Diary of a Sales Engineer: Engaging Conversation!

From the diarists:

 

“This week on Diary of a Sales Engineer, Ryan Krueger and I had the honor and privilege to sit down with Peter Cohan who we've coined the Godfather of Presales.

Peter was one of the first people I learned from in my presales journey and to have him sit down with us on the pod was a surreal experience.

In our conversation we talk through his journey into Presales, how he's seen the shift in the business, and why he created Great Demo! plus much more!

One of my favorite parts was when we talked about why SEs tend to go into 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘀 to this day. Peter gives some actionable insights on how to improve this.

As always, we love hearing your feedback and thoughts. Please share them in the comments :)”

Our 57-minute conversation explored:

 

-       “History of presales” – when did it really start?

-       Great Demo! origins – a story with a HUGE lesson!

-       Are demos improving?

-       Why are some many demos “training?”

-       The “Bronze” demo

-       Demo structure vs delivery

-       Why is mapping to job titles important?

-       What about groups with multiple job titles?

-       How deep should you go?

-       How do we keep from over-explaining?

-       How demos get hijacked

-       What is a demo expert?

-       Three types of change

-       What’s cool about demos and Monday morning?

-       What do you do when things go wrong?

-       Demos and storytelling: another perspective

-       Another take on introducing yourself

-       Dig beneath the nuggets!

You can enjoy the conversation here:

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/dy9F3z74
Spotify: https://lnkd.in/dqKTX3rk

Some Thoughts About Learning and Change

You can:

 

Not learn and not change

Learn and not change

Change and not learn

Learn and change

Change and learn

 

Most of us apply a combination of all these depending on the topic…!

How is “Doing Discovery” Like Bacon?

 

Because bacon complements almost everything!

 

Doing Discovery similarly complements and improves all sales and presales methodologies:

 

MEDDIC? Oh, absolutely!

MEDDPICC? You betcha!

Challenger? Uh huh!

N.E.A.T.? Yup!

Customer-Centric? Oh yes!

Sandler? Yum!

Solution? Om nom nom!

Conceptual? Miller Heiman? TAS? Value? SNAP? SPIN? Strategic? Command? Inbound? Baseline? Gap? Consultative? Yes, indeed!

 

A tasty match in every case! (And, of course, it is the perfect mate to Great Demo! as well.)

 

Doing Discovery is the umami to all the sales, presales, and customer success flavors. Add a delicious dash of Doing Discovery to your customer-facing recipes!

 

https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Discovery-Important-Enablement-Processes/dp/B0B8RJK4C2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1U8XAZMG8HBYK&keywords=doing+discovery&qid=1659904849&s=books&sprefix=doing+discovery%2Cstripbooks%2C216&sr=1-1

(Also true for veggie bacon, of course. Same principle!) 

Demo Don’t #10 Avoid Summarizing: “And the next really cool thing I want to show you is…”

“I get paid to talk and click,” commented a presales practitioner. So, just talk and click from section to section, segment after segment, in a continuous verbal assault.

 

Leave no pauses, offer no introductions, and don’t summarize after you complete an important segment. You want your delivery to be perceived as a firehose, furiously flinging features and functions frantically at your audience (frightening, frankly)! This SAD (Stunningly Awful Demo) tactic contributes wonderfully to cultivate confusion, add complexity, and generally bore your audience to tears.

 

For maximum SAD effect, use this tactic in conjunction with long, linear, non-componentized, multiple-player, multi-product, multi-hour demos. You’ll have your audience turning away from your demo to browse on Amazon, “multitask” on other projects, check their phones, or explore the insides of their eyelids!

 

Solution? Provide a crisp summary after each section of your demo, and a more comprehensive final summary at the end. Summarizing after each chunk also encourages a productive conversation to take place by providing a clear opportunity for questions, comments, or feedback from your prospect.

 

This is #10 of The Stunningly Awful Demos Top Ten List – you can find all ten (plus a bonus) here! https://greatdemo.com/stunningly-awful-demos-top-ten-list-of-demo-donts/ 

 

You can find the full set of DO’s and DON’Ts in Great Demo!: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9SNKC2Y/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1688763837&sr=1-4 

(If you only read ONE article this year, this is the ONE!) The Incredible Value of Value Realization Events

“Every diagnosis and treatment need a corresponding prognosis…!”

