What Level of Vendor Dress Is Appropriate Over the Web? T-Shirts?

 

I was watching a demo recently and noted that both vendor participants (sales and presales) were wearing T-shirts – what are your thoughts on this?

It seems that in this era of COVID, vendors are dressing one level “down”, more casually, than when they had (pre-COVID) face-to-face meetings with customers.  I’m sure there are regional and market-based differences with respect to “norms” – for example, I suspect that vendors in certain areas of finance may expect to dress more formally that folks in, perhaps, IT. 

What are you and your team doing with respect to this?  Do you have a “dress code” or guidelines?

And most importantly, what are customer perceptions and expectations?

“Chunking” in Demos

 

In Great Demo! Workshops we teach how turn to a firehose demo into a series of consumable “chunks”.  Each chunk needs an introduction, body, and summary.  

 

Aristotle first suggested this about 2350 years ago:  “Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them…”

 

This is an ancient and very successful practice for many forms of human communication.  A great analogy can be found on an equally ancient construct called a bookshelf (remember physical books?) with bookends…

 

What are bookends for?  They keep the books on the left and right ends of the shelf from falling over into open spaces.  Think of the beginning and end of your demo segments as bookends.  The left bookend is your intro; the right bookend is your summary.  They’ll help to keep your segment from spilling all over your demo shelf!  (And note that the books themselves are chunks in their own right – and that chapters within each book are chunks as well, which should also have intros and summaries…)

 

Chunking also can be described with a few analogies, for example:

·  “How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time…”  (Note:  do NOT try this, especially with a live elephant.)

·  Large chocolate bar?  Break it into chunks (and please share).

·  Lists:  we often organize by topic – grocery lists may be organized by section (vegetables, dairy, canned goods, meat, seafood, etc.).

·  Sausage:  often manufactured, initially, as a single long tube, which is then chunked into individual sausages; which are then cut into pieces when eaten.  (I love sausage, but really don’t want to know how it is made…!)

·  Organizing things:  we categorize to help us manage our lives.  For example, we have rooms for specific activities (kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, living room, etc.  We chunk our possessions and activities according to these spaces.

 

Apply these same ideas to the wonderful world of demos – and enjoy crisper, clearer (and more successful) communication…!

Webinar Recording: Demos as a Team Sport – The Roles of Sales and Presales in Great Demos

Preparing and delivering demos should be perceived as a “team sport” when two or more people are involved on the vendor’s side. The days of “…and heeeeere’s my Demo Monkey…!” should thankfully be over (we hope!).  But what are the right roles for sales and presales in demo preparation and presentation?  Peter Cohan joined Demoflow’s Larson Stair for this discussion of pragmatics, best (and worst) practices, and some potentially surprising recommendations – along with an exploration of how Demoflow specifically supports a team approach to demos.

You can find the recording here.  Enjoy!

The Reverse Demo: Before I demo to you – why don’t you demo to me?

 

This is terrific Discovery method…

If you are looking to displace an existing system (competitor or customer-built), a wonderful approach is to ask for a “Reverse Demo”.  Your objectives are to:

1. See what the prospect likes in the incumbent product.  This enables you to avoid disparaging the capabilities that the prospect appreciates…!
2. See what the prospect doesn’t like – and explore the depth of pain, impact, and value etc. associated with making a change.
3. If you are familiar with the competitive offering, you may also realize that there are capabilities your prospect may be unaware of – this should help your cause as well.

There are a number of Great Demo! practitioners who report they have incorporated this step in their standard Discovery process with great success:  “Before I demo to you – why don’t you demo to me?”

Doing Discovery – The Importance of “Why” Questions

 

    Prospect asks, “Can your software do xxx?”

 

    Vendor replies, “Yes, absolutely.”  

 

I can’t tell you how many things that brief conversation has occurred – without any follow-up questions from the vendor…!  What’s missing?  Asking, “Why?”

 

Far too often vendors execute Discovery by simply asking questions about the prospect’s needs, without asking any clarifying questions – this is a huge lost opportunity…!

 

Let’s review the conversation again, this time with a more engaged vendor:

 

    Prospect asks, “Can your software do xxx?”

 

    Vendor replies, “Yes, absolutely – why is this important for you?”

 

    Prospect responds, “Oh, it’s really difficult to do today – largely a manual process that takes hours and it is a key requirement for us.”

 

    “I understand,” says the vendor, “How often do you have to do this – and what else does it impact?”

 

The conversation continues, with two intriguing outcomes:

1. The vendor gains a much richer understanding of the prospect’s situation along with the associated value of the capability.
2. And the prospect feels the vendor has much richer understanding of their situation, making the prospect more comfortable about working with that vendor. 

“Why” questions are delightful triggers – don’t miss these opportunities in your Discovery dialogs!

Upcoming Webinar: Demos as a Team Sport – The Roles of Sales and Presales in Great Demos

January 19 at 9:00 AM Pacific Time (12:00 PM Eastern Time, 6:00 PM Central European Time)

Preparing and delivering demos should be perceived as a “team sport” when two or more people are involved on the vendor’s side. The days of “…and heeeeere’s my Demo Monkey…!” should thankfully be over (we hope!).  But what are the right roles for sales and presales in demo preparation and presentation?  Peter Cohan will join Demoflow’s Larson Stair for this discussion of pragmatics, best (and worst) practices, and some potentially surprising recommendations – along with an exploration of how Demoflow specifically supports a team approach to demos.

Let us know if you have specific questions or topics you’d like us to cover, as well.

Register for this webinar here.

SKOs and "Swipes" – Making Remembering Memorable!

Want a terrific way to ensure that your SKO participants remember the key take-aways?  Try using Swipes, a simple, very effective idea that was first introduced to me during a SKO meeting at McLeod Software by Rick Halbrooks, McLeod’s head of sales (and long-time Great Demo! senior practitioner).

The idea is very simple.  At the end of the day, Rick goes around the room (or virtual room) and has each person state something that he or she took away.  That’s seemingly easy, but he adds a twist:  an idea can only be used once!  If someone else verbalizes your take-away, you’d better have a backup.  Or two.  Or three.  Or more…  Now you can guess where the name “Swipes” comes from!

Participants know, ahead of time, that they need to verbally recall at least one idea at the end of the day that hasn’t already been presented by someone else.  To be safe, each person tends to write down several take-aways, often a list.  Participants tend to pay better attention, since they need to listen and collect Swipes candidates.

Works wonderfully!

Pragmatic Note:  Swipes are wonderful for groups of 50 or so but could be challenging for larger teams.  A solution for larger groups is to do the Swipes in breakout sessions or similar smaller venues.