Think about it…
Wouldn’t it be great to start the interaction with your customers with a conversation – or a substantial Discovery discussion – before offering a live demo?
- Consider the time saved for both customers and vendors by focusing on the identified issues
- Consider the shortened sales and buying cycles, enabled by improved clarity
- And consider the reduction of wasted demos delivered by valuable presales folks (often over and over and over and…!)
Most websites have a “Request Demo” button featured prominently on the home page – very often highlighted in a contrasting color and eye-catching shape. The intent, of course, is to entice the customer to engage. The intent is fine, but it mis-sets expectations:
- The lead is often passed to a BDR or similar, whose job is to contact the lead, “quality” and set a follow-on appointment for a demo.
What is the value to the customer in this first interaction? Generally zero…
- Next, a demo is scheduled, often with a presales professional, who at this point understands very little about the customer’s needs, desires, or situation. A live, but largely “canned” demo often takes place, sometimes with the presales person trying to do small amounts of Discovery on the fly.
Result? Mis-aligned demos where the customer often doesn’t see what they want – and another “Harbor Tour” delivered by a valuable and limited presales resource. Uncompelling and mutually frustrating.
And then what happens? If the customer is still interested (or convinced by sales), another demo is lined up – often with a request by the vendor for an opportunity to (finally) have a Discovery conversation.
This pathway basically wastes 1-2 interactions for both parties – compared to this alternative…
What if the customer is comfortable investing a few minutes to outline their situation before moving to a demo? Research suggests that many customers would prefer this…! (See Developing Your Sales Team: The Essential Sales Playbook for Founders and Entrepreneurial CEOs by Steve Kraner, page 72, Kindle version.)
So… Let’s run the experiment!
Add a button on your home page that offers a conversational alternative to “Book a Demo”. Do some testing (e.g., have only the “Demo” button, have only the “Conversation” button, offer both) – then compare results!
Here are a few other possibilities for alternative buttons, with the “Button” text followed by a sub-title:
- “Book a Conversation”
o Let’s discuss what you have in mind
- “Help Me Diagnose My Problem or Situation”
o Before leaping to a solution, let’s make sure we both understand all of the important factors
- “Help Me with My Exploration and Buying Process”
o If you are new to purchasing this kind of software, we’re happy to help – we’ve helped other customers many times before
- “Assist Me with My Buying Process – My ‘Buyer’s Journey’”
o If you are new to purchasing this kind of software, we’re happy to help – we’ve helped other customers many times before
- “I’d Like to Explore the Options”
o There may be things you haven’t yet been exposed to that could be important for you
- “Here’s My Thinking So Far”
o Let’s start with an overview of your problem and your current vision of a solution – and then we can explore from there
Thoughts, folks?
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