I am often surprised at how many participants in Great Demo!
Workshops have never been a customer – or have never seen another vendor’s
demos. This lack of experience – and
perspective – makes it hard for these participants to understand what a “Bad”
demo looks like (and hence, what “Good” or “Great” might look like). For these “newbies”, I have a strong
recommendation: go out and BE a
customer. For the seasoned veterans, see
my “Additional Note” below…
Here’s the assignment:
Find a software package you are earnestly interested in and
become a prospect for that vendor.
Experience, first-hand, what if feels like to be a lead. You’ll likely get a call in response to
signing-up for information or a demo; you’ll likely see a “standard” demo. Make notes on how the vendor treats you, how
you feel about the experience along the way, what kinds of questions they ask
before talking about their product or plunging into a demo. Make notes about the demo itself: what did you like; what did you find boring
or pointless? How interactive was it vs.
a firehose delivery? How much of the
demo were capabilities you were interested in seeing?
If you choose to buy the product, great! Continue to note the post-purchase
experience, as well. Installation,
implementation, initial use, help as needed… Did they reach out to you later on
to “upsell”? Was this a “Land and
Expand” experience?
If you don’t purchase the product, no worries – you are
under no obligation! However, continue
to note how the vendor continues to pursue you and your reactions.
Overall, this experience is critical to gaining a sufficient
understanding of how YOU want to be treated as a prospect and customer. Use this when reflecting on your own sales
processes and demos…!
[Additional Note:
This is a great idea even if you have had previous experience on the
customer side of the table. It helps to
stay current on how vendors are operating today…!]
[Additional Additional Note:
This is a great idea for on-boarding new presales (and sales) hires)]
