Automated Demos Best Practices: Specific Guidance!

“If you automate garbage demos, you’re just sending out lots of garbage!“ 

 

It is not simply about presenting a clickstream or a choose-your-own-adventure pathway. 

 

Don’t just record or generate your automated demos by following the clickstream of your “standard demo.” Automated demos are different than human-delivered demos: There is no opportunity for a conversation.

 

Before beginning, consider your objectives. Are they for demand generation? Provided in response to a prospect’s request to “see a demo?” Offered as proof points? Your objectives impact the context of your automated demos greatly!

 

Successful automated demos need to satisfy a broad number of parameters (just as human-delivered demos need to, as well!):

 

-       Setting Context 

-       Problem Identification

-       Solution Presentation

-       Advantage and Value Communication

-       Length

-       Call to Action

-       Simplicity

-       Clarity

-       Engagement

 

You’ll specific guidance on these topics here: https://greatdemo.com/automated-demos-best-practices/ 

 

Enjoy!

Are Your Automated Demos Hurting You? Bad News!

If you automate garbage demos, you’re just sending out lots of garbage!

 

I just returned from DemoFEST West where there was a lot of discussion about automated demos sourcing and frameworks, but very few insights into improving the quality of the demos themselves!

 

I’ve reviewed dozens of automated demos and must report some very bad news: Only a few stood out as effective and compelling, most were awful!

 

-       There were a LOT of demos that were product training. 

-       There were many instances of “let’s show as many features as we can.”

-       There was a surprising lack of context with many (what problems are being solved? Who is this for?).

-       Most demos never described the value or advantages of their solutions.

-       There were surprisingly few call-to-action elements.

-       Some demos required lengthy intake forms that discouraged prospects from completing the process (and hence they never saw the demos)!

 

Here are some raw notes from my reviews:

 

-       Largely a list of features

-       Feature list

-       Feature glut

-       Feature feature feature feature feature aaaagh!

-       Terrible Tabs Death March

-       Who is this for?

-       No problem/solution discussion

-       No setup, no problem/solution

-       No communication of deliverables or value

-       No value, no advantages, no benefits

-       No value…

-       No value…

-       Focuses on "how things work" vs deliverables and outcomes

-       Too long

-       Very long

-       Waaaay too long.

-       Very confusing

-       No narrative

-       Too many options to explore

-       Zzzzzzzzzz

-       Zzzzzz 

-       Very confusing navigation!

-       Hated the overlong intake form!

-       Too much intake form

-       Training video!

-       Product training

-       Training

-       Training

-       Trai… zzzzzzzz

-       Why start with the boring example?

-       Tell-show-tell feels like a piledriver in my brain!

-       No summary

-       I have no clue what this is for!

 

Do these demos move the buying/sales processes forward? I doubt it! In fact, they may be doing more harm than good. I’d guess many prospects say, “Well, I saw their demo and I’m not interested…” This conclusion seems to be confirmed by vendors who report poor conversion rates.

 

The morals are simple:

 

-       If you amplify terrible music, you’re just making more unwanted noise!

-       If you scale up the production of lousy food, you’re just serving tons of lousy food!

-       And if you automate garbage demos, you’re just sending out lots of garbage!

 

Solutions? Read “Automated Demos Best Practices” here: https://greatdemo.com/automated-demos-best-practices/ 

 

Or for personal guidance, contact Natasja Bax (NBax@GreatDemo.com) or Paul Pearce (PPearce@GreatDemo.com) to apply real best practices for automated demos. Make every automated engagement a productive one!

 

An Offer: If you’d like free feedback on your automated demo(s), send them or their URL to me at PCohan@GreatDemo.com. First come, first served!

Suspending Disbelief – Book Prerelease – Are These Stories Any Good?

I’m working on a new book, Suspending Disbelief: A Collection of Sales and Presales Stories (and Lessons Learned). It’s intended to be entertaining and occasionally humorous, an Aesop’s Fables of experiences across a range of customer-facing roles.

 

Are you interested in taking a look?

 

I’m hoping to include quotes from folks who follow my work in the “Praise For” section. 

 

I’m also soliciting your ideas for the front cover. The draft image in this post is a possibility, although the graphic artist who did the covers for Great Demo! and Doing Discovery doesn’t like it!

 

Most of the stories are short and can be consumed in a few minutes. The last entry, “A Prospect’s Tale,” endeavors to aggregate the learnings in a longer yarn.

 

Please let me know, provide an email, and I’ll send you the prerelease manuscript!

 

NOTE! I can only handle a limited number of requests for this so first come, first serve!

PCohan@GreatDemo.com

You’re Probably Doing Discovery Wrong—And It’s Costing You Deals!

 

I joined the fine folks at Austin Lawrence Group for this 34-minute conversation:

 

“Most sales teams think they’re great at discovery. The reality? About 80% are getting it wrong—and it’s the single biggest reason why deals stall, go to a competitor, or die with ‘no decision.’

 

Peter Cohan, author of Doing Discovery, breaks down why traditional discovery methods are failing and what SaaS sales teams must do differently to uncover real customer value, build compelling business cases, and stop losing winnable deals.

 

The biggest mistake sellers make? Rushing to the demo before fully quantifying business pain. If you can’t pin down the numbers behind a buyer’s problem and desired outcome, you’re making it nearly impossible for them to justify the purchase—let alone get buy-in from their team.

