Practice Your Demos with Existing Customers

In addition to practicing demos with: - Other SC’s/presales team members - Sales people - Your spouse/significant other - Dog (always positive) or cat (typically more cynical) - Customer Champion You can also consider vetting demos with existing, friendly customers who may be willing to give you honest and often very useful feedback. This strategy is particularly useful when testing new Vision Generation demo ideas (for new products, updates, or existing products targeted at new customers, etc.).

Menu Approach – Controlling the Content

A Great Demo! Workshop participant pointed out (today!) that the Menu Approach offers an additional advantage: it (by definition) enables you to control what content can be explored. With a restaurant menu, the range of offerings is limited to what is on the menu (with the exception of a few daily specials, perhaps). This keeps the diners “on track” with respect to what the kitchen can create and serve. The Great Demo! Menu Approach provides that same control when presenting topics to your audience as it limits the topics (hopefully) to what you are able to demo.

Demo Jedi Mind Tricks

Don’t you wish this would work in real life?

Customer:  “Can your product do X, Y, and Z?”

SC (while waving hand slowly):  “…These are not the capabilities you are looking for…”
Customer:  “These are not the capabilities I am looking for…”

Customer:  “We’ll need to try your software in a POC.”

SC (while waving hand slowly):  “…You don’t need a POC and you are ready to buy…”
Customer:  “We don’t need a POC and we are ready to place the order now.”

Customer:  “Your competition’s offering is much better than yours.”

SC (while waving hand slowly):  “…There is no viable competition…”

Customer:  “There is no competition and we are ready to place the order now.”

Have any other examples of Demo Jedi Mind Tricks to share?

[Warning: Shameless Self-Promotion Alert] Upcoming Great Demo! Public Workshop May 22-23

Our next Great Demo! Public Workshop is scheduled for May 22-23 in San Jose, California – Registration information can be found here (http://www.skmurphy.com/blog/2012/10/26/great-demo-workshop-on-may-22-23-2013/).

This is a 1.5-Day Workshop, with the first day focusing largely on core Great Demo! concepts and the morning of the second day addressing more advanced topics and techniques. This is an excellent opportunity for individuals, small groups or for teams that have new hires.

Register using the link above or contact me for more information (PCohan@SecondDerivative.com).

Situation Slides - Three Options for Delivery

In Great Demo! Workshops we teach the idea of using a Situation Slide to start demo meetings, especially for Technical Proof demos, with Situation Slides generated and presented using PowerPoint or Keynote.  A number of Workshop participants ask if this is the only way to present Situation Slide information or are there other options? 

There are (at least) three methods of delivery that practitioners use today:

-          As a slide presented using PowerPoint or Keynote

-          Presented verbally

-          Using a whiteboard or flipchart

Using PowerPoint or Keynote, some practitioners use the “controlled vocabulary” version of the slide:

Job Title/Industry:          VP Sales, Mid-size Software

Critical Business Issue:   Achieve/exceed quarterly and annual quota
Problems/Reasons:        Poor insight into pipeline/forecast
Specific Capabilities:      Rapid view of actuals, status, problems
Delta:                                $2M incremental revenue; recover 2.5 FTE
Critical Date:                    Implementation by June 1, 2013 to be ready for 2^nd half forecasting session

More experienced practitioners remove the Job Title/Industry line (since the customer typically knows who he/she is…!) and translate the “controlled vocabulary” labels to words or word phrases that the customer might typically use, for example:

Challenge:                          Achieve/exceed quarterly and annual quota

Issues:                                 Poor insight into pipeline/forecast
Requirements:                  Rapid view of actuals, status, problems
Value:                                  $2M incremental revenue; recover 2.5 FTE
Timeline:                            Implementation by June 1, 2013 to be ready for 2^nd half forecasting session

This same information can be presented verbally, without the need for a “formal” slide.  This can be particularly useful and compelling when the demo is intimate, with one or a very few players – and it also shows that the sales team has internalized the customer’s situation.

A third option is to use a whiteboard or flipchart and present the information verbally while writing a few key words on the whiteboard/flipchart to highlight the most important aspects of the customer’s situation.  This has proven to be particularly successful – and compelling – as it appears to be ad hoc (even if the sales team has carefully planned what they want to say and write…)!  Even better, these few key words tend to stay visible during the course of the, reinforcing the problem, solution and value.

Any other modes of delivery that people have tried?

