The Menu Approach - A Truly Terrific Demo Self-Rescue Technique

  

Have you ever been in a situation where:

1. You find yourself in front of an audience about which you know nothing of their needs or interests – and they’ve been promised a demo?
2. You are asked to join a web session, right now, and the salesperson says, “They asked to see a demo…” (and again, you have zero information about the prospect)?
3. Someone walks up to you at a trade-show booth and says, “What do you guys do?” or “Show me a demo?”

If so, let me introduce you to a delightful self-rescue technique for situations like these: It’s called The Menu Approach! It is a logical, simple and surprisingly effective method for dealing with situations where you don’t know much about your audience and your audience doesn’t know much about you.

 

Hungry?

 

Imagine joining colleagues at a nice restaurant that you’ve never been to before. You sit down and a few moments later a waiter appears and asks, “What would you like?”

 

You have no idea what they offer, so you respond, “What do you have?” The waiter says, “Well, we have lots of choices: appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, drinks, and desserts.” The waiter repeats his question, “What would you like?”

 

You are both making no progress and it is very frustrating! 

 

This is the same situation as in demos where neither party has a clear idea of the other’s desires or capabilities. The result, in many cases, is a stunningly awful Harbor Tour.

 

Want a much better solution? Use a menu! A menu presents a high-level listing of the range of offerings.

 

In our restaurant scenario, the waiter says, “Here, let me get you a menu…” The menu provides a rapid way for the diner to assess what is possible, what sounds good, and what items or dishes to consider.

 

In demos, we can apply the same principle. Simple, elegant, and highly effective.

 

Tomorrow: An example!