True Story: Even an Executive Can Run It!

 

He did indeed touch type: He just used two fingers.

 

 

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication"

– Leonardo da Vinci

 

 

I once worked for a wonderful head of sales named Tom Jones. 

No, not Tom Jones the singer. This Tom was an ex-Marine, 

ex-hardware salesperson who ascended the ladder and 

joined our software company as the Global VP of Sales.

 

He was highly skilled in sales practices, 

but woeful at actually using software.

 

For example, all his email messages were short 

and drafted in ALL CAPS. 

 

We were never sure if he had hit the Caps Lock key 

accidentally and never turned it off, 

or if he really wanted it to appear that he was yelling!

 

To set the stage, we were in the process of

evaluating new sales forecasting systems.

 

While I felt one product had what we needed and 

was far superior to the other options under consideration, 

there were concerns from the sales team 

that this offering might be too difficult to use. 

 

A demo had been scheduled to address this concern.

 

I met with the vendor salesperson and suggested 

that we ask Tom to drive a short portion of the demo 

to really prove how easy it was to use. 

 

The rep was reluctant but agreed.

 

And so, very early in the demo, the vendor rep 

invited Tom to take the mouse and execute a few tasks, 

including accessing reports for the current forecast 

and next two quarters’ pipeline. 

 

Tom managed it without error and immediately 

several of our team members exclaimed, 

“Well, if Tom can do it, we can do it!”

 

Done deal.

 

 

Moral: That’s a very effective way to prove ease of use!

 

 

This is a great example of “Let Your Prospect Drive” in demos 

– see the section starting on page 197 in Great Demo! here: 

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

 

And here’s some great winter reading: “Suspending Disbelief” 

offers 35 fun, bitesize, engaging stories and lessons learned 

like the one above. Enjoy!

https://tinyurl.com/yc7rsrmy 

 

“Habit Is Habit…”

“Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by anyone, but coaxed downstairs one step at a time."

— Mark Twain 

The “Butter Test” for Demos and Automated Demos

 

What is the “Butter Test”? 

 

It’s another term for the “5-Second” analysis for user interface navigability. Very simply, it is a method to ensure that the minimum effort is required to complete any function or task.

 

We can apply the same principle to demos (live and automated), as well!

 

Every pathway we show in a demo needs to be as short as possible (Just “Do It!”). The more clicks or steps that are shown, the rougher the journey.

 

More clicks or steps generates more friction, resulting in more work for your prospect (and for your sales process). It’s simple physics!

 

Make your demos “as smooth as butter…!”

 

 

From https://qualityandinnovation.com/2009/01/24/the-butter-test/#:~:text=The%20Butter%20Test%20is%20the,formal%205%2DSecond%20test

 

And learn about the “Do It!” pathway starting on page 157 in Great Demo!

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

"The Difficulty Lies, Not in the New Ideas..."

“The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones.” 

– John Maynard Keynes

Automated Demos: Garbage In, Amplified Garbage Out?

  

Too many automated demos are uncompelling and ineffective. Why? 

 

If you’re just presenting features, your automated demos will fail.

 

When you create automated demos, consider the following: 

If your live demos aren’t driving CONVERSATIONS, 

your automated versions will be equally poor at driving CONVERSIONS.

 

The most successful automated demos present capabilities 

as BENEFITS based on DISCOVERY.

 

Join Paul Pearce and me as we discuss this and more 

on Tuesday February 10 at 12:00 PM ET in our DemoFest session 

 

“Demo Automation Is the Ultimate Presales Power Play:

Turning Discovery Into After-Hours Deal Momentum”

 

And here are two resources to get you started:

 

https://greatdemo.com/demo-automation-insights/

 

https://greatdemo.com/automated-demos-best-practices-specific-guidance/ 

 

Enjoy – and let us know if you have questions or topics you’d like us to address!

"Who Dares to Teach..."

"Who dares to teach should never cease to learn"

– John Cotton Dana

How Is Memory Strength Like a Spiderweb?

