[Warning – shameless self-promotion alert!]
We’ve just completed a 3.5 minute Great Demo! video, created largely for promotional purposes. If you are interested in subjecting yourself to this (and losing 3.5 minutes that you’ll never get back in your life!) you can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSOsSh3XJPY.
Comments and feedback solicited and appreciated!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Stunningly Awful Demo Evolution - Have You Ever Seen Demos Get Shorter?
When a demo is first created for a new product, it is often short and well-focused. With each successive release, demos get longer as new capabilities and workflows are added. Year-by-year they grow, inexorably…! After several years, demos have accreted multiple layers of demo detritus and can be painfully long, complex, and confusing.
The result? Audiences are bored, frustrated and often leave mid-way through, causing sales teams to exclaim, “Wait – don’t leave! We haven’t gotten to the really good stuff yet!” Why has this happened and what can we do?
Founders Frustration
Waaaaay back when the company was founded and the product was sparkling new, demos were fairly crisp and focused. There were two reasons for this, typically:
1. The founders understood their prospects’ needs clearly and mapped the demo accordingly, and
2. The product was rather thin on features – there wasn’t too much that could be shown!
The resulting demos were correspondingly clear – and the (very small) selling team interacting with prospects knew their prospects’ needs and situations. Early adopters embraced the product and the company grew.
As new people came aboard, they learned “the demo” and were introduced to typical sales situations. However, each new hire suffered a “dilution effect” – their understanding of the rationale of the software and customer needs grew further and further from the founders’ vision.
As the market moved from early adopters to majority buyers, it grew harder to achieve fast sales. Founders were frustrated – “How come I could close business in a few weeks but it now takes 9 months or longer? Aren’t these guys supposed to be professional sales people?”
Developers Did It
As developers create new functionality, they show it to their product management counterparts. The code is often pre-release, but the new capabilities are often very cool. Product managers want to show the new features to the field and do so – carefully following the same pathway that the developer originally presented (since it works, typically, and other pieces of the code may have bugs or not yet be complete). As the product is released and rolled-out, field sales and presales staff often continue to follow the same demo path (we are victims of momentum…!).
Hmmm… Very interesting. Note that the field is now presenting these new capabilities from the developer’s perspective – and certainly not the customer’s. Developers want to show all the really cool options they’ve created and the range of possibilities they enabled. The resulting demos are about as far from focused as one can imagine!
Layers Upon Layers Upon Layers
With each new release, new functionality is added. More modules, more wizards, more customization, more navigation, more options, more reports… And each new chunk of functionality brings its own corresponding demo pieces that get added to the old, existing demo.
After all, don’t we want to show the new stuff that’s just been released to our prospects? Don’t we want to show them the latest and greatest? And the slightly older stuff is also good, and the release before that has some really cool capabilities and…
What started as a 10 minute demo at version 1.0 grows to 30 minutes, to an hour, to 2 hours or more. Have you ever heard someone say, “We couldn’t possibly show you our product in less than a half a day…”
The demo grows, inexorably, release by release, like (choose your favorite metaphor/analogy):
· An oyster, adding layers to its shell each year (hiding the pearl within).
· Sands sifting down to the bottom of the ocean, creating expansive sedimentary rock.
· Onions, growing larger each day – and when cut and exposed in many pieces, you cry!
· [Suggest your own…]
New-Hire Numbness
If you have recently joined a mid-size or larger software company in sales, presales or marketing, you know this issue: You have an immense amount of information to learn in a short time.
You are sent to On-boarding training – often two to four weeks of detailed exposure to the company’s products, markets, competition, customers, and internal processes. At the end of the training, you’re expected to be competent – and may have to prove it as part of the process!
Training inevitably includes learning “the demo” for each product. You follow a standard script that walks through the major functions and capabilities, mirroring what your predecessors have done before (over and over and over…). Initially, your emphasis is survival – not understanding – so your playback of the demo is rather rote. It may take months or years to become sufficiently familiar with the market, the customers, and your offerings before you feel comfortable to make real changes to the demo script.
The result? Demos that miss the mark, regardless of the amount of discovery and qualification done. How many times have you seen situations where the demo presented to a prospect appears to ignore the prospect’s needs and situation, even after lengthy discovery or qualification?
A Wordy Example
Imagine that you are part of a sales team offering Microsoft Word. What might the “standard demo script” look like? How long would it take to demonstrate the range of capabilities currently available in the product – got a few days?
The Traditional Approach
The traditional approach to creating standard demos is to create a long, tortured, convoluted story, using a handful of fictional characters to try to tie things together. Demos become training sessions, describing how to navigate the interface, how to customize for specific user types, how to set up records, enter data, run wizards and generate reports.
Intricate interdependencies seek to link disparate parts of the demo together – “Remember the record that we had ‘Jane’ create an hour ago? Now we’ll show how to take that information and edit it as Jane’s manager Jack and then pass it on to John and Jill in marketing and accounting…”
These demos often show multiple ways to accomplish individual tasks (why would a user want to see anything but the fastest possible way?). These demos focus on how to use the software, not what good things the software can do for the customer. These demos are recipes for failure!
An Orthogonal Approach – Great Demo!
Don’t throw those standard demo scripts away, but also don’t inflict them on your prospects! Instead, gently cut the scripts into their component parts. Kill the fictional characters (use your prospect’s real names, instead). Remove the interdependencies. Re-form the resulting demo chunks into consumable components that can stand on their own.
Find the key take-away(s) for each component (Illustrations) and prepare to present these at the beginning of each component. Show completing each task in the fewest number of steps.
The result? Demos that are configurable, that can be mapped to each customer’s specific needs. Prospects see demos that appear to be customized for their individual situations. Demos are crisp, prospects’ needs are clearly addressed, and the sales process moves forward productively!
The result? Audiences are bored, frustrated and often leave mid-way through, causing sales teams to exclaim, “Wait – don’t leave! We haven’t gotten to the really good stuff yet!” Why has this happened and what can we do?
Founders Frustration
Waaaaay back when the company was founded and the product was sparkling new, demos were fairly crisp and focused. There were two reasons for this, typically:
1. The founders understood their prospects’ needs clearly and mapped the demo accordingly, and
2. The product was rather thin on features – there wasn’t too much that could be shown!
The resulting demos were correspondingly clear – and the (very small) selling team interacting with prospects knew their prospects’ needs and situations. Early adopters embraced the product and the company grew.
As new people came aboard, they learned “the demo” and were introduced to typical sales situations. However, each new hire suffered a “dilution effect” – their understanding of the rationale of the software and customer needs grew further and further from the founders’ vision.
As the market moved from early adopters to majority buyers, it grew harder to achieve fast sales. Founders were frustrated – “How come I could close business in a few weeks but it now takes 9 months or longer? Aren’t these guys supposed to be professional sales people?”
Developers Did It
As developers create new functionality, they show it to their product management counterparts. The code is often pre-release, but the new capabilities are often very cool. Product managers want to show the new features to the field and do so – carefully following the same pathway that the developer originally presented (since it works, typically, and other pieces of the code may have bugs or not yet be complete). As the product is released and rolled-out, field sales and presales staff often continue to follow the same demo path (we are victims of momentum…!).
Hmmm… Very interesting. Note that the field is now presenting these new capabilities from the developer’s perspective – and certainly not the customer’s. Developers want to show all the really cool options they’ve created and the range of possibilities they enabled. The resulting demos are about as far from focused as one can imagine!
Layers Upon Layers Upon Layers
With each new release, new functionality is added. More modules, more wizards, more customization, more navigation, more options, more reports… And each new chunk of functionality brings its own corresponding demo pieces that get added to the old, existing demo.
