is perceived as particularly remarkable.
[Warning – shameless self-promotion paragraph alert!] Great Demo! methodology, on the other hand, is an example of doing things really differently – a major change. The “Do the Last Thing First” concepts help sales, presales and marketing people change from good to great; from linear, boring, traditional demos to crisp, compelling and effective deliveries.
Stand-up Comedy – and Demos?
Stand-up comedians constantly test their material. They introduce new ideas, explore audience reaction, and add or delete accordingly. Their expectation is that each subsequent performance will be better than the previous – evolution at its best: survival of the fittest jokes…!
Comedians need to have material that is consistently remarkable. Should demos be any different?
- When you use a prop in a demo that really engages the audience and makes them light up, repeat it for the next group (that has the same or similar Situation).
- When you present a terrific pay-off screen or key report (an Illustration) that really resonates with the key player, do it again the next time you demo to someone with the same job title.
- When you tell a story that has the audience on the edge of their seats, keep it in the act.
- When you see the key member of your audience making notes about the Informal Success Story you just related, plan to do it again.
Demo elements that were memorable – that were particularly remarkable – are the elements to harvest, refine, and reuse. Demos should evolve to incorporate the best material for each customer’s Situation.
Share, Plagiarize, Leverage…
You have your personal stock of remarkable demo ideas; consider tapping into ideas from your colleagues, competitors and third parties as well.
- In your own team, organize a “Demo Day” where team members present demo components and ideas that worked extraordinarily well.
- Watch demos from other companies – on the web, at conferences, or as a customer when vendors present at your company – and collect ideas to incorporate into your own demos.
- Watch presentations (www.TED.com, for example) to harvest novel and remarkable ideas for your own use.
Quid Pro Quo
Here’s an offer: send me a remarkable demo story (sanitized, as necessary); I’ll collect them and send back the aggregated set to everyone that contributes, so that you can take “pre-competitive” advantage of the ideas. The remarkable demo stories you share don’t necessarily have to come from your own organization…
To sweeten the deal, I’ll ship a highly coveted Great Demo! Telescoping-Laser-Pen Pointer (the ultimate demo presentation tool…) to those who provide the best, most remarkable ideas.
Good to Great to Truly Remarkable
A good demo is typically what you were taught when you first came aboard – “Here’s the demo for product X…”
A Great Demo! results from aligning to customer needs and turning a traditional demo upside down – “Do the Last Thing First”.
Truly Remarkable Demos harvest the best, most memorable elements of a Great Demo! – and replay them on a consistently-improving, ongoing basis.
Truly Remarkable Demos have the highest success rates of all in securing the business!
Copyright © 2009 The Second Derivative – All Rights Reserved.
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