Discovery - For Highly Transactional Sales Cycles

Doing sufficient Discovery is clearly critical for mid-size and large software sales opportunities – but what about situations where the sales cycle may be a few days or weeks and the size of the opportunity is on the order of $3K - $12K?  Is Discovery still important?

Yes…!  The challenge is to strike a balance between operating in a transactional mode (read “moving fast”) and enabling the customer to feel that you have invested sufficient time to understand their situation. 

It is not unreasonable to consume 15 minutes in a Discovery conversation with a customer in a 30 minute “demo” call – the end result will be a customer that, typically, feels good about the transaction about to take place.  Investing this time in Discovery will enable you, as the vendor, to focus on the key needs and capabilities, reducing what would typically be a 30 minute rapid “Harbor Tour” to 10-15 minutes of crisper, focused demo.

Should you use a script for your Discovery questions?  Yes and no…!  Yes, you should have a list of questions/topics to cover; no, I don’t recommend following it religiously, but rather be prepared to bounce around in accord with where the customer takes the conversation – but use the list to make sure you cover the key questions and topics needed.

Doing Discovery – Before An NDA Is In Place

Many organizations are unwilling to share sensitive information before an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) is in place, limiting the information that can be uncovered in Discovery conversations.  Three recommendations:

1.       Acknowledge and respect that the customer may be unable to provide information until an NDA is executed; don’t push.

2.       Help the customer realize that it IS worth the time and energy to complete an NDA.   One simple way to accomplish this is to ask a few questions that the customer can’t (yet) answer – after a reasonable number of “I’m sorry, I can’t share that yet – it’s confidential information”, they will realize for themselves that it makes sense to execute an NDA.

3.       You should make the offer:  “Why don’t we execute an NDA so that we can continue the conversation…?”

A couple of additional ideas:

First, recommend that the NDA be mutual – bidirectional – so that any pricing or similar confidential information you provide can be protected under the same agreement.  This also helps to position you on a more equal basis with your customer.

Second, set a date for the next discussion so that there is s a reasonable level of urgency associated with getting the agreement completed.

iPad Prompter For Demos and Presentations

I recently saw a wonderful use of an iPad – as a “teleprompter” for a demo/presentation.  The presenter was showing a demo from a laptop computer and used his iPad for his notes and personal “script” alongside.  In this particular case he was operating from a podium and the audience couldn’t see the iPad – very elegant!

Additionally, he only need to “swipe” downwards on his iPad to move to his next page of notes/script – a quick hand motion that was much easier than finding a PGDN key or similar.  Great idea!

[Warning: Shameless Self-Promotion Alert] Upcoming Great Demo! Public Workshop March 6-7 – Next Week

Our next Great Demo! Public Workshop is scheduled for May 22-23 in San Jose, California – Registration information can be found here   (http://www.skmurphy.com/blog/2012/10/26/great-demo-workshop-on-may-22-23-2013/).

This is a 1.5-Day Workshop, with the first day focusing largely on core Great Demo! material, and the morning of the second day addressing more advanced topics and techniques.  This is an excellent opportunity for individuals, small groups or for teams that have new hires.

Contact me for more information or to reserve seats (PCohan@SecondDerivative.com).

Discovery: Unique, But Part of a Group

People (and companies) perceive themselves as unique, particularly with respect to their situations – but they also want to feel that they are not alone, that others suffer from similar problems (and have found good ways to solve those problems that may also apply to them…). 

When doing Discovery, one objective is to make the customer feel comfortable that you understand their unique situation.  This is best accomplished by asking good, relevant questions. 

A second objective in the Discovery process is to help the customer visualize the possibility of a solution to their problems (not the details, just that a solution is possible).  One way to achieve this is, after you have a clear understanding of their situation, is to comment “We’ve been able to help others in situations that were very similar to yours…”  This places them into a group where they perceive they are not alone…  [Some sales methodologies, e.g., Solution Selling and CustomerCentric Selling, call this generating “hope and curiosity” – great phrase!).

It is interesting how the humans hold onto both ideas – of being unique and part of a group – simultaneously.  Humans are really fascinating…!

Doing Discovery “Beyond the Fence” – Other Important Questions to Ask

Imagine you are doing a major remodel of your house and you are in a discussion with the architect about new house design – what should you consider?