After all, don’t we want to show the new stuff that’s just been released to our prospects? Don’t we want to show them the latest and greatest? And the slightly older stuff is also good, and the release before that has some really cool capabilities and…
What started as a 10 minute demo at version 1.0 grows to 30 minutes, to an hour, to 2 hours or more. Have you ever heard someone say, “We couldn’t possibly show you our product in less than a half a day…”
The demo grows, inexorably, release by release, like (choose your favorite metaphor/analogy):
· An oyster, adding layers to its shell each year (hiding the pearl within).
· Sands sifting down to the bottom of the ocean, creating expansive sedimentary rock.
· Onions, growing larger each day – and when cut and exposed in many pieces, you cry!
· [Suggest your own…]
New-Hire Numbness
If you have recently joined a mid-size or larger software company in sales, presales or marketing, you know this issue: You have an immense amount of information to learn in a short time.
You are sent to On-boarding training – often two to four weeks of detailed exposure to the company’s products, markets, competition, customers, and internal processes. At the end of the training, you’re expected to be competent – and may have to prove it as part of the process!
Training inevitably includes learning “the demo” for each product. You follow a standard script that walks through the major functions and capabilities, mirroring what your predecessors have done before (over and over and over…). Initially, your emphasis is survival – not understanding – so your playback of the demo is rather rote. It may take months or years to become sufficiently familiar with the market, the customers, and your offerings before you feel comfortable to make real changes to the demo script.
The result? Demos that miss the mark, regardless of the amount of discovery and qualification done. How many times have you seen situations where the demo presented to a prospect appears to ignore the prospect’s needs and situation, even after lengthy discovery or qualification?
A Wordy Example
Imagine that you are part of a sales team offering Microsoft Word. What might the “standard demo script” look like? How long would it take to demonstrate the range of capabilities currently available in the product – got a few days?
The Traditional Approach
The traditional approach to creating standard demos is to create a long, tortured, convoluted story, using a handful of fictional characters to try to tie things together. Demos become training sessions, describing how to navigate the interface, how to customize for specific user types, how to set up records, enter data, run wizards and generate reports.
Intricate interdependencies seek to link disparate parts of the demo together – “Remember the record that we had ‘Jane’ create an hour ago? Now we’ll show how to take that information and edit it as Jane’s manager Jack and then pass it on to John and Jill in marketing and accounting…”
These demos often show multiple ways to accomplish individual tasks (why would a user want to see anything but the fastest possible way?). These demos focus on how to use the software, not what good things the software can do for the customer. These demos are recipes for failure!
An Orthogonal Approach – Great Demo!
Don’t throw those standard demo scripts away, but also don’t inflict them on your prospects! Instead, gently cut the scripts into their component parts. Kill the fictional characters (use your prospect’s real names, instead). Remove the interdependencies. Re-form the resulting demo chunks into consumable components that can stand on their own.
Find the key take-away(s) for each component (Illustrations) and prepare to present these at the beginning of each component. Show completing each task in the fewest number of steps.
The result? Demos that are configurable, that can be mapped to each customer’s specific needs. Prospects see demos that appear to be customized for their individual situations. Demos are crisp, prospects’ needs are clearly addressed, and the sales process moves forward productively!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Location Location Location
In Great Demo! Workshops, we typically discuss when the technical player (SE, SC, etc.) actually receives qualification and discovery information – with the emphasis on “earlier is (much) better”. Cynical Workshop participants often note that pre-demo prospect information is communicated “in the car, on the way to the demo” or “in the lobby at the prospect’s site”.
One deeply cynical participant pointed out that for doing en-route (and in-automobile) demo preparation, the rear seats of most rental cars have more room than the front, if you need to use a laptop and spread out papers…
In what exciting or unusual locations have you seen pre-demo information communicated?
One deeply cynical participant pointed out that for doing en-route (and in-automobile) demo preparation, the rear seats of most rental cars have more room than the front, if you need to use a laptop and spread out papers…
In what exciting or unusual locations have you seen pre-demo information communicated?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
“Blood is merely a caffeine delivery system…”
“Blood is merely a caffeine delivery system…”
Offered by a recent Great Demo! Workshop participant, after lunch..
Offered by a recent Great Demo! Workshop participant, after lunch..
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Informational Demo = “Real-Estate Tour”
A Great Demo! Workshop participant recently equated educational and informational demonstrations with real-estate tours done by inexperienced (or arrogant) real estate agents. They drive you around showing you houses you have no interest in, wasting hours of your time and theirs.
A handful of simple questions asked before the tour would have made the trip much more targeted and worthwhile…!
A handful of simple questions asked before the tour would have made the trip much more targeted and worthwhile…!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Public Great Demo! Workshops – San Francisco Bay Area
[Warning: Shameless self-promotion alert!]
In conjunction with the 280 Group, we are offering two 1-Day Great Demo! Open (public) Workshops this fall in the San Francisco Bay Area. The first is scheduled on October 1st; the second on November 19th.
You can find more information including an overview, agenda, location and pricing at the 280 Group website.
This is a terrific opportunity to send individuals or small groups.
In conjunction with the 280 Group, we are offering two 1-Day Great Demo! Open (public) Workshops this fall in the San Francisco Bay Area. The first is scheduled on October 1st; the second on November 19th.
You can find more information including an overview, agenda, location and pricing at the 280 Group website.
This is a terrific opportunity to send individuals or small groups.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
“Unopened” Email Message – Mark as Unread
I often suggest starting a “Do It” pathway in Outlook by opening an unopened email message (that contains a report as an Illustration, or link to a dashboard or other Illustration key screen). This has proven to be a very compelling approach.
Recent Great Demo! Workshop participants noted that they want to test the message before the demo to make sure that it contains the correct information/links. One participant commented that you can open the message, check it, close it, and then right-click on it to choose “Mark as Unread”. This returns the message to the bold appearance, making it look as though it was never opened. Nice!
Recent Great Demo! Workshop participants noted that they want to test the message before the demo to make sure that it contains the correct information/links. One participant commented that you can open the message, check it, close it, and then right-click on it to choose “Mark as Unread”. This returns the message to the bold appearance, making it look as though it was never opened. Nice!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Optimizing Screen Resolution for Recorded Demos and Remote Demos
A few years ago there was no question that the most common screen resolution on target customer computers was 1024x768. As the table below shows, this is changing…
1280x800 36.88%
1024x768 24.69%
1440x900 20.12%
1280x1024 16.99%
1680x1050 1.33%
The common denominator is still 1024x768, if you want to embrace the largest proportion of target viewers, but 75% of audience computers now have higher resolution.
1280x800 36.88%
1024x768 24.69%
1440x900 20.12%
1280x1024 16.99%
1680x1050 1.33%
The common denominator is still 1024x768, if you want to embrace the largest proportion of target viewers, but 75% of audience computers now have higher resolution.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Remote Demos and Presentations – Audience Participation Seating Chart
A recent Great Demo! Workshop participant had a terrific suggestion to both increase interactivity and to make sure that participant names are captured correctly in Remote Demo and presentation situations: have the participants enter their own names on a seating chart.
This works particularly well when individual audience members or small groups are in disparate locations.
Prepare a simple seating chart before the meeting, with sufficient space for all of the expected participants. This can be as simple as a blank Word document or as elegant as a mock-up of a conference table with chairs (I lean towards the former!).
As you begin your web session, pass control to the audience and ask each person to type in their name and job title. This ensures that name spelling is correct – another nice advantage. Additionally, it forces people to be interactive – a refreshing change from a typical introductions segment!
This works particularly well when individual audience members or small groups are in disparate locations.
