Great Demo Peter Cohan Role of Sales in DemosSent by Cohan March 2017. His summary:
Sales people have a specific and carefully choreographed role in demos when following the Great Demo! methodology. Here are some of the key ideas for face-to-face demos:
- Before the demo: ensure that sufficient Discovery information has been uncovered and communicated to the balance of the team (e.g., presales person), along with the other pre-demo information on players, timing, location, etc.
- Introductions: Sales should ask the Three Questions (What is your name? What is your job title? What would you like to accomplish in our demo today?).
- Situation Slides: Sales should present the Situation Slide(s). [For those unfamiliar with Situation Slides or Illustrations, see my note way below…]
- Illustrations: Not required, but highly recommended – the best sales people can competently (and confidently) present Illustrations. This also enables them to deliver Vision Generation demos, as well (without the need for a presales person to be present). See my article “Vision Generation Demos - The Crisp Cure for Stunningly Awful Harbor Tours” on my website at secondderivative.com/vision-generation-demos.html for more information.
- Questions: Sales should field and park questions, as appropriate. (Sales people should also be tracking what was asked and answered, so that they can be properly prepared for the Final Summary). Sales may also need to gently step in and ask clarification questions, before the technical person heads off into the weeds…
- Intermediate Summaries: Sales should be ready to deliver summaries after each major “chunk”, if the presales person does not. Doing so also gives the presales person a breather!
- Business Value: Far too often, demo presenters discuss “what” their software does and elaborate on “how” it works, but neglect to communicate “why” it is important – they miss communicating the Business Value. Sales needs to include this key idea in summaries.
- Rescues: Sales should be prepared to “rescue” the presales person, when needed (e.g., bugs, crashes, getting “lost in the weeds”, parking questions, etc.).
- Final Summary: The sales person should deliver the final summary, including a review of the questions asked, answers provided, and any action items to be pursued (for both the vendor and the customer). If appropriate, this may include a gentle trial close…
