Warning! Gruesome content ahead!
Here’s the rough but strangely consistent timeline for far-too-many overview demos:
00:00: Fumbling with Zoom/Teams/Google Meet
00:04: Introductions, but one-sided
00:07: Corporate overview presentation (gag!)
00:18: Product overview presentation (yawn)
00:26: Actual demo, including:
1. Slide that says “Demo”
2. Opening statement “We planned on 45 minutes for the demo, but we only have 30 minutes left so we’ll go really fast”
3. Followed by “But we want this be interactive, so please stop me if you have any questions”
4. Followed by a firehose delivery from the presenter speaking non-stop for way too long!
5. Interspersed with “Any questions so far?”
6. And “Does that make sense?”
7. Overview of navigation elements
8. Definition of vendor jargon, acronyms and product names
9. Comment that everything is configurable
10. Comment that everything can drill-down to the underlying data
11. Details on how to set up the application
12. A run-through of the workflow
13. With exploration of as many “if” and “or” options as possible
14. Frequent references to “Remember when I…?” (that aren’t remembered)
15. Zippy Mouse Syndrome and a tiny mouse cursor
16. Zero use of annotation tools
17. “Piling on” of a feature description by the salesperson
18. Pre-answering questions that the vendor frequently hears (aka Premature Elaboration)
19. Driving “into the weeds” by a random question
20. Cutting off prospect questions before the prospect finishes
21. Not confirming that the prospect’s question was addressed
22. A rapid verbal description of reporting and dashboard capabilities
23. Including “we have over 600 canned reports/dashboards…”
24. Discussion of report and dashboard creation
25. Repeated comment that everything can drill-down
26. Repeated comment that everything is configurable
27. Showing data that is obviously fake
28. Comment that “we didn’t have time to show you everything…”
29. No interim summaries
30. No stories to improve retention of key ideas
31. No analogies or metaphors, either
32. No final summary
33. And, of course, absolutely no communication of value!
00:58 Salesperson asks, “What do you think?”
- Prospect replies, “I’m not sure…”
- Salesperson immediately offers a “deep dive” demo and a free POC!
Whew. Frightening, gruesome and remarkably common!
How do your team’s overview demos compare?
Solutions?
Grab and consume a copy of Doing Discovery – that’s the best starting point!
https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Discovery-Important-Enablement-Processes/dp/B0B8RJK4C2/
Next, read or listen to Great Demo!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9SNKC2Y/
Even better, attend a Great Demo! or Doing Discovery Workshop
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