Prepare a simple seating chart before the meeting, with sufficient space for all of the expected participants. This can be as simple as a blank Word document or as elegant as a mock-up of a conference table with chairs (I lean towards the former!).
As you begin your web session, pass control to the audience and ask each person to type in their name and job title. This ensures that name spelling is correct – another nice advantage. Additionally, it forces people to be interactive – a refreshing change from a typical introductions segment!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Going Waaaaaay Beyond Email – Ontier Pixetell
Have you ever been frustrated by the inability to clearly communicate ideas via simple email? Ontier (www.Ontier.com) has created a tool called Pixetell that enables email to be dramatically supplemented (or replaced, really) with a combination of voice, video, and annotated, dynamic screen capture.
This could be an excellent ancillary tool to support sales, demos, POC’s and evaluations.
Check it out at http://www.ontier.com/videos/demo.html.
Comments and feedback solicited…!
This could be an excellent ancillary tool to support sales, demos, POC’s and evaluations.
Check it out at http://www.ontier.com/videos/demo.html.
Comments and feedback solicited…!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Purchasing Perspective – Anticipating Salespeople’s Moves
A recent article in Purchasing (June 2009, page 52) is a delight to read – it summarizes what purchasing people should expect to see (and hear) from salespeople going into a negotiation discussion.
Interestingly, it identifies what it expects from good salespeople, including:
Content: “Good salespeople try to be business advisors… They strike a collaborative tone.”
Qualification: “Salespeople will attempt to clarify that you really can make the final decision…”
Value: “Sales will always emphasize the value and benefits of their product rather than the price.”
Probing: “Salespeople will try to find out all aspects of your business and your specific need…”
Sounds very reasonable!
Reading trade publications targeted at buyers, purchasing, IT and related job titles can provide wonderful information on guidance on our customers’ perspectives.
Interestingly, it identifies what it expects from good salespeople, including:
Content: “Good salespeople try to be business advisors… They strike a collaborative tone.”
Qualification: “Salespeople will attempt to clarify that you really can make the final decision…”
Value: “Sales will always emphasize the value and benefits of their product rather than the price.”
Probing: “Salespeople will try to find out all aspects of your business and your specific need…”
Sounds very reasonable!
Reading trade publications targeted at buyers, purchasing, IT and related job titles can provide wonderful information on guidance on our customers’ perspectives.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Demo Success Metric
Establishing and tracking metrics for sales opportunities is often a challenge – and defining success metrics for demos can also be tough. Here is one metric that can provide top-level insight into your demo practices:
Number of Demos/Closed Sales $
Very simply, measure how many demos are delivered per closed opportunity dollar (or Euro, Yen, etc.). I recommend normalizing to something like Demos/$10K closed or Demos/$100K closed to make the resulting numbers easy to work with.
Why should you care?
Tracking some additional level of granularity will typically reveal interesting and “actionable” information. For example:
- Tracking Demos/$100K on a per-salesperson basis provides direct insight into each salespersons’ ability to effectively utilize presales resources.
- Tracking Demos/$100K on a per-presales-person basis sheds light onto presales individual effectiveness.
The overhead to set up and track these two metrics on an ongoing basis should quite low. Many organizations already track the number of demos delivered by each presales person; crossing this information with revenues and sales people is the additional work.
The rewards of establishing, tracking and comparing these metrics over time can be remarkable!
Number of Demos/Closed Sales $
Very simply, measure how many demos are delivered per closed opportunity dollar (or Euro, Yen, etc.). I recommend normalizing to something like Demos/$10K closed or Demos/$100K closed to make the resulting numbers easy to work with.
Why should you care?
Tracking some additional level of granularity will typically reveal interesting and “actionable” information. For example:
- Tracking Demos/$100K on a per-salesperson basis provides direct insight into each salespersons’ ability to effectively utilize presales resources.
- Tracking Demos/$100K on a per-presales-person basis sheds light onto presales individual effectiveness.
The overhead to set up and track these two metrics on an ongoing basis should quite low. Many organizations already track the number of demos delivered by each presales person; crossing this information with revenues and sales people is the additional work.
The rewards of establishing, tracking and comparing these metrics over time can be remarkable!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Add Critical Dates and Events to “Situation Slides”
To prepare for demos I recommend generating Situation Slides for each key member of a prospect’s team (those who will be participating in the demo). Previously, the element of time or time-specific constraints was not explicitly included on the slide – I’m now suggesting that this be added:
1. CBI (Critical Business Issue): What is the major problem he/she has?
2. Reasons: Why is it a problem or what is the problem due to?
3. Specific Capabilities: What capabilities are needed to address the problem?
4. Delta: What is the value associated with making the change?
5. Critical Date or Event: When does the change need to take place (and why)?
Here’s an example:
Job Title/Industry: VP of Sales, Mid-size Software Company
Critical Business Issue: Concerned about achieving quarterly numbers
Reason: Too many opportunities falter or fail as a result of demos
Specific Capabilities: Make presales' demos crisp, compelling and effective
Delta: Close 10% more business in the second half of the year
Critical Date/Event: Field training event scheduled for October 4
Critical Dates/Events place a time-based boundary on when a solution needs to be in place – and enables you to walk backwards from that date to define other key activities that need to be completed first (implementation, training, assessment, agreement completed, etc…).
1. CBI (Critical Business Issue): What is the major problem he/she has?
2. Reasons: Why is it a problem or what is the problem due to?
3. Specific Capabilities: What capabilities are needed to address the problem?
4. Delta: What is the value associated with making the change?
5. Critical Date or Event: When does the change need to take place (and why)?
Here’s an example:
Job Title/Industry: VP of Sales, Mid-size Software Company
Critical Business Issue: Concerned about achieving quarterly numbers
Reason: Too many opportunities falter or fail as a result of demos
Specific Capabilities: Make presales' demos crisp, compelling and effective
Delta: Close 10% more business in the second half of the year
Critical Date/Event: Field training event scheduled for October 4
Critical Dates/Events place a time-based boundary on when a solution needs to be in place – and enables you to walk backwards from that date to define other key activities that need to be completed first (implementation, training, assessment, agreement completed, etc…).
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Public Great Demo! Workshops
[Warning: Shameless self-promotion alert!]
In conjunction with the 280 Group, we are offering two 1-Day Great Demo! Open (public) Workshops this fall in the San Francisco Bay Area. The first is scheduled on October 1st; the second on November 19th.
You can find more information including an overview, agenda, location and pricing at the 280 Group website.
This is a terrific opportunity to send individuals or small groups.
In conjunction with the 280 Group, we are offering two 1-Day Great Demo! Open (public) Workshops this fall in the San Francisco Bay Area. The first is scheduled on October 1st; the second on November 19th.
You can find more information including an overview, agenda, location and pricing at the 280 Group website.
This is a terrific opportunity to send individuals or small groups.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Stunningly Awful Demos Team Practices – Where 1 + 1 = 0
Here’s a collection of torturous team tactics, awful errors and faulty communications you can follow to increase the likelihood that your team’s demos will fail. We recommend that you avoid doing these things!
If your team’s demos are not as successful as you might wish, consider using this list as an assessment tool. If these items are occurring in your day-to-day demos then you may want to contemplate making some changes…
Some quick definitions:
Salesperson = Salesperson, Account Manager, Sales Rep, etc.
SC = Sales Consultant, Sales Engineer, Presales Person, etc.
Part 1 – Salesperson Strategies for Failure
No pre-call, no set-up, no info, no intro – (no order, no wonder)!
“And now, here’s Bob, my SC technical guy, who will tell you all about our product…”
Scenario: Set up a demo meeting with a prospect and be sure not to provide any qualification or discovery information on the prospect’s needs or situation to your SC. This will ensure that he presents a “Harbor Tour1” demo, showing all possible features, functions, applications and tasks that can fit in the allowed time.
