Dealing with Demos with Multiple Players - A Restaurant-Based Solution Analogy

So you’ve been asked to present a demo to a group with three distinctly different job titles – e.g., HR Management, Payroll Management, and IT – how do you build a demo that addresses their vastly disparate needs and interests?

You don’t.

No one demo will solve this – and certainly not a one-size-fits-all-day-in-the-life-monster.  Instead, contemplate preparing three separate demos – one for each specific job title.  Here’s an analogy to help illustrate:

Case 1: 

You and two colleagues go for dinner at an elegant restaurant.  You sit down and a waiter appears who serves all three of you exactly the same appetizer, soup, main dish and dessert, accompanied by wine selected by the waiter.  Sound good?

Maybe, but it turns out that:

• You were all served shrimp as the appetizer – and one of your party is violently allergic to shrimp.
• The soup was potato-leek – and another in your party loathes leeks.
• The main was a beef filet with béarnaise sauce – and you don’t eat beef or pork.
• Your dessert was a fabulously rich chocolate cake – but one of you can’t consume gluten and another is diabetic.
• And while the wines are really good, another is your group doesn’t drink alcohol.

How would this meal and service make you feel?

Case 2:

You and two colleagues go for dinner at an elegant restaurant.  You sit down and a waiter appears who provides each of your with a menu and then describes the specials available.  A few minutes later he circles back to take your order:

• He asks if there are any food allergies to be aware of or other dietary restrictions to accommodate.
• With that information in hand, he offers suggestions and comments regarding what menu items might be of most (and least) interest.
• He then takes orders from each of you – who each select what is of most interest to you (and avoid any allergies and restrictions).
• Based on those selections, he asks if anyone would like wine or other drink suggestions.  Two of you opt for wine – one of you really wants a pinot noir, the other follows the waiter’s suggestions – and your other colleague opts for a specific sparkling water.
• Finally, the waiter also asks if you are under any time constraints or would prefer a more leisurely pace for your dining experience.

Which case would you prefer (and do you see how this maps to demos)?