There are two sets of items: “inside the fence” and “beyond the fence”.  Most people focus their attention on the “inside the fence” items, such as the new layout, fixtures, trim, appliances, paint color, etc.

This thought process is similar to what many sales teams address when doing Discovery with their customers – the sales team focuses on the items that are closely related to the features and functions of their software – existing vs. desired workflow, pain points in the current process, missing capabilities, etc.  That’s good, but we can do better…!

A great architect asks questions about the remodel customer’s “beyond the fence” items:  E.g., neighborhood and general look of the neighborhood, weather, prevailing wind and storm conditions, local traffic and typical flow, noise sources, sun arc and hours, streetlights, schools, crime, specific neighbors (and their pets/livestock), etc.  A great sales team similarly asks questions that go “beyond the fence” from typical product-specific thinking with doing Discovery.

What are example questions you might ask “beyond the fence” for your offerings?  (You might consider adding these to any existing "Discovery Documents" you already use...)

[Warning: Shameless Self-Promotion Alert] Upcoming Great Demo! Public Workshop March 6-7

Our next Great Demo! Public Workshop is scheduled for March 6-7 in San Jose, California – Registration information can be found here (http://www.skmurphy.com/blog/2012/11/02/great-demo-workshop-march-6-2013/).

This is a 1.5-Day Workshop, with the first day focusing largely on core Great Demo! material, and the morning of the second day addressing more advanced topics and techniques.  This is an excellent opportunity for individuals, small groups or for teams that have new hires.

Contact me for more information or to reserve seats (PCohan@SecondDerivative.com).

UPDATES:  Here are two brief testimonials from recent Workshop participants:  http://www.skmurphy.com/blog/2013/02/18/chris-kane-great-demos-impact-on-the-vendorrisk-sales-presentation/

http://www.skmurphy.com/blog/2013/02/19/ilya-semin-of-datanyze-on-value-of-great-demo-workshop/ 

Mixed Face-to-Face and Remote Demos – 3 Good Practices

What should you do when find yourself in a demo where part of the audience is face-to-face with you in a conference room and a number of additional participants are connecting remotely (e.g., via WebEx or GoToMeeting)?  In addition to the ideas already published in my Remote Demos articles and blog tips, here are three more “best” practices to consider:

First, operate as if everyone is remote.  That way, you are using your mouse and various annotation tools to draw attention to elements of your software on both the projector screen in the face-to-face room and the remote participants’ screens as well.  Clearly, any physical pointing you do using your hands (or stick or laser pointers) can only be seen by those who are face-to-face. 

However, there is an additional twist:  you also need to be the “Active Conduit” of information, communicating what is going on in the face-to-face room out to those who are remote.  For example, if there is a side-bar conversation, you need to let the remote participants know and give them updates and the outcome, as appropriate, when that side conversation completes.  Similarly, if someone asks a question in the face-to-face room, you may need to repeat it for the remote participants. 

Along similar lines, you also need to continue to drive interactivity with your remote participants, using the annotation tools, asking questions of them, checking latency with them, etc., to keep them engaged.  There is a tendency for presenters to forget about those who are connecting remotely and simply focus on those who are face-to-face…!

[Send me an email at PCohan@SecondDerivative.com if you’d like copies of the articles I mentioned]

Recording Web Demos - An Elegant Approach

I often recommend that sales and presales teams record their web-delivered demos (e.g., via WebEx and GoToMeeting) so that they can watch/listen to the recordings and improve their practices (pace, tone, mousing, word-choice, use of annotation tools, hearing customer questions accurately, etc.).  It can sometimes be a bit uncomfortable to ask the customer if it is OK to record the session, however. 

One delightful approach is to ask the customer if it is acceptable to record the demo “so that you can replay it for yourselves, if desired, or share with colleagues”.  Wonderful!

“Demo Days” Are Becoming More Important

A common complaint amongst presales folks is that they rarely get a chance to see one another’s demos.  Individuals form habits and fall into ruts (“we are victims of momentum”), repeating demos over and over (sometimes numbingly!) with very few opportunities to improve.

Presales teams are equipping and operating out of more home offices, struggling to learn more products and technologies, dealing with an ever-increasing pace of business, and gathering at fewer face-to-face meetings (e.g., sales kick-off meetings and quarterly inquisition events, with agendas already overstuffed) – and the challenge is only getting tougher.