This also ensures that the prospect will be bored and annoyed, with the high-ranking people leaving early in the demo…
Rescue: Pick up your phone and call your SC well before the scheduled date. Review what you know about the prospect – and what you don’t know. Agree on what capabilities will be presented and what shouldn’t be shown. Contemplate scheduling a conference call with your SC and the prospect together to discuss the prospect’s specific situation and interests.
[1Harbor Tour Demo – aka: Show-up-and-throw-up, Spray-and-pray, Deluge-and-drown, Educate-edify-and-exhaust, Death-by-demo, Oh-my-God-when-will-this-be-over? etc.]
Now I can get some other work done…
“I’ll be in the back with my Blackberry…”
Scenario: Kick things off and then retire to the rear of the room, where you tap away at your Blackberry. After all, you’ve seen the demo dozens of times! No need to be an active participant… Even better, go out into the hall way and make a few calls – might as well make good use of the time…
Your prospect will certainly appreciate the low level of importance you give to their meeting. Your absence will let them know what to expect for the balance of the sales process and (if they were to purchase) implementation steps.
Rescue: Be an active participant in the meeting. Be prepared to rescue your SC in the case of serious bugs or crashes; be ready to help “park” questions that will take him off-track. Watch audience body language and listen for comments. Step in to summarize, when necessary or appropriate.
A demo should be perceived, by the prospect, as a two-way conversation between the vendor and the prospect, rather than a one-way “fire-hose” delivery. The salesperson needs to serve as a facilitator and as an active listener.
Death by Corporate Overview
“Let me tell you about our company…”
Scenario: Start the meeting with a twenty minute corporate overview presentation. Regale your audience with your company’s formation and history (yawn), your revenues over time (yawn), office locations, markets, products, your mission statement (ick) and that smorgasbord of customer logos (yawn, yawn, yawn, snooze…). Add a few analysts’ statements and quotes to achieve a total disconnect.
This strategy will ensure that (1) the most important people leave before they even see the product and (2) everyone is already bored before your SC starts the demo.
Rescue: Reduce your corporate overview to a single slide – or, even better, to three simple verbal statements:
1. How long you’ve been in business
2. How many customers you’ve served and where they are located
3. Your general marketplace, as is relevant to the current prospect
Example: “Hi, we’re ACME Software. We’ve been in business since 1985 helping over 3000 customers in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific address their sales and marketing effectiveness and productivity challenges. But enough about us, let’s talk about your situation…”
Surprise…!
“Hey Bob, show them the new Biframulator feature…”
Scenario: In the midst of the demo, tell your SC to show capabilities that you did not discuss previously. For the greatest effect, ask him to show the newest features or those not yet formally released – to maximize the probability that they won’t work properly. Nothing generates confidence in the prospect like running into bugs or crashes!
For more confusion, instruct your SC to show these capabilities in the midst of his flow to take him off path.
Rescue: Discuss and reach agreement on what you’d like to show the prospect (and what not to show) before the demo. (“Before” doesn’t mean in the lobby at the prospect’s site or in the car on the way there…!)
Alternative: verbally introduce the capability you’d like your SC to show – via a biased question – and “park” it yourself on a whiteboard, initially. This will let your SC know that you feel it is important to show the capability, yet lets him work it into his flow as appropriate (or to defer it until a later time, if necessary). Very elegant!
Crash…!
“Wow – Bob sure can sweat…!”
Scenario: Your SC’s computer just crashed. Add to his torment by focusing attention on him rebooting – make sure everyone is watching while he struggles to restart his machine and the applications needed for the demo. Be sure to blame the crash on someone else’s software. Tell a bad joke. Talk about sports. Tap dance…
Rescue: Be matter-of-fact and say, “Looks like Bob’s machine just suffered a crash.” Disconnect the LCD projector cable from his laptop – or turn off the projector. Draw the audience’s attention away from the scene of the disaster by addressing “parked” questions or similar topics. When your SC indicates he is ready, professionally pass control of the meeting back to him.
Alternative: if rebooting will take 10-15 minutes, call a break.
Part 2 –Presales Pathways to Pain
Show as much as possible…
“Wait – don’t go – we haven’t gotten to the really cool stuff yet…!”
Scenario: Demonstrate all the wonderful things your offering can do. Pack as much demo into your 1-hour slot as you possibly can. Delay showing your best material until the end so that people are glassy-eyed when you finally do get to it – and so that the high-ranking people have already left the meeting.
Since you have a range of job titles in the audience, spin a long, complicated story that attempts to integrate all of their needs and interests into one convoluted, tortured pathway. Make sure to add loops, flashbacks, flash forwards, and detailed digressions. Mix fictional names with real names and pronouns compound the confusion. This will ensure that their memory of your demo will consist of “Hi, my name is Bob…” and “In conclusion…”
Rescue: Do the Last Thing First. Start with the payoff screens that are most compelling. Show how to get to those in the fewest number of steps. Peel back the layers in accord with your audience’s depth and level of interest.
For groups with multiple job titles and interests, organize your demo into consumable components – chunks – that can be introduced, explored as deeply as desired (by the prospect audience members) and then exited via a verbal summary.
For extra credit: if you are done before the end of the allotted time, stop! Give that time back to your audience (they’ll love you for it…!).
Answer all questions immediately and in depth…
“You asked what time is it? First, let me tell you how this watch was made…”
Scenario: Someone asks about database support – you begin to discuss which databases, which versions, how much file space is needed, how they will grow over time, the impact of patches, etc. Meanwhile, the audience has checked-out – even the person who asked, “Do you support SQL Server?” (A simple “Yes” would have been sufficient…)
Rescue: Parse questions: Is it a Great Question, which you should answer crisply and right away? Or is it a Good Question, which you should capture on a “Parking Lot” and queue up to be addressed later.
You are not obligated to know all of the answers to all of the questions in the universe, even though you are the technical person on the team…!
Alternative: your salesperson can also step in to rescue you, by gently suggesting that you “park” the question if she senses that you are going too deep into the answer.
Hit a bug? Try it again…
“Insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result…”
Scenario: You say, “Let me show you this really cool new capability they put into the last release and *wham*! That was weird, I’ve never seen it crash there before. Hmmm… Let me try that again…” and *wham*! again.
You’ve now proven that (1) your software really doesn’t work and (2) you, the technical player, don’t even know it. For added pain, your salesperson counterpart starts to tell you to “try clicking on xxx…”
Rescue: Announce, calmly, that you hit a bug. Don’t try it again, simply explain what the audience should have seen. Either you or your salesperson can do this. Use other visuals (screenshots captured in PowerPoint, for example) to illustrate, if available. Then, jump over the bug and go on, if possible, into another portion of your demo.
Later on, if the capability is important for the audience to see, you can test and find a path to show it. Setting this up in a break is a good strategy…
Part 3 – Team Tactics for Torture
Dry Run? We don’t have time to practice…
“Why’d you show them that?”
Scenario: An important portion of the quarter’s quota depends on the outcome of the upcoming demo. Bias towards failure by:
- Don’t do a dry run or practice session with the sales team.
- Don’t discuss or provide updates or changes to the prospect’s situation or needs.
- Don’t review the infrastructure plan.
- Don’t capture key screenshots or reports into PowerPoint as backups.
- Definitely don’t dry run the demo with your customer champion – to make sure that you’ve really addressed all of the key capabilities his team needs to see…
This tactic helps to ensure that surprises (really bad ones) will be certain to take place during the demo, leaving you embarrassed, your quota at risk – and your champion’s credibility damaged for supporting you.
Rescue: Many people say that they don’t have time to practice. Other people say that because they practice, they find they have more time!
