How Are Demo and Discovery Tips Like a Pile of LEGO Bricks?

 

We see posts like these all the time:

 

    “The 8 Discovery Questions My Best AEs Use”

 

    “My Favorite Demo Tip”

 

    “5 Discovery Must-Haves!”

 

    “Demo Tip of the Day!”

 

    “10 Top Discovery Questions”

 

Individual tips, skills, and short lists of questions are a lot like LEGO bricks. Used by themselves, they are nearly useless and occasionally painful (ever walk on one in your bare feet?).

 

And sticking a few tips and skills together won’t yield the desired result, either! 

 

Connect a few LEGO bricks and you’ll get a strange shape or random blob. Applying individual discovery questions or demo tips gives similar results!

 

Consider how you would go about building those famous LEGO sets, “Star Wars UCS Millennium Falcon” (7,541 bricks) or “Titanic” (9,090 bricks).

 

Would you simply start slapping bricks together and see what happens? Likely not!

 

Instead, you follow a structured approach that tells you which subassemblies to build first, then how to build the sections, followed by how they are connected, all using detailed instructions of hundreds of steps.

 

Those instructions are the methodology for building and successfully completing LEGO sets.

 

The same principles are true for creating and delivering compelling demos, and when having discovery conversations. Combining a few tips, techniques, and unaligned skills may produce a painful result: A Millennium Falcon that can’t get off the ground or a Titanic that heads straight for the bottom, no iceberg needed!

 

Will employing a tip help? Maybe. But it you want to enjoy accelerated progress to best practices, pursue methodology.

 

Only by following a proven methodology can success be assured!

 

 

Example Methodology Resources:

 

Doing Discovery:

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

 

Great Demo! Third Edition:

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

 

Suspending Disbelief:

https://tinyurl.com/yc7rsrmy 

 

An Amusing Example of Skills vs Methodology

 

Brushing your teeth!

 

Skills include:

 

1.     Opening the tube of toothpaste

2.     Putting toothpaste on the brush

3.     Brushing

4.     Rinsing the brush

 

Pretty simple!

 

But what happens if you change the order, such as:

 

1.     Rinsing the brush

2.     Brushing

3.     Putting toothpaste on the brush

4.     Opening the tube of toothpaste

 

Not quite as effective…!

 

And, of course, there are questions like:

 

-       What kind/brand of toothpaste?

-       How much toothpaste to use?

-       How long to brush?

-       Manual or electric?

-       What kind of motion(s) to use?

-       When do you need to replace the brush?

-       How much post-brushing rinsing to do?

 

Skills on their own are not enough.

 

A stepwise process helps but still leaves much unaddressed:

 

-       When should I brush?

-       What should I brush?

-       Where should I brush?

-       How should I brush?

-       Why should I brush?

 

It is methodology that provides the full set of answers!

 

Now, contemplate a set of demo skills vs a demonstration methodology: a set of skills on their own are not sufficient to answer the full set of questions. The result is ineffective demos.

 

And contemplate a set of discovery skills vs a discovery methodology: same challenge. The result is poor discovery.

 

Methodology provides the full set of answers!

 

(Now, don’t forget to brush your teeth…!)

The Power of Analogies and Metaphors in Demos and Discovery – Part 8: A Metaphorical, Analogous Summary

 

The strength of memories is like a spider web: the more attachments and connections, the stronger the web. A fact is like a single strand attaching an idea to a single support. It’s a tenuous connection, easily blown away by weather or other disturbances. 

 

Analogies and metaphors build a more memorable structure by linking more strands, connections, and supports. They can weather the storm much more successfully than facts alone. 

 

Finally, stories offer the stoutest components, imbedding your idea in a complete web to secure the memory against the wind and weather of time.

 

I hope this series of posts stimulates you to produce sturdy silk to spin your web of concepts!

 

 

Resources:

 

The Power of Analogies and Metaphors 

in Demos and Discovery Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 6, and 7:

https://greatdemo.com/blog/ 

 

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

https://tinyurl.com/24m4m5jm

 

Effective Storytelling in Discovery, Demos, and More

https://greatdemo.com/effective-storytelling-in-discovery-demos-and-more-a-never-stop-learning-article/

 

Examples of Metaphors:

https://blog.udemy.com/metaphor-list/ 

 

Examples of Analogies:

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/analogy 

 

Suspending Disbelief: A Collection of Sales, Presales, and Marketing Stories (and Lessons Learned)

https://tinyurl.com/yc7rsrmy 

 

Doing Discovery:

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

 

Great Demo! Third Edition:

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

 

Visual Aids and Props:

https://greatdemo.com/remarkable-demos-what-makes-a-demo-truly-memorable/

The Power of Analogies and Metaphors in Demos and Discovery – Part 7: What NOT to Do!

 

Beware the Morass of Mixed Metaphors

 

This post is designed to be both informative and fun!

 

Metaphors and analogies are terrific but can be risky if applied haphazardly. Mixed metaphors can be more distracting than useful, particularly if your audience focuses on trying to “decode” the metaphor as opposed to achieving understanding.

 

Mixed metaphors (and awkward analogies) cause confusion, not clarity. Where great metaphors and analogies serve as smooth, paved highways to comprehension, mixed metaphors are like trying to navigate a trackless swamp, struggling step by step through a murky, muddy quagmire!

