Podcast “You’re Doing Your Demo Backwards…!”

Here’s a link to a podcast with Tom Cooper of the BrightHill Group (http://brighthillgroup.com) discussing some key demo ideas:  http://brighthillgroup.com/geeks-youre-demo-backwards/

Tom writes a delightful blog and offers services beautifully aligned with Great Demo! – Tom is all about “Helping Geeks Communicate With and Influence Others”.

The podcast discusses the horrors of traditional demos and suggests a handful of solutions to make demos more engaging, more compelling, and more focused on the customers’ needs, issues, and interests.

Demo Tip: Application Toolbars – Start Hidden

Many software products offer a set of toolbars or palettes that are specific to the application.  I suggest starting your demos with these hidden, when possible, to reduce the apparent complexity of the offering. 

I recently saw a demo where the presenter started with a “clean page” surrounded by no fewer than 5 icon-rich toolbars – looked pretty complicated to me…!  Interestingly, he only used 2 of the 5 toolbars during the course of the demo.  The 3 extra toolbars reduced the available screen real-estate and added to the perception of making the product look too complicated.

If possible, start with your application toolbars and palettes off and then bring them in as needed (and only as needed…!).

“I’ve Saved the Best for Last…” – A Stunningly Awful Strategy…!

I can’t tell you how many times I hear the presenter say, in a demo, "I've saved the best part for last..."  And this is offered after (often) an hour or more of demo details and day-in-the-life feature-function-flow. 

Who is left in the room at that point?  Certainly not the high-ranking people. 

And how are the remaining customer participants’ brains?  Mush.

So don’t save the best for last; instead Do the Last Thing First!  (What a great idea…)