Dry runs help reduce surprises, uncover bugs, and establish the best demo pathways for specific capabilities. Practice sessions also enable you choreograph your meeting – who should introduce, who should review the customer’s situation, when to hand-off to one another, what topics to plan to “park” for later, opportunities for biased questions, etc.
Remote Demos – Make sure nobody from your team is at the customer site…
“They didn’t say a thing the whole time – just the sound of crickets in an empty room!”
Scenario: Both of you stay in your office for a Remote Demo to a prospect. For an even worse effect, go into a conference room and use (yell into) a speaker-phone.
For added pain, don’t use the annotation tools in the collaboration software, point at your own screen repeatedly with your finger, and never pause when speaking into the speaker-phone so that your audience has no chance to break in with a question or comment.
Rescue: Split your forces and have one of you travel to the customer’s site (Salesperson, most typically). That way your audience’s attention is compelled (by you being present).
The role of the person at the customer’s site is to be an active conduit of information and status back to the person operating remotely: new people arriving, questions on people’s faces (but not yet verbalized), the lag time being seen on the audience computer, etc.
Part 4 – A True Story
Using Email (or IM) to communicate during a demo…
“Ignore that guy – he’s an idiot!”
Scenario – True Story: A vendor was presenting a demo to us, with the SC in the front of the room working from his laptop via our LCD projector and screen. His salesperson counterpart was in the back of the room, seated near the door.
One person on our team asked a question (granted, it wasn’t the most insightful question, but it was well-meaning and earnest). I noted the salesperson typing briefly on his Blackberry and then – suddenly, on the bottom-right corner of the projector screen we saw the email message that read, “Pay no attention to that guy – he’s an idiot.”
Rescue: There was no rescue! The vendor (1) didn’t get the business and (2) was never invited back. (“Parking” the question would have been a good strategy, instead…!)
Following the Scenarios described above will certainly increase the probability that your team’s demos will not help you achieve your goals. The Rescues, on the other hand, may help you secure the business you want – and make your quarterly and annual numbers!
Copyright © 2009 The Second Derivative – All Rights Reserved.
If your team’s demos are not as successful as you might wish, consider using this list as an assessment tool. If these items are occurring in your day-to-day demos then you may want to contemplate making some changes…
Some quick definitions:
Salesperson = Salesperson, Account Manager, Sales Rep, etc.
SC = Sales Consultant, Sales Engineer, Presales Person, etc.
Part 1 – Salesperson Strategies for Failure
No pre-call, no set-up, no info, no intro – (no order, no wonder)!
“And now, here’s Bob, my SC technical guy, who will tell you all about our product…”
Scenario: Set up a demo meeting with a prospect and be sure not to provide any qualification or discovery information on the prospect’s needs or situation to your SC. This will ensure that he presents a “Harbor Tour1” demo, showing all possible features, functions, applications and tasks that can fit in the allowed time.
This also ensures that the prospect will be bored and annoyed, with the high-ranking people leaving early in the demo…
Rescue: Pick up your phone and call your SC well before the scheduled date. Review what you know about the prospect – and what you don’t know. Agree on what capabilities will be presented and what shouldn’t be shown. Contemplate scheduling a conference call with your SC and the prospect together to discuss the prospect’s specific situation and interests.
[1Harbor Tour Demo – aka: Show-up-and-throw-up, Spray-and-pray, Deluge-and-drown, Educate-edify-and-exhaust, Death-by-demo, Oh-my-God-when-will-this-be-over? etc.]
Now I can get some other work done…
“I’ll be in the back with my Blackberry…”
Scenario: Kick things off and then retire to the rear of the room, where you tap away at your Blackberry. After all, you’ve seen the demo dozens of times! No need to be an active participant… Even better, go out into the hall way and make a few calls – might as well make good use of the time…
Your prospect will certainly appreciate the low level of importance you give to their meeting. Your absence will let them know what to expect for the balance of the sales process and (if they were to purchase) implementation steps.
Rescue: Be an active participant in the meeting. Be prepared to rescue your SC in the case of serious bugs or crashes; be ready to help “park” questions that will take him off-track. Watch audience body language and listen for comments. Step in to summarize, when necessary or appropriate.
A demo should be perceived, by the prospect, as a two-way conversation between the vendor and the prospect, rather than a one-way “fire-hose” delivery. The salesperson needs to serve as a facilitator and as an active listener.
Death by Corporate Overview
“Let me tell you about our company…”
Scenario: Start the meeting with a twenty minute corporate overview presentation. Regale your audience with your company’s formation and history (yawn), your revenues over time (yawn), office locations, markets, products, your mission statement (ick) and that smorgasbord of customer logos (yawn, yawn, yawn, snooze…). Add a few analysts’ statements and quotes to achieve a total disconnect.
This strategy will ensure that (1) the most important people leave before they even see the product and (2) everyone is already bored before your SC starts the demo.
Rescue: Reduce your corporate overview to a single slide – or, even better, to three simple verbal statements:
1. How long you’ve been in business
2. How many customers you’ve served and where they are located
3. Your general marketplace, as is relevant to the current prospect
Example: “Hi, we’re ACME Software. We’ve been in business since 1985 helping over 3000 customers in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific address their sales and marketing effectiveness and productivity challenges. But enough about us, let’s talk about your situation…”
Surprise…!
“Hey Bob, show them the new Biframulator feature…”
Scenario: In the midst of the demo, tell your SC to show capabilities that you did not discuss previously. For the greatest effect, ask him to show the newest features or those not yet formally released – to maximize the probability that they won’t work properly. Nothing generates confidence in the prospect like running into bugs or crashes!
For more confusion, instruct your SC to show these capabilities in the midst of his flow to take him off path.
Rescue: Discuss and reach agreement on what you’d like to show the prospect (and what not to show) before the demo. (“Before” doesn’t mean in the lobby at the prospect’s site or in the car on the way there…!)
Alternative: verbally introduce the capability you’d like your SC to show – via a biased question – and “park” it yourself on a whiteboard, initially. This will let your SC know that you feel it is important to show the capability, yet lets him work it into his flow as appropriate (or to defer it until a later time, if necessary). Very elegant!
Crash…!
“Wow – Bob sure can sweat…!”
Scenario: Your SC’s computer just crashed. Add to his torment by focusing attention on him rebooting – make sure everyone is watching while he struggles to restart his machine and the applications needed for the demo. Be sure to blame the crash on someone else’s software. Tell a bad joke. Talk about sports. Tap dance…
Rescue: Be matter-of-fact and say, “Looks like Bob’s machine just suffered a crash.” Disconnect the LCD projector cable from his laptop – or turn off the projector. Draw the audience’s attention away from the scene of the disaster by addressing “parked” questions or similar topics. When your SC indicates he is ready, professionally pass control of the meeting back to him.
Alternative: if rebooting will take 10-15 minutes, call a break.
Part 2 –Presales Pathways to Pain
Show as much as possible…
“Wait – don’t go – we haven’t gotten to the really cool stuff yet…!”
Scenario: Demonstrate all the wonderful things your offering can do. Pack as much demo into your 1-hour slot as you possibly can. Delay showing your best material until the end so that people are glassy-eyed when you finally do get to it – and so that the high-ranking people have already left the meeting.
Since you have a range of job titles in the audience, spin a long, complicated story that attempts to integrate all of their needs and interests into one convoluted, tortured pathway. Make sure to add loops, flashbacks, flash forwards, and detailed digressions. Mix fictional names with real names and pronouns compound the confusion. This will ensure that their memory of your demo will consist of “Hi, my name is Bob…” and “In conclusion…”
Rescue: Do the Last Thing First. Start with the payoff screens that are most compelling. Show how to get to those in the fewest number of steps. Peel back the layers in accord with your audience’s depth and level of interest.