Carving out time for “Demo Days” accordingly becomes very much more important.  In the past, Demo Days were often face-to-face sessions where individual presales team members would share particularly successful demos, tips, best practices and introduce new products, but they often consumed ½ day or longer to make them useful, since teams didn’t get together very often. 

Now teams can accomplish the same objectives via the web using WebEx, GoToMeeting and similar tools – and by scheduling shorter, more regular sessions, teams can share ideas more rapidly and substantially improve their performance overall. 

Based on what I’ve seen with Great Demo! Workshop participants, a recommended best practice is to schedule “Demo Days” at least once per month (hmmm – perhaps we should call these new sessions “Demo Hours”).  Optimally, everyone on a team of 12 people would have a chance to present a demo about every 6 months (plan on ~2 demos per 1 hour session); everyone on the team would accordingly see 22 demos from their colleagues each year.  That’s a lot of learning…

Think about it – what you might learn from a colleague could result in closing business that might otherwise be lost…!

For teams already executing “Demo Days” or “Demo Hours”, what is your frequency, how long for each session, and how many team member typically present a demo?

Selective Attention – the Importance of Precise Pointing in Demos

Absolutely fascinating…  Take a look at this jpg (a series of three images:  paste the link in your browser and read the introduction on the first image – you can click to zoom in):  http://i.imgur.com/zCjFj94.jpg

In Great Demo! Workshops I teach participants to use a pointer (fingers/hand, stick/telescoping pointers, mouse, etc.) to direct audience attention specifically to what you want the audience to see – and pay attention to.  The question often arises, “…but won’t they look at all the other stuff on the screen, in addition to what I’m pointing to?”

Clearly, not typically!  (Apparently, only a very small fraction of people who saw this jpg noticed the unusual attributes the first time through…)

This image is courtesy of a recent Great Demo! Workshop participant who was kind enough to share it (thanks!).

Great Quote

“Never take demo advice from people who don’t have quotas…”

– from a recent Great Demo! Workshop principal.

[Warning: Shameless Self-Promotion Alert] 2013 Great Demo! Public Workshops

For 2013, we have scheduled three Great Demo! Public Workshops, as follows:

-          March 6-7 – Registration information can be found here

-          May 22-23 – Registration information can be found here

-          October 9-10 – Registration information can be found here

These are all 1.5-Day Workshops, with the first day focusing largely on core Great Demo! material, and the morning of the second day addressing more advanced topics and techniques.

Public Workshops take place in San Jose, California, in conjunction with the folks at SKMurphy.  This is an excellent opportunity for individuals, small groups or for teams that have new hires.

We’ve found that these events are most productive when there are two or more participants from each organization (singletons are also fine). This helps to mimic real-life interactions as much as possible, both when preparing demos and delivering them in the role-play sessions.

Contact me for more information or to reserve seats (PCohan@SecondDerivative.com).

Discovery Questions – Vision of the Solution Ongoing

Discovery questions can and should not only include discussion of the desired solution as visualized for initial deployment, but might also explore looking further out in time.  Discussion might include:

-          Early “wins” and how best to achieve them (which also relieve the pressure on the buyer to have justified his/her purchase – very important!)

-          Ongoing development/maintenance/support – including product roadmaps

-          Involvement in user’s groups (and possible presentations of completed applications and achievements)

-          Further deployment, expansion or development of additional applications, etc.

-          A view as to the state of things 3-5 years out – what is the long-term vision the customer has in mind

Interestingly, in some cases a very strong vision of the customer’s future state several years out may be one of the strongest driving forces in the sales process (particularly for some industries and more so, most typically, in Europe than in the U.S.)…!

Demos – And Grocery Lists

I am constantly amazed at how vendors, in their demos, expect audiences to retain and remember the (often) enormous number of features and functions presented – particularly when human brains are rather poor at remembering undifferentiated lists of information.  For example:  Have you ever had the following happen to you?

You drive to the grocery/supermarket with a mental list of 5 items in your head.  Everything is fine until the moment you step through the door into the store, when you suddenly can’t recall 2 (or more) of the items on your mental list.  You can remember the first item or two, and perhaps the last one, but – darn it! – what were those other items?  Being presented with the hundreds of items (and advertising) seems to have knocked those middle items off of your mental list – and you often don’t recall what they were until you exit the store…

What can we do to combat this when WE are presenting demos?  Here’s a short list (additions welcome):

-          Do the Last Thing First

-          Organize your content in “chunks”

-          Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you just told them…

-          Repeat (adults learn by repetition; adults learn by repetition; adults learn by repetition…)

-          Summarize (an elegant way of repeating)

-          Find ways to make your delivery more interesting and remarkable (see my articles “What Makes a Demo Truly Remarkable” and “We Are Programmed To Forget” on my website – or email me for copies at PCohan@SecondDerivative.com)

-          Other ideas?

