A converting sales demo can be the difference between closing a deal and losing a high-paying prospect. Many modern buyers, especially in the SaaS industry, consider demos an indispensable part of the purchase decision. However, dialing into the sales demo process is tough.
You can't go overboard with specifying features and technicalities, asking too many questions to understand their perspective, or following a fixed script—all this and more makes sales demos complicated.
This article exists to help you simplify this overly complicated process in three easy-to-follow steps. But, first:
A sales demonstration is presenting your product/service to a prospect. The demo highlights all the wow factors of the product (features, benefits, and prospect fit), with the end goal of closing the deal.
It's a crucial part of any brand’s sales and marketing efforts where marketing quality leads are transferred to the sales team, which encourages the first contacts to check their interest in a sale demo.
At virtually every company, a sales demo is presented by a sales rep. Here are a few different ways your leads might show an interest in a sales demo:
A Harvard Business Reviews study highlighted that 78% of new businesses go to the first responder. Now, imagine you are ready with a sales demo for these new prospects—your sales will skyrocket!
So, here are the three steps to crafting a converting sales demo from the outset:
One-size-fits-all sales demos don't exist, which makes the research so important.
Social media sites, especially LinkedIn, should be your first port of call for researching a company or an individual. Take note of these five aspects of their business while you shape your demo:
A good sales demo always follows an agenda that should be provided to the prospects beforehand. This helps set clear expectations and keeps everything organized.
Create a strategic demo agenda in the preparation phase. Let the prospect know that at the end, there will be time for them to ask detailed questions (but also emphasize that questions are welcome throughout the demo).
While not many prospects may care about your product's features per se, they do care about the value it'll bring to their business.
Focus on demoing to remedy the prospect's specific pain point. Give the demo from the customer's perspective. Show them exactly how your product is helpful to them.
Adopt a value-first approach. Don't make the demo a one-on-one run down of each feature, but demonstrate value by presenting before and after scenarios.
While slow starts do build suspense, more often than not, prospects lose interest. They want to get straight to your product's juicy solutions—so why not start with that?
Let's take the example of RingSense for sales. Rather than going into how RingSense came to be or its features, they dive straight into the values—AI-powered revenue intelligence to accelerate pipeline, automate sales tasks, and crush quotas—in their demo.
That's a strong intro that starts off with solving some of the biggest problems of their prospect.
Therefore, dive straight into the benefits. Say you are showcasing your app's task automation. You want to geek out on all the details and show why they should care about these illustrious features (aka, what it'll do for them).
Sales demos are meant to show prospects how your product meets their specific needs. It's hyper-personalized bottom-of-funnel (BOF) content that needs to be created uniquely for almost every lead.
Through Step 1, you'll know your prospects’ burning issues. If not, take some time to study them and check their website and social media to understand how your products fit in their work.
Even better, personalize the demo for specific people who'll be viewing it. Go beyond explaining general problem-solution and demonstrate how the product fits their day-to-day role. This will transform how you give the demo (Think of giving the demo to the head of marketing vs. the CMO).
You've already added a Q&A to your sales demo agenda, but let the prospect know they can get all their questions answered after the demo. Always assume that they’ll have some questions or follow-up remarks about the product or your pitch. Answer all these questions and be nice—even if the questions are irrelevant or uninformed.
Pay close attention to their facial expression and tone. This will define the next step—maybe they are ready to close the deal, or you'll have to convince them more.
There's no reason you can't end the demo with a close. If you've successfully delivered a value-driven, converting sales demo, the leads will already be thinking about buying. Most times, they'll be ready to buy on the spot.
Either way, you have to ask them to close the deal. If they aren't ready, initiate the next step.
For those who didn't convert straight away, the clock is still ticking. Now, the most important action is following up in the form of an email, call, or a one-on-one meeting that keeps the momentum going.
However, ensure your follow-up does not feel too pushy. Keep these points in mind:
Also, leverage AI marketing tools to craft and schedule customizable follow-up emails for better efficiency. When done right, these follow-ups will bring the prospects closer to the end of the sales cycle.
A strong sales demo is a powerful way to convert leads into paying clients. This three-step guide is a great start, but what works for some may not work for you. The key is to keep experimenting.
Record every sales demo call to get the most learning from each interaction. Revisit the call and pinpoint every area of improvement for yourself and your team.
Keep experimenting and refining your sales demo. Your conversion rate will start soaring soon!