For groups with multiple job titles and interests, organize your demo into consumable components – chunks – that can be introduced, explored as deeply as desired (by the prospect audience members) and then exited via a verbal summary.
For extra credit: if you are done before the end of the allotted time, stop! Give that time back to your audience (they’ll love you for it…!).
Answer all questions immediately and in depth…
“You asked what time is it? First, let me tell you how this watch was made…”
Scenario: Someone asks about database support – you begin to discuss which databases, which versions, how much file space is needed, how they will grow over time, the impact of patches, etc. Meanwhile, the audience has checked-out – even the person who asked, “Do you support SQL Server?” (A simple “Yes” would have been sufficient…)
Rescue: Parse questions: Is it a Great Question, which you should answer crisply and right away? Or is it a Good Question, which you should capture on a “Parking Lot” and queue up to be addressed later.
You are not obligated to know all of the answers to all of the questions in the universe, even though you are the technical person on the team…!
Alternative: your salesperson can also step in to rescue you, by gently suggesting that you “park” the question if she senses that you are going too deep into the answer.
Hit a bug? Try it again…
“Insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result…”
Scenario: You say, “Let me show you this really cool new capability they put into the last release and *wham*! That was weird, I’ve never seen it crash there before. Hmmm… Let me try that again…” and *wham*! again.
You’ve now proven that (1) your software really doesn’t work and (2) you, the technical player, don’t even know it. For added pain, your salesperson counterpart starts to tell you to “try clicking on xxx…”
Rescue: Announce, calmly, that you hit a bug. Don’t try it again, simply explain what the audience should have seen. Either you or your salesperson can do this. Use other visuals (screenshots captured in PowerPoint, for example) to illustrate, if available. Then, jump over the bug and go on, if possible, into another portion of your demo.
Later on, if the capability is important for the audience to see, you can test and find a path to show it. Setting this up in a break is a good strategy…
Part 3 – Team Tactics for Torture
Dry Run? We don’t have time to practice…
“Why’d you show them that?”
Scenario: An important portion of the quarter’s quota depends on the outcome of the upcoming demo. Bias towards failure by:
- Don’t do a dry run or practice session with the sales team.
- Don’t discuss or provide updates or changes to the prospect’s situation or needs.
- Don’t review the infrastructure plan.
- Don’t capture key screenshots or reports into PowerPoint as backups.
- Definitely don’t dry run the demo with your customer champion – to make sure that you’ve really addressed all of the key capabilities his team needs to see…
This tactic helps to ensure that surprises (really bad ones) will be certain to take place during the demo, leaving you embarrassed, your quota at risk – and your champion’s credibility damaged for supporting you.
Rescue: Many people say that they don’t have time to practice. Other people say that because they practice, they find they have more time!
Dry runs help reduce surprises, uncover bugs, and establish the best demo pathways for specific capabilities. Practice sessions also enable you choreograph your meeting – who should introduce, who should review the customer’s situation, when to hand-off to one another, what topics to plan to “park” for later, opportunities for biased questions, etc.
Remote Demos – Make sure nobody from your team is at the customer site…
“They didn’t say a thing the whole time – just the sound of crickets in an empty room!”
Scenario: Both of you stay in your office for a Remote Demo to a prospect. For an even worse effect, go into a conference room and use (yell into) a speaker-phone.
For added pain, don’t use the annotation tools in the collaboration software, point at your own screen repeatedly with your finger, and never pause when speaking into the speaker-phone so that your audience has no chance to break in with a question or comment.
Rescue: Split your forces and have one of you travel to the customer’s site (Salesperson, most typically). That way your audience’s attention is compelled (by you being present).
The role of the person at the customer’s site is to be an active conduit of information and status back to the person operating remotely: new people arriving, questions on people’s faces (but not yet verbalized), the lag time being seen on the audience computer, etc.
Part 4 – A True Story
Using Email (or IM) to communicate during a demo…
“Ignore that guy – he’s an idiot!”
Scenario – True Story: A vendor was presenting a demo to us, with the SC in the front of the room working from his laptop via our LCD projector and screen. His salesperson counterpart was in the back of the room, seated near the door.
One person on our team asked a question (granted, it wasn’t the most insightful question, but it was well-meaning and earnest). I noted the salesperson typing briefly on his Blackberry and then – suddenly, on the bottom-right corner of the projector screen we saw the email message that read, “Pay no attention to that guy – he’s an idiot.”
Rescue: There was no rescue! The vendor (1) didn’t get the business and (2) was never invited back. (“Parking” the question would have been a good strategy, instead…!)
Following the Scenarios described above will certainly increase the probability that your team’s demos will not help you achieve your goals. The Rescues, on the other hand, may help you secure the business you want – and make your quarterly and annual numbers!
Copyright © 2009 The Second Derivative – All Rights Reserved.
Friday, July 3, 2009
GoView – Citrix Screening Recording Tool
First of all, this tool is currently being offered free from Citrix. Simply navigate to http://goview.com/goldwyn/spring/play?method=indexPage, register, and you can begin using it.
Next, the recording is captured on Citrix’ servers, from which the recording can be edited, titles added, etc.
The recording is accessed via a URL, so distribution can be done by sharing the URL, adding it to emails, and so forth.
Support is currently limited to Mozilla Firefox 2.0/3.0 and Internet Explorer 6.0/7.0, so folks who have upgraded to IE 8 use at their own risk… It also uses a slightly older version of Java.
It is my understanding that the tool is currently in Beta testing, providing an opportunity to try it out and send feedback to Citrix.
Next, the recording is captured on Citrix’ servers, from which the recording can be edited, titles added, etc.
The recording is accessed via a URL, so distribution can be done by sharing the URL, adding it to emails, and so forth.
Support is currently limited to Mozilla Firefox 2.0/3.0 and Internet Explorer 6.0/7.0, so folks who have upgraded to IE 8 use at their own risk… It also uses a slightly older version of Java.
It is my understanding that the tool is currently in Beta testing, providing an opportunity to try it out and send feedback to Citrix.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Value of Value = 2.5x
In 2008 Gartner surveyed over 600 IT buyers, asking them to identify both the strengths and the weaknesses of marketing and sales efforts across all types of technology providers.
“More than half the respondents said the biggest weakness or shortcoming in IT sales and marketing efforts is the lack of a quantified value proposition. The survey data also showed that, on average, buyers are 2.5 times more likely to buy products if a vendor is able to effectively quantify its value proposition.”
[I’ve added the underlines]
This is a rather compelling reason to uncover the Delta, the value associated with the prospect making the change from their current situation to the solution you are offering. As Gartner points out, this Delta must be expressed in tangible terms of time, people or money – specific numbers.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Gwabbit – Capturing Email Contact Information Automatically
Ever found yourself cutting and pasting email signature information, line-by-line-by-line-by-line, into an Outlook contact record? Technicopia has produced a nifty little utility that makes this a one-click process.
Gwabbit (www.Gwabbit.com) is an Outlook Add-in that provides this capability. $19.95 purchase price; free trial available as well. Nice tool!
Gwabbit (www.Gwabbit.com) is an Outlook Add-in that provides this capability. $19.95 purchase price; free trial available as well. Nice tool!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Webinar Links: Make Your Numbers over the Web: Compelling Presentations and Demos for Inside Sales
[Warning: Shameless semi-self promotion!]
