Demo and Discovery Do: Five Answers for "Can it do ___?”

Vendors often get questions during demos and discovery calls from prospects and customers who want to know, “Can your software do ___?” The best answer is, “Yes it can.” (When it actually can, of course!)

 

But what if that capability is not currently available?

 

Here is a framework of five answers that can help you “bin” your responses:

 

1.     It’s available today: It’s in the current release.

2.     It’s coming soon: It’s scheduled for the next release.

3.     It’s planned: It’s on the product roadmap. Let us know the level of importance and urgency from your perspective.

4.     It’s possible: It’s achievable within the product architecture and can be implemented via consulting/professional services.

5.     Nope: It’s not achievable in the architecture and we don’t expect to have that capability in the foreseeable future.

 

This framework has proven to be a very successful approach, offering consistency in communications with prospects and customers. In addition, of course, you should explore your prospects’ and customers’ motives and rationale: “Why is this important? What’s does this capability enable or impact? How important is this to you? What specific value would this provide?” and related exploration.

 

Let me know how it works for you!

 

PS: Why do people look upwards when thinking about answers to questions?