“Nut Graph” – Applied To Demos

There are a number of terrific ideas in journalism that we can apply to demos – one of which is the “Net Graph”, a contraction of “Nutshell Paragraph”.  In most news stories, the key facts of the story are presented in the first couple of sentences and serve to answer “who, what, when, where, why and how” crisply. 

In Great Demo! methodology, this is very similar to the “Do It” pathway and its accompanying summary.  For example, “To summarize, we just showed how [how] you [who] can access your key report [what] in three mouse clicks [when] right from your laptop computer [where], as opposed to what is currently consuming 2 FTE’s annually [why].”

‘Twas the Night Before The Big Demo

‘Twas the Night Before The Big Demo

(with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore)

‘Twas the night ‘fore the demo and all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, ‘cept my SC and his mouse;
I’d proposed a big licensing deal with great care
In hopes a big order soon would be there;

Management was restless and not in their beds

As visions of bonuses danced in their heads;
And my VP with his forecast and me with my own,
Had just started a long EOQ roam,

When out from my mobile there came a great ring-tone,

I sprang from my chair to answer my phone,
What could it be?  Was it good news or no?
A last-minute order?  A contract?  PO?

Greetings, said my assistant, who spoke on the line,

It was someone to see me, offering help at this time!
Who could it be at this late eleventh-hour,
To make the deal sweet and avoid something sour?

Away to the door I flew in a flash,

And swept it open in my quest for fast cash,
When who to my wondering eyes should appear,
The DemoGuru! And standing so near!

He came in my office and, while dusting off snow,

Said, “I have some news that you’ll want to know.”
He drew up a chair and asked for some tea,
And said to my VP, SC and to me:

“Your deal is in trouble and I’ll tell you now,

Your demo’s confusing, complex and lacks ‘Wow!’
It’s riddled with features and functions and more,
And too many cool things, mouse clicks galore,

Don’t flog them with features and other neat stuff,

Stick with the substance, stay away from the fluff,
The more that you show is not always nice,
Customers may say, ‘Please lower the price!’

The Buzzword-Compliant Vocabulary list,

Are words, I’m afraid, that are better-off missed,
Not Flexible, nor Powerful, nor Easy-to-Use,
Not Robust, nor Seamlessly Integrated abuse,

And no corporate overview, please don’t do that,

After ten minutes they’re grabbing their hats,
Present as a team, so if things get hairy,
Sales folks aren’t lost in the back with Blackberry.

Your customer’s queued and ready to go,

They love the vision you’ve built with them so
They want Technical Proof in the demo you’ve planned,
Just the key capabilities, everything else banned.”

“But how can we do this?” I heard myself cry,

“We’re victims of momentum, we’re nervous to try,
Another approach, a new way to go,
We have to admit we’re just a bit slow!”

“Do the Last Thing First!” he said with a smile,

“Then peel back the layers, and Do It with style,
Peel it back in accord with their interest,
Stay focused and execute, and you’ll find it best,

Your customer’s Situation is a great way to intro,

Their Problems and Reasons, from CBI flow,
Review these and check – is this still the case?
Are we aligned or are we off-base?

Start with the end, that big pay-off piece,

Illustrate and describe, those are the keys!
Capture their interest, compel their attention,
Make sure it aligns with their mode of consumption.

When it clicks and they’re hooked, they’ll then ask for more,

There’s absolutely no way that they’ll head for the door,
They’ll say, “Please show us, prove that it’s so,
Show us the rest, please do demo.”

Then Do It, just Do It, with no extra clicks,

To return to that Illustrative image that sticks,
Make it simple, make it fast, make it easy and clear,
Then they will realize they’ve nothing to fear,

Encourage their questions, most are not new,

Good ones and Great ones (and Stupid ones too),
Treat Hostiles with courtesy, use your Parking Lot so
Those mean, crusty folks can’t damage your flow,

Peel back the layers, Do It Again,

Show only what’s needed, put nothing else in,
Let them drive the demo, let them think they’re in charge,
While their Vision Solution you work to enlarge!