Here are links to my two most recent webinars, both entitled "Make Your Numbers over the Web: Compelling Presentations and Demos for Inside Sales". The first was targeted for U.S. audiences; the second for UK and European folks. Enjoy!
http://learn.gotomeeting.com/forms/060309-NA-G2MC-WBRARC?ID=701000000005DBC
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/519679179
In each webinar, a Citrix inside sales manager shared experiences to set the stage; I then presented ideas on how to engage a prospect, gather key pieces of information conversationally, and provide a brief demo in accord with the prospects' interest.
While the ideas are generally applicable to a range of sales situations, the content of this webinar was focused primarily on those working with highly "transactional" sales processes (many small orders).
Here are links to my two most recent webinars, both entitled "Make Your Numbers over the Web: Compelling Presentations and Demos for Inside Sales". The first was targeted for U.S. audiences; the second for UK and European folks. Enjoy!
http://learn.gotomeeting.com/forms/060309-NA-G2MC-WBRARC?ID=701000000005DBC
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/519679179
In each webinar, a Citrix inside sales manager shared experiences to set the stage; I then presented ideas on how to engage a prospect, gather key pieces of information conversationally, and provide a brief demo in accord with the prospects' interest.
While the ideas are generally applicable to a range of sales situations, the content of this webinar was focused primarily on those working with highly "transactional" sales processes (many small orders).
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Photo Clip Art Tips 2 of 3: Sources and Rights to Use
While great photos abound around the web, a few sources are set up specifically for presentations and similar uses. There are two main issues to be aware of:
1. Copyrights
2. Costs
Generally speaking, we should not simply copy images from company websites or the “image” areas of Google and Yahoo – these images are generally marked directly or indirectly with “Copyright xxx – All rights reserved”, meaning these images are not being offered for use. Using them, in fact, puts your organization at risk of copyright infringement. [The same is true for copying comic strips or “Dilbert”...]
Here are a few sources that I’d recommend, along with comments on copyright and cost (caveat: based on my understanding – you should check on your own to be sure!):
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx
This is Microsoft’s clip art website, specifically created to support users of PowerPoint and other MS applications. A subset of these images is typically installed on computers with Office. The online listing is more “evergreen” and tends to include old and new images.
The great news about all of these images is that they are (1) able to be used freely (no copyright restrictions) and (2) can be used free of charge.
Searching is simple – in both meanings of the phrase. You may have to browse through piles of thumbnails to find images that work best for you.
http://www.istockphoto.com and www.fotolia.com
iStockphoto and fotalia each have a large range of images – some of which are really terrific – for sale. Searching is more effective than with the Microsoft website, in my opinion, and there are capabilities to rapidly expand each image to get a better view than in a thumbnail.
Pricing is based on buying “credits” which then are used to purchase images. Usage rights start at one-person-one-computer and can extend to larger, corporate-use arrangements. Images are typically prices in accord with resolution – higher resolution images require more credits. Images are also typically available in a range of sizes.
Cost for a typical image suitable for a PowerPoint presentation by projector (or the web) runs from ~$1-4. You generally have the right to use that image as many times as you like, without time or geographic restriction.
Other sources you’d recommend? Please let me know!
1. Copyrights
2. Costs
Generally speaking, we should not simply copy images from company websites or the “image” areas of Google and Yahoo – these images are generally marked directly or indirectly with “Copyright xxx – All rights reserved”, meaning these images are not being offered for use. Using them, in fact, puts your organization at risk of copyright infringement. [The same is true for copying comic strips or “Dilbert”...]
Here are a few sources that I’d recommend, along with comments on copyright and cost (caveat: based on my understanding – you should check on your own to be sure!):
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx
This is Microsoft’s clip art website, specifically created to support users of PowerPoint and other MS applications. A subset of these images is typically installed on computers with Office. The online listing is more “evergreen” and tends to include old and new images.
The great news about all of these images is that they are (1) able to be used freely (no copyright restrictions) and (2) can be used free of charge.
Searching is simple – in both meanings of the phrase. You may have to browse through piles of thumbnails to find images that work best for you.
http://www.istockphoto.com and www.fotolia.com
iStockphoto and fotalia each have a large range of images – some of which are really terrific – for sale. Searching is more effective than with the Microsoft website, in my opinion, and there are capabilities to rapidly expand each image to get a better view than in a thumbnail.
Pricing is based on buying “credits” which then are used to purchase images. Usage rights start at one-person-one-computer and can extend to larger, corporate-use arrangements. Images are typically prices in accord with resolution – higher resolution images require more credits. Images are also typically available in a range of sizes.
Cost for a typical image suitable for a PowerPoint presentation by projector (or the web) runs from ~$1-4. You generally have the right to use that image as many times as you like, without time or geographic restriction.
Other sources you’d recommend? Please let me know!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Photo Clip Art Tips – 1 of 3
Using photos in presentations can be a much stronger method of communicating ideas than using bulleted text. (After all, if “one picture is worth a thousand words” then you’d need a pile of PowerPoint bullets to achieve the equivalent…!)
For Great Demo! Illustrations, photos showing frustration, piles of paperwork, stacks of files and related photos can be terrific “before” images.
A number of presentation skills books recommend the same idea including:
- Beyond Bullet Points – Cliff Atkinson – available on Amazon.com
- Presentation Zen – Garr Reynolds – available on Amazon.com
In a live presentation or demo, an evocative photo enables and supports the verbal message you are delivering. Contrariwise, a long list of bulleted sentences on a slide forces the audience to read – and ignore the presenter’s words.
Interestingly, “real” photos have proven to be much more effective than drawn clip art. Consider reviewing your “in-use” presentations and overhaul them:
- Remove old drawn clip art and replace, as appropriate, with real photos
- Explore where you can condense text – shorten sentences to phrases
- Seek to replace slides of text with one or two strong photo images
I’ll explore a few sources for good photos and guidelines for use (size, orientation) in the next few tips.
For Great Demo! Illustrations, photos showing frustration, piles of paperwork, stacks of files and related photos can be terrific “before” images.
A number of presentation skills books recommend the same idea including:
- Beyond Bullet Points – Cliff Atkinson – available on Amazon.com
- Presentation Zen – Garr Reynolds – available on Amazon.com
In a live presentation or demo, an evocative photo enables and supports the verbal message you are delivering. Contrariwise, a long list of bulleted sentences on a slide forces the audience to read – and ignore the presenter’s words.
Interestingly, “real” photos have proven to be much more effective than drawn clip art. Consider reviewing your “in-use” presentations and overhaul them:
- Remove old drawn clip art and replace, as appropriate, with real photos
- Explore where you can condense text – shorten sentences to phrases
- Seek to replace slides of text with one or two strong photo images
I’ll explore a few sources for good photos and guidelines for use (size, orientation) in the next few tips.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Great Demo! Webinars
[Warning – shameless self-promotion alert!] Our next webinar is scheduled for June 3rd at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, on Surprisingly Compelling Demos for Inside Sales – Making Your Numbers Over the Web. Citrix will be hosting this event – you can register here for the event.
Another Citrix webinar is scheduled for June 23rd for European audiences on a related topic, at 3:00 PM London time. Please contact me for registration information at PCohan@SecondDerivative.com.
Another Citrix webinar is scheduled for June 23rd for European audiences on a related topic, at 3:00 PM London time. Please contact me for registration information at PCohan@SecondDerivative.com.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
www.salesengineer.com
Looking for new position? Looking to hire presales staff?
www.salesengineer.com appears to be a bulletin-board service to enable job-seekers and companies to connect. You need to register – I’m not sure whether a fee is involved either direction. Feedback solicited!
www.salesengineer.com appears to be a bulletin-board service to enable job-seekers and companies to connect. You need to register – I’m not sure whether a fee is involved either direction. Feedback solicited!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Why Structure Your Demos Like News Articles?