 – Me

 

Wouldn’t it be a delight to dramatically differentiate in discovery? It’s easy! Once your prospect sees a vision of a solution using your capabilities, discuss and agree upon several Value Realization Events.

 

What’s in this article for you?

 

-       Traditional salespeople…

-       Good salespeople…

-       Great sales teams…

-       A medical analogy

-       Value Realization Events

-       Make a list

-       When to discuss

-       Linking to implementation and customer success

-       Convincing differentiation

-       Another perspective

-       “You’re actually interested in our success…!”

 

Let’s explore…!

 

https://greatdemo.com/the-incredible-value-of-value-realization-events/ 

Great Demo! and Doing Discovery Are Not for Everyone…

Great Demo! and Doing Discovery are not for everyone… They are only for those people who want to make substantial changes and improvements in their practices!

 

Doing Discovery

https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Discovery-Important-Enablement-Processes/dp/B0B8RJK4C2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1U8XAZMG8HBYK&keywords=doing+discovery&qid=1659904849&s=books&sprefix=doing+discovery%2Cstripbooks%2C216&sr=1-1

 

Great Demo! Third Edition:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9SNKC2Y/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1688763837&sr=1-4 

 

Doing Discovery Workshops

https://greatdemo.com/training/workshops/doing-discovery/ 

 

Great Demo! Workshops

https://greatdemo.com/training/workshops/great-demo/ 

Demo Don’t #9 Don’t Describe Your Big Wow! Screens: “Doesn’t that look great…?”

 

You’ve been demoing for forty minutes, and you finally get to a big Wow! screen. You say, “Doesn’t that look great?” and then swiftly move on to your next feature. This SAD (Stunningly Awful Demos) approach ensures that your audience never remembers your key messages.

 

While you have seen that Wow! screen hundreds of times, this is the first time your audience has seen it. Showing that screen for just a few seconds puts your message in the long undifferentiated list with all the other 3000 marketing messages your prospect will see that same day. Good luck!

 

And do not use the annotation tools online to draw the audience’s attention to the key portions of these screens. That would only make it easy!

 

Solution? For every key screen that you share, describe, while pointing precisely or annotating, what your audience is seeing, how they would use it to solve their business problems, and how much value it represents for your prospect.

 

This is #9 of The Stunningly Awful Demos Top Ten List – you can find all ten (plus a bonus) here! https://greatdemo.com/stunningly-awful-demos-top-ten-list-of-demo-donts/ 

 

You can find the full set of DO’s and DON’Ts in Great Demo!: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9SNKC2Y/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1688763837&sr=1-4 

 

Presales and Sales Folks: Problem Solving Time!

You’re the CEO of a startup and must fire either your sole sales or sole presales person. Both are equally competent at their jobs. Which do you fire and why? Out of the box answers welcomed!

Demo Don’t #8 Don’t Use the Annotation and Other Tools in Your Online Demos: “Can you see my screen…?”

 

Here are wonderful ways for you to show your software in the worst possible way when demoing online (using Zoom, Teams, Webex, GoToMeeting, etc.):

 

1.     Don’t use the annotation tools, chat, whiteboards, pause, or any of the other capabilities that drive interactivity. Instead, hit the Share button and ask, “Can you see my screen?” Then talk and click and talk and click for the balance of the time!

 

2.     Present nonstop for long stretches of time: Going six, ten, or fifteen minutes without a “check-in” with your audience is a great plan. This gives them time to leave the meeting to refresh their coffee, use the toilet, make lunch, take their dog for walk, etc. Bonus: Ask, “Does that make sense?” when you do finally check-in!

 

3.     Leave your mouse cursor at the small default size and move it constantly and rapidly throughout the demo. Your tiny cursor will undoubtedly cause your audience to lean close to their screens to follow your action.

 

4.     Circle your mouse rapidly around areas of interest on your screen to draw attention. Your prospect will be fatigued or dizzy in no time!

 

5.     Ignore the fact that successful demos are a conversation with your prospect where “speaker-switches” should take place an average of every seventy-six seconds.