The more strands and attachment points the better!

 

Have you ever seen a spiderweb in a good breeze and been amazed at its tenacity? Each individual filament isn’t particularly strong, but when they come together from multiple anchors and interconnect, the overall web can be impressively strong!

 

Memory works similarly.

 

Offer a fact or list a feature and you have a single strand from a single anchor. Not particularly strong, and it can easily be blown away in the breeze of business.

 

Communicate an Advantage Statement and you establish something stronger.

 

Include a Benefit Statement and you now have two interconnected fibers from two anchors.

 

Describe an analogy or metaphor and you’ve got the beginnings of a satisfactory memory web.

 

Tell an effective story, and your web stands strong in all kinds of business winds!

 

What makes a good story? See this article:

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

 

Want some example stories?

https://tinyurl.com/yc7rsrmy 

SKO Swipes: Revenue Leaders LOVE These!

 

Revenue Generators: You won’t like this while it is happening, but you’ll thank your leaders afterwards!

 

“Now THIS is different…!” I thought.

 

I was sitting in the back of the room at my customer’s sales kickoff meeting and noted that their team was frequently writing down key ideas from the presentations, capturing much more than at a typical SKO. I could see several folks who had already jotted down a dozen or more ideas.

 

What was going on? Rick, their head of sales, was using “Swipes.”

 

The idea is very simple and tremendously effective! 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 from the sessions.

 

That’s seemingly easy, but he adds a twist: Each idea can only be used once!

 

If someone else verbalizes your take-away, you’d better have a backup. Or two. Or many more… Now you can guess where the name “Swipes” comes from!

 

Participants know, ahead of time, that they need to recall and retell 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 a LIST of take-aways. 

 

Additionally, I noted that participants tend to pay better attention during the sessions, since they need to listen to collect Swipes candidates.

 

Works wonderfully: What a terrific way to ensure that your SKO participants remember the key takeaways! 

 

Pragmatic Note: Swipes are wonderful for groups of fifty or so but could be challenging for larger teams. An elegant solution for larger groups is to do Swipes in breakout sessions or similar smaller subgroups.

“I was gratified to be able to answer promptly..."

“I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn't know”

— Mark Twain

Uncovering Critical Business Issues: A True Story

One day, a head of sales called me, out of the blue, and opened the conversation with, “Our demos suck…!” 

 

This was one of the most fascinating openings I had ever heard coming from a prospect. We moved into a very productive discovery conversation that ran for about an hour.

 

We had largely completed our conversation and were in the wrap-up phase. However, while I had terrific insights into his team’s demos and related factors, his organization’s culture, products, sales process steps and more, I hadn’t actually heard him articulate a Critical Business Issue.

 

Even though I was confident I already knew his CBI, I wanted to hear it from his lips.

 

I asked, “So tell me, what caused you to pick up your phone and call me today?”

 

He answered, “Well, I’ve been given a sales quota for next year that is 20% higher than this year’s – and I know we won’t make those numbers with our current demos…!”

 

Fabulous! In that one sentence he communicated both his CBI and a Delta – what a delight!

 

Learn more about Critical Business Issues, Deltas, and more in Doing Discovery here:

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

When Should Value Be Communicated?

When should you communicate tangible, specific value in your demos? Frequently!

 

In Great Demo! methodology, our guidance includes:

 

·      Right at the beginning of the demo, when presenting your Situation Slide(s).

·      When you describe Illustrations (which should include What the audience is seeing, How it helps to solve their problems, and the tangible Value associated with make the change).

·      In interim summaries.

·      In your Final Summary.

 

In comparison with mere words, crisp communication of value using numbers elevates your prospects’ understanding and dramatically increases the utility of the information. Numbers enable a magic that words alone cannot achieve!

 

 

Note: This is the last in a series of posts that are delightfully combined in a single article with additional insights and links which you can find here!  https://greatdemo.com/the-magic-of-numbers-in-communicating-value/