Summarize, summarize, tell them again,

‘Cause adults do learn by repetition,
And when you show a key take-away screen,
Leave it up, let it linger, so they’ll know what they’ve seen!

“I get it – I’ll do it!” exclaimed my SC,

“This is all so obvious, it’s way clear to me!”
And he sprang into action, his mouse flew like lightening,
(Frankly, his speed was a little bit frightening!)

And with that the DemoGuru smiled and he said,

“Your way is now clear, put that baby to bed,
Your deal’s now on track, your order secure,
You’ll make your numbers at the end of the year,

Then he strode from my office in a blink of a pun,
Turned ‘round and he said, “My job here is done,”
Ere he drove out of sight, I did hear him say,
“Great Demo! to all and to all a Great Day!”

Stunningly Awful Demos – Two Words to Avoid

Name two words that strike fear and terror into the hearts of customers watching a software demonstration – two words that lengthen demos and turn short, crisp pathways into journeys worthy of Norse sagas.  These are, of course:

            “If”      and      “Or”

Recently, I was watching a demo where a major component of the software was a wizard.  It was a rather wonderful wizard.  Rich with features.  Ripe with options.  The depth and breadth of the capabilities it offered were legion.  How do I know this?

The person delivering the demo started the wizard to show how to execute a specific task – and finally finished the process 55 minutes later.  Truly breathtaking (and not in a positive way…)! 

I said, “Could you please start again and run the wizard the way that someone would use it to complete that same task on a day-to-day basis?”

He said, “Sure” and launched into the process a second time.  How long do you think it took this time?  Three and a half minutes.  

That’s right – using the wizard as designed for this typical task took 3.5 minutes – vs. the 55 minutes consumed in his demo. 

What was the difference?  “If” and “Or”. 

Each time someone presenting a demo uses either of these words, it opens a branch – an additional pathway – and each additional pathway extends the demo, inflicting increased complexity and confusion on the audience.

A Parable

Imagine you need to drive to the store to pick up a few things for dinner – a trip that normally takes 10 minutes each way. You get into your car, leave the driveway and proceed down the street. Your car is equipped with a surprisingly intelligent voice-controlled GPS – so intelligent, in fact, that it decides there are other options you should see on the way.

The GPS takes control and turns off the direct route to show you an interesting restaurant it thinks you might want to try sometime in the future. You thank the GPS and ask it to return to the original course. It does so.

A few blocks later, it again changes direction and drives 5 minutes to show you a nice park. "Terrific, but I’m not in the mood for a picnic," you say.  "Please return to the original course." The GPS sighs quietly, but obediently returns to the original route once again.

Moments later, the GPS makes a left turn and drives 8 minutes to a new home-products store.  It announces proudly that the store just opened recently and is a great option for everything from paint to plumbing. “Thanks” you comment, getting irritated, “but I don’t need any hardware – please return to the original route.”

Two minutes later the GPS takes control again – and this time it shows you five options for travelling one segment of the route:  An expressway, a toll-road, and three separate local “short-cuts” (none of which are particularly short) – and the GPS travels down each of these.

Now very annoyed, you tell the GPS "Please return to course!" It does so, after grumbling that you really should see all of the cool options it knows about...

Angrily you disable the GPS and proceed directly to the store – and because of the many detours, dinner will be seriously late! 

What if demos were delivered this way?

The Dreaded “If”

It starts innocuously enough, with a single “if”, such as, “Now, if you want to submit this, then you choose ‘OK’…”  But “if” appears to need company and will clone itself…repeatedly!  Here’s an example:

“Now, if you want to submit this, then you choose ‘OK’…  But if you want to change the color, then you go to our color palette which I’ll show you now…, and if you need a different size, then you click here where we have our sizing sub-wizard which operates like this…, and if you want to share it with other colleagues then let me show you our collaboration tool and…”  “Ifs” breed like proverbial rabbits. 

And that’s one way to change a 3.5 minute pathway into a 55 minute torture tour.  When you find you are about to say “If” in a demo, consider asking whether the audience is interested in seeing the capabilities you have in mind before proceeding!

“Or” Horror

Let me describe the sins of “Or” via a simple example or by using a medium-length process, or with a longer task example, or via a nice story, or by providing a couple of references, or by using live software to show seven different ways to accomplish the same task…

Have I made my point – (or) do I need further “Or’s” to illustrate?