 

Peter shares practical strategies to flip the script on outdated discovery calls, avoid the ‘interrogation’ trap, and use discovery to drive urgency, not just collect pain points.

 

Key Takeaways:

 

✅ Uncover the Value Gap: The secret to avoiding “no decision” isn’t just probing for pain—it’s quantifying the gap between today’s reality and the desired future state.

 

✅ Vision Reengineering: Most buyers don’t know what they don’t know. Learn how to introduce new ideas without losing control of the deal or giving away discounts.

 

✅ Turn Discovery Into a Two-Way Conversation: Stop making prospects feel like they’re on trial—use quid pro quo techniques to make discovery a collaborative process.

 

Get ready to rethink how you approach discovery—or risk losing more deals than you should.”

 

Enjoy this podcast here!

Pepsales AI Advisor Role

I am delighted to share that Pepsales AI and I are now publicly announcing my role as an advisor! 

With over forty years of experience in enterprise software sales, presales, sales enablement, and other customer-facing roles, I am excited to bring my insights to Pepsales AI – a company that’s truly changing the way sales teams master discovery and deliver demos to drive transformative results.

 

The innovative work Pepsales AI is doing to empower sales teams with instant, tailored demos resonates deeply with me, and I’m eager to help guide their team to achieve faster sales cycles and higher win rates for their customers.

 

In my advisory role, I have been collaborating with the team to refine their strategies for discovery and demo delivery, ensuring sales teams worldwide unlock their full potential.

 

I look forward to leveraging my expertise to help Pepsales AI continue delivering exceptional value to sales professionals everywhere.

 

Stay tuned for exciting updates as Pepsales AI continues to redefine sales enablement and learn more about their mission at www.pepsales.ai.

 

#Advisor #SalesInnovation #Discovery #GreatDemo #B2BSaaS 

Doing Discovery: Two Thought-Provoking Tactics

 

One of the most challenging aspects when doing discovery is avoiding the impression of an interrogation, and offering quid pro quos is a terrific way to turn the session into a comfortable conversation.

 

Any time your question(s) generate curiosity in your prospects’ minds you are accomplishing this! Here are two tactics to apply:

 

I frequently find that prospects don’t know the answers to certain metrics-oriented questions. They often say, “Oh! That’s something I should know… I’ll find out and get back to you!”

 

This is a delightful form of quid pro quo: You’ve alerted your prospect to something they should be measuring and tracking. And you’ve added value to their day-to-day practices through your discovery discussion.

 

Another, along similar lines, is when your prospect says, “Oh, good question…!” This means they hadn’t previously associated your question (or the answers) to their situation.

 

Any time you can generate curiosity in your prospect, you are doing a great job with discovery (and have provided a quid pro quo).

 

You can find more on quid pro quo and related tactics in Doing Discovery starting on page 199 “Empathy and Quid Pro Quo.”

 

https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Discovery-Important-Enablement-Processes/dp/B0B8RJK4C2/

Heading to DemoFEST West? Stop By and Say Hi!

I’ll be hanging out in the Partners area (Pacific Gallery on the 5th Floor) – please drop by!

 

I’d be happy to chat, answer questions on the methodologies, explore new ideas, and just catch up. While I’m not scheduled to present, I’ll be sure to offer my observations, bon mots, and occasional mote of wisdom.

 

Additionally, bring your copy of Great Demo!, Doing Discovery, or both books and I’d be honored to scrawl my mark. Alternatively, if you’d like a signed copy, I should have signed copies available for you.

 

And for those of you perusing a prerelease copy of Suspending Disbelief: A Collection of Sales and Presales Stories (and Lessons Learned), I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback!

 

You can register for DemoFESTx West here: https://goconsensus.com/demofestx/demofestx-west-coast-2025/ 

We Eat First with Our Eyes: With Food AND Demos

How you present software can be as important as what you present.

 

 

“We eat first with our eyes.”

– Apicius

 

 

On a business trip, my colleague and I went out to lunch, grabbed a table and ordered our food. 

 

A few minutes later plates were plopped down in front of us. We poked at the food, examining what we’d been served, then started eating. The fare was fine, but nothing remarkable. 

 

Later that week, we were at a table in an elegant restaurant, celebrating a sale with our customer. We’d ordered dinner and were enjoying drinks when the first dish arrived. 

 

The waiter placed it in front of my colleague and then carefully rotated the plate to a position that made it look most appealing. The waiter then explained, “What you are looking at here is your salmon filet, topped with the chef’s special butter-cream-herb sauce.” 

 

We examined the plate more carefully as the waiter continued, “The salmon was brought in just this morning, right off the boat. The butter was churned this morning as well, from cream provided by our farm next door. And the herbs were snipped just minutes ago from the garden right outside your window – you can see it just there! The sautéed vegetables were harvested moments ago, as well – they are exquisitely fresh and flavorful. Enjoy!”

 

As we ate, we recalled the waiter’s words, tasting and savoring each bite. “Wow!” exclaimed my colleague, “That’s really delicious…!” 

 

Compare these two approaches. Which was more effective?

 

 

Moral: Bring your software screens to life in a similar manner!

 

You’ll find many more tips and validated practices in Great Demo!

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9SNKC2Y/