Pick up this morning’s newspaper or scan today’s web news and consider two things:
1. How you select which articles to read
2. How the articles are written
News organizations have been presenting information for several hundreds of years, in print and now via the web, and they have learned some highly effective practices that we can employ in demonstrating software.
Consider organizing your demonstrations like a news article. Here’s why:
Imagine you’ve just picked up today’s newspaper. What section do you turn to first? In many cases, people immediately select the sports section, or finance, or entertainment. Readers explore that section is as much depth as desired, then turn to the next section of interest.
Newspapers (and news websites) organize information in a hierarchy of consumable components – components that can be accessed rapidly, explored as deeply as desired, and the exited at any point to move to the next component. The top level of the news hierarchy is the section – sports, finance, international, entertainment, comics…
Next, how do you choose which article you want to read? Typically, you scan for headlines that catch your interest. For many articles, you may only read the headline and move on rapidly – you’re not interested in the topic. Other articles engage your attention sufficiently to review the first few paragraphs, after which you stop and move on. Some articles you read all the way through, because they address a topic of real interest to you.
Each individual article is cleverly organized to enable readers to make rapid decisions about their depth of interest. The headline presents the topic – providing a binary opportunity for readers to pursue it or move on. The first one or two paragraphs of the article summarize the story, concisely. Many readers are completely satisfied with this level of information and read no further, returning to scan other headlines.
The subsequent paragraphs drill deeper and explore the story in more detail. Readers who are truly interested in the topic are the typical consumers of this level of information.
This organization and presentation of information is sometimes referred to as the “inverted pyramid” style of writing. It presents the most important information right at the beginning, in the first few paragraphs. Material in subsequent paragraphs is more and more detailed and of less importance.
In the bad old days of paper and ink, newspaper editors were able to cut articles to fit the space available – by cutting from the bottom of the article upwards. That way they knew they’d be removing the least important information.
News organizations have evolved this “inverted pyramid” method of presenting information over literally hundreds of years. Why not take advantage of this learning?
Consider organizing your demonstrations like a news article. Present a “headline” succinctly and rapidly. In Great Demo! methodology we call this an Illustration.
Assuming your audience is interested, present the key capabilities using a minimum of mouse clicks – like reading the first one or two paragraphs in a news article. The audience just wants a summary at this point – not all of the details! This corresponds to the Great Demo! “Do It” pathway.
Finally, for audiences that are really interested, you can dig deeper and explore the breadth and depth of the relevant capabilities – similar to those who wish to read more of the article. In Great Demo! we call this “Do It Again” or “Peel Back the Layers”.
Interestingly, also note that there are very few readers of the news who read everything in a newspaper or news website – similarly, you are not obligated to present everything that your software can do...!
News organizations present information in a hierarchy of consumable components – why not apply the same ideas to your demos?
1. How you select which articles to read
2. How the articles are written
News organizations have been presenting information for several hundreds of years, in print and now via the web, and they have learned some highly effective practices that we can employ in demonstrating software.
Consider organizing your demonstrations like a news article. Here’s why:
Imagine you’ve just picked up today’s newspaper. What section do you turn to first? In many cases, people immediately select the sports section, or finance, or entertainment. Readers explore that section is as much depth as desired, then turn to the next section of interest.
Newspapers (and news websites) organize information in a hierarchy of consumable components – components that can be accessed rapidly, explored as deeply as desired, and the exited at any point to move to the next component. The top level of the news hierarchy is the section – sports, finance, international, entertainment, comics…
Next, how do you choose which article you want to read? Typically, you scan for headlines that catch your interest. For many articles, you may only read the headline and move on rapidly – you’re not interested in the topic. Other articles engage your attention sufficiently to review the first few paragraphs, after which you stop and move on. Some articles you read all the way through, because they address a topic of real interest to you.
Each individual article is cleverly organized to enable readers to make rapid decisions about their depth of interest. The headline presents the topic – providing a binary opportunity for readers to pursue it or move on. The first one or two paragraphs of the article summarize the story, concisely. Many readers are completely satisfied with this level of information and read no further, returning to scan other headlines.
The subsequent paragraphs drill deeper and explore the story in more detail. Readers who are truly interested in the topic are the typical consumers of this level of information.
This organization and presentation of information is sometimes referred to as the “inverted pyramid” style of writing. It presents the most important information right at the beginning, in the first few paragraphs. Material in subsequent paragraphs is more and more detailed and of less importance.
In the bad old days of paper and ink, newspaper editors were able to cut articles to fit the space available – by cutting from the bottom of the article upwards. That way they knew they’d be removing the least important information.
News organizations have evolved this “inverted pyramid” method of presenting information over literally hundreds of years. Why not take advantage of this learning?
Consider organizing your demonstrations like a news article. Present a “headline” succinctly and rapidly. In Great Demo! methodology we call this an Illustration.
Assuming your audience is interested, present the key capabilities using a minimum of mouse clicks – like reading the first one or two paragraphs in a news article. The audience just wants a summary at this point – not all of the details! This corresponds to the Great Demo! “Do It” pathway.
Finally, for audiences that are really interested, you can dig deeper and explore the breadth and depth of the relevant capabilities – similar to those who wish to read more of the article. In Great Demo! we call this “Do It Again” or “Peel Back the Layers”.
Interestingly, also note that there are very few readers of the news who read everything in a newspaper or news website – similarly, you are not obligated to present everything that your software can do...!
News organizations present information in a hierarchy of consumable components – why not apply the same ideas to your demos?
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Demo Builder – Tool for Preparing Recorded Demos
A Great Demo! Workshop participant noted another tool for creating recorded demos: Demo Builder, from Tanida Inc. Here is their contact information and more about the tool itself:
Sales@demo-builder.com
http://www.demo-builder.com/
+1 (914) 410-6429
2313 Lakeshore Blvd. W #914
Toronto
M8V 1A8, Canada
From their website:
“Demo Builder is the experts authoring tool of choice for creating professional and fully interactive application simulations, presentations and tutorials. The best part is that Demo Builder is so easy to use! Unlike some other tools, with Demo Builder there is no complex interface and no previous programming knowledge is required. You'll be up and running and creating superior presentations in no time. Your audience will love it and you'll get the results you deserve.
Demo Builder version 7 further extends and expands on the features available in previous versions to enable you to create audio-visual Flash movies that show how software, systems and processes work. It offers the ability to capture all actions taken in a running application, which can then be edited and annotated to produce interactive demonstrations and simulations.”
A free trial version is available for download.
Pricing is currently as follows:
Professional Version: $249 for 1 user; $559 for 3 users; $869 for 5 users.
Standard Version: $199 for 1 user; $449 for 3 users; $699 for 5 users.
Feedback solicited…!
Sales@demo-builder.com
http://www.demo-builder.com/
+1 (914) 410-6429
2313 Lakeshore Blvd. W #914
Toronto
M8V 1A8, Canada
From their website:
“Demo Builder is the experts authoring tool of choice for creating professional and fully interactive application simulations, presentations and tutorials. The best part is that Demo Builder is so easy to use! Unlike some other tools, with Demo Builder there is no complex interface and no previous programming knowledge is required. You'll be up and running and creating superior presentations in no time. Your audience will love it and you'll get the results you deserve.
Demo Builder version 7 further extends and expands on the features available in previous versions to enable you to create audio-visual Flash movies that show how software, systems and processes work. It offers the ability to capture all actions taken in a running application, which can then be edited and annotated to produce interactive demonstrations and simulations.”
A free trial version is available for download.
Pricing is currently as follows:
Professional Version: $249 for 1 user; $559 for 3 users; $869 for 5 users.
Standard Version: $199 for 1 user; $449 for 3 users; $699 for 5 users.
Feedback solicited…!
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