Consider:  Is there any task you do that you’d like it to take any longer than necessary?  [Clarification:  any task you do at work?] 

When there are several possible ways to accomplish a task, which should you show in a demo?  Pick the fastest, most direct route – the “Do It” pathway.  No extra information, no discussion of options.  The straight line – the fewest number of steps – from a logical starting point to completing that task.

Cohan’s Razor:  Given the choice of multiple paths in a demo, choose the shortest.  [Apologies to William of Occam.]

Later on, you can ask if the audience might be interested in other possibilities – particularly if the other capabilities are competitively important or otherwise differentiate your offering.

And, of course, the worst phrase of all is “Or if”…  Example:  “Or, if you want save this in other formats let me show you all of the file formats we support…” 

Death By Dead-End

What is a “Dead-end”?  It is the natural outcome of launching down an “If” or “Or” pathway, getting close to the end, but not completing the function – leaving the audience unfulfilled and unsatisfied.

Example:  Have you ever seen someone in a demo navigate to the “Reports” tab, comment that there are 600 pre-built reports available in the system”, then move to another menu option, begin to build a custom report and – after a pile of clicks, scrolls and drags – produce a completed report template, but not run an actual report?  Aaagh!

Even worse, in many cases the demonstrator needs to backtrack through another pile of clicks just to return to the main story.  Hmmm – sounds a lot like our car GPS story above…!

To be fair, there may be situations where some of these alternative approaches may be useful or important. An excellent way to test for interest is to ask.  For example, “We have a number of output options – are there any that you would like to see in particular?” [See my article Competitive Demo Situations – Biasing Towards Your Strengths for more on how to do this.]

Otherwise, avoid alternative approaches and dead-ends…!

In Case “If” and “Or” Aren’t Enough

There are a handful of phrases that put fear and loathing into customers’ hearts when on the receiving end of demos – here are a few of my personal favorites:

“…Let me start by orienting you to our screen layout and navigation …”

Oh my god.  I don’t what to learn how to use your software yet; I don’t yet know if it does anything that will help me in my business.  The last thing I want at this point is product training!

Solution?  Do the Last Thing First.

“…Now I’ll show you our context-relevant help system…”

Double oh my god.  This suggests that I’ll need the help system, because your software is likely complex, complicated, and downright user-hostile.

Solution?  Don’t.

 “…and another really cool thing about our software is…”

This phrase is used, often frequently, in what are known as “run-on demos”.  These are demos without a break, without a pause, and typically no introduction or summary for any particular segment.  These demos are one-way, painful fire-hose deliveries of features and functions flung in a steady stream from presenter to audience. 

Solution?  Break your demo into consumable components – chunks – that can be introduced, presented crisply, and summarized before moving on.

“…now this next part is really important…”

You can say this once, and I’ll believe it.  Twice, I’m still with you.  Three times, I might be able to remember all three. 

But what happens beyond the third use of “really important”?  Confusion, then boredom.  Tedium.  Numbness.  Idle doodling and furtive glances at smart phones.  When too many items are labeled “important” they all become – unimportant!

Solution?  Don’t.

When possible, record and listen to your demos carefully and critically – and if you hear yourself using any of the phrases above, take appropriate action to change!  Overall, consciously avoid “If” and “Or”.  Your audience will be grateful and your reward will be higher success rates with your demos and more closed business.

 

Copyright © 2012 The Second Derivative – All Rights Reserved.

Great Demo! Methodology Implementation – Starting Points

Many people comment that training class participants cannot be expected to “eat the entire elephant” post-training, and follow apply all of the new learnings. Instead, it is often suggested that participants choose 3 items they will commit to implementing.

With this in mind, what 3 Great Demo! ideas or tools would you recommend that Great Demo! Workshop graduates put into practice?

My favorite three, for example, are to:

1. Generate and use Situation Slides
2. Develop and present Illustrations – “Do the Last Thing First”
3. Break up your content into short, discrete chunks and take the shortest path from A to B – Just “Do It”

What are your suggestions and experiences?

Post-Demo Phone Calls

One very successful sales person calls each customer participant after a demo to get their impressions and feedback. What a great way to show interest, hear what each individual took away, correct erroneous impressions, etc.  In this particular case, it is the sales person who makes these calls – it could equally be done by the presales team member.

Delightful in any case!