 

Here are a few sadly amusing examples of mixed metaphors for your inspection: Vote for the worst or best, depending on your point of view! These are all real, captured from various demo and discovery recordings, blogs, and articles:

 

“All too often we relegate the demo to the ‘been there, done that’ corner, content to put into practice all of the tired, tried and possibly true techniques that will get us in the door but see us coming up short when it comes down to closing with confidence and power. Today we’ll examine some of the practices that can be tossed out with tomorrow’s trash, and look at ways to pump up our demo game.”

 

This mixed metaphorical mélange starts in a corner, moves to the door, then gets tossed and finally pumped. A busy afternoon! Next?

 

“While it may seem like good sense to cover all your bases, throwing too much at your prospect actually weakens your message. Even a short diversion from focus can confuse the issue and cause your prospect to tune out during an otherwise stellar case. You make your prospect do all the work of picking out and remembering the most relevant pieces.”

 

“Cover bases, throw too much…” OK, so far so good, but then the baseball analogy gets rained out under a downpour of “…focus, tune out, stellar case, picking out pieces.” Next candidate?

 

“With these ideas in your back pocket, you can break through to the toughest of clients and keep your organization firing on all cylinders no matter how much of a time crunch you are in.”

 

Brief, but packed! “Back pocket, break through, fire on all cylinders, time crunch.” I think this is the winner so far. And I really want to see someone breaking through with their back pocket while firing on all cylinders, don’t you? Ready for another?

 

"And like the U.N. Security Council Members, it only takes one veto to kill an entire deal. Because of the proliferation of stakeholders needed to approve a deal to get it off the ground, a sure thing can become dead in the water long after the sales cycle seems over."

 

Better equip the Security Council with both wings and fins! Another?

 

"Our reps use our … platform which provides the toolset they need to spread your compelling sales message and get those who buy in the wiggle room they need for others to sign off on their decision."

 

This one mixes a bad case of rampaging pronouns with toolsets and wiggle rooms! One more?

 

"Modern decision-makers have a million things to take care of, so even a small objection or a momentary scheduling snag can threaten to eject them out of your funnel as their plate fills up with other priorities."

 

Wow, just breathtaking! The moral? Choose your words carefully and build your metaphors thoughtfully.

 

Interestingly, ChatGPT (and its brethren) will generate mixed metaphors, depending on the nature of the prompts. For now, have a human proof the final drafts!

 

 

Resources:

 

The Power of Analogies and Metaphors 

in Demos and Discovery Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6:

https://greatdemo.com/blog/ 

 

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

https://tinyurl.com/24m4m5jm

 

Effective Storytelling in Discovery, Demos, and More

https://greatdemo.com/effective-storytelling-in-discovery-demos-and-more-a-never-stop-learning-article/

 

Examples of Metaphors:

https://blog.udemy.com/metaphor-list/ 

 

Examples of Analogies:

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/analogy 

 

Suspending Disbelief: A Collection of Sales, Presales, 

and Marketing Stories (and Lessons Learned)

https://tinyurl.com/yc7rsrmy 

 

Doing Discovery:

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

 

Great Demo! Third Edition:

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

 

Visual Aids and Props:

https://greatdemo.com/remarkable-demos-what-makes-a-demo-truly-memorable/

The Power of Analogies and Metaphors in Demos and Discovery – Part 6: Storytelling!

Ah, stories! 

 

The most effective communications leverage the power of stories. Archimedes noted:

 

“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”

 

One might observe that where facts are the world, and analogies and metaphors are the fulcrum, stories are indeed the lever!

 

If your demo or discovery conversation is like a sixty-floor high-rise building, facts occupy the lower floors, with respect to memory and retention. The view is blocked and limited by surrounding structures, and the air is full of dust from the adjacent streets. Analogies and metaphors find comfortable lodging in the middle levels, enjoying improved views and fresh air. Up top, effective stories reside in the penthouse suites, experiencing sweeping vistas and stimulating breezes!

 

Chip and Dan Heath identified and characterized the key principles of stories and storytelling in, “Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.” This terrific book should be required reading for anyone in a customer-facing role.

 

For a pragmatic guide on how to apply stories in your demos and discovery calls, see Chapter 14 in the Third Edition of Great Demo! and see the article on Effective Storytelling (links are in the Resources).

 

So far, we’ve explored examples and methods to generate, capture, and apply metaphors and analogies in our customer-facing interactions.

 

Next: What not to do!

 

 

Resources:

 

The Power of Analogies and Metaphors 

in Demos and Discovery Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5:

https://greatdemo.com/blog/ 

 

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

https://tinyurl.com/24m4m5jm

 

Effective Storytelling in Discovery, Demos, and More

https://greatdemo.com/effective-storytelling-in-discovery-demos-and-more-a-never-stop-learning-article/

 

Examples of Metaphors:

https://blog.udemy.com/metaphor-list/ 

 

Examples of Analogies:

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/analogy 

 

Suspending Disbelief: A Collection of Sales, Presales, and Marketing Stories (and Lessons Learned)

https://tinyurl.com/yc7rsrmy 

 

Doing Discovery:

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

 

Great Demo! Third Edition:

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

 

Visual Aids and Props:

https://greatdemo.com/remarkable-demos-what-makes-a-demo-truly-memorable/