 

Solution? Driving interactivity is the name of the game for success with online demos. Use the annotation tools and other capabilities in your online tool! Check in with your audience frequently. Cure Zippy Mouse Syndrome by mousing smoooooohtly and deliberately. See Chapter 13 “Virtual Demonstrations” in the Third Edition of Great Demo!

 

This is #8 of The Stunningly Awful Demos Top Ten List – you can find all ten (plus a bonus) here! https://greatdemo.com/stunningly-awful-demos-top-ten-list-of-demo-donts/ 

 

You can find the full set of DO’s and DON’Ts in Great Demo!: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9SNKC2Y/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1688763837&sr=1-4 

Active Listening?

If you’re already thinking about your response, you aren’t actively listening!

 

(And why do we often look upwards at an angle when we are thinking?!)

Stunningly Awful Discovery: The Dirty Dozen of Discovery Don’ts!

“It is better to ask some of the questions than to know all of the answers.”

– James Thurber

 

 

Here’s a collection of poor strategies, failed tactics, bad errors, and faulty discovery that increases the likelihood that your entire sales process will be a failure. I recommend that you avoid these!

 

If your discovery conversations are not as successful as you wish, consider using this list as an assessment tool. If any of these items occur frequently you may want to make some changes!

 

What “Don’ts” Are in This Article for You?

 

Bite-size or full meal learning: Your choice! You can sample each of these on their own or consume the full article. Either way, you win! Here’s the menu:

 

-       Don’t do discovery at all.

-       Don’t do enough.

-       Use a “disco demo.”

-       Make it an inquisition.

-       Read questions from a long list.

-       Do five minutes of discovery and then present your corporate or product overview.

-       Do five minutes of discovery and then deliver your standard overview demo.

-       Don’t communicate discovery info throughout the team.

-       Ignore key elements that help you avoid No Decision outcomes.

-       Don’t align discovery with job title.

-       Don’t explore cultural attributes.

-       Ignore poor solution “fit” and proceed with the sale.

-       Plus, a special bonus “Don’t!”

 

Each delightful “Don’t” also includes a solution to help you improve and avoid SAD (Stunningly Awful Discovery) outcomes. Enjoy!

 

https://greatdemo.com/stunningly-awful-discovery-the-dirty-dozen-donts/

Should We Review Recordings of Discovery Calls and the Resulting Demos as Sets?

 

 

Wouldn't it be interesting to analyze recordings of both taken together?

 

In other words, compare what was uncovered in discovery with what was presented in the subsequent demo(s). It would be even better to match these analyses to progressed or closed business vs losses to competition or No Decision. Close the loop!

 

Are you doing this today? What are you learning?

Demo Don’t #7 Let Questions Drive You into the Weeds: “But what about…?”

You’ve just started your demo when someone asks a question about your system’s login security, so you take a few minutes to answer their question. The prospect asks a follow-up question which you dutifully address in more detail, taking another few minutes. The prospect considers your answer, then asks for more specifics. Obligingly, you offer a more expanded explanation of the features, limitations, and futures…

 

And now you are way offtrack, lost in the weeds!

 

Meanwhile, what has happened to the rest of the audience? They’ve checked out. They’re browsing the web, answering email, checking texts, working on other projects, and you’ve barely begun!

 

The SAD strategy? Answer all questions in depth, driving your demo into the weeds, the jungle, the swamp, the bog, and eventually into the dumpster!

 

Even better, allow hostiles to highjack the meeting: These are the people who don’t like you, they don’t like your company, and they believe it is their purpose in life to torture the vendor. They’ll drag you on a bruising slog through treacherous territory!

 

Solution? Follow this elegant and effective strategy:

 

-       Respond to Great Questions right away: These are questions that support your cause, along with all questions from executives!

-       Park Good Questions for later: These are well-meaning, earnest questions that should be answered later to avoid the weeds.

-       Park Stupid Questions as well: These come from the hostiles and need to be parked to be addressed later, as well!

 

For more details, see Chapter 8 “Managing Time and Questions” in the Third Edition of Great Demo!

 

This is #7 of The Stunningly Awful Demos Top Ten List – you can find all ten (plus a bonus) here! https://greatdemo.com/stunningly-awful-demos-top-ten-list-of-demo-donts/ 

 

You can find the full set of DO’s and DON’Ts in Great Demo!: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9SNKC2Y/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1688763837&sr=1-4