Why Salespeople’s Product Demos Suck and How to Fix Them

Why Salespeople’s Product Demos Suck and How to Fix Them

Aug 15, 2024

Hearing Crickets Post Demo?


In the past five months, 75% of the discovery calls I've had have one thing in common - a stalled pipeline post-discovery and demo. Sales Leaders are scratching their heads trying to figure out why.


It's as if something magical happens in that moment right after discovery or a demo that makes a buyer say - "that's nice"...


So why is it that most demos suck?


  • The sales rep doesn't take time to do any discovery so they know nothing beyond the surface of/from their buyer
  • Overuse of the word IFs (this means we don’t know the buyer’s problems)
  • The demo isn't personalized nor customized to the buyer's environment (so the buyer feels nothing - no attachment, no idea how you can help them specifically).
  • The rep shows Every Feature known to man during the demo
  • The buyer doesn't experience a “Changing Room Experience”


Wait - What Is The Purpose of a Demo?


According to HubSpot the purpose of a sales demo is:

"To show them the features, capabilities, and value of the product or service"
AND


"The purpose of a sales demo is to close a deal."


Here's where I'm going to disagree and offer THIS:


A demo or trial should be used to validate your claims as a solution and as a tool to deliver a compelling story on how your product will impact their sales organization by solving or eradicating a current problem.


What you may see here is that you have to KNOW the problems of your buyer BEFORE you go to a demo.


And no, I'm not talking about their lack of...(not having a tool, missing your tool, not having your product, not having visibility, etc.).


We are talking about actual business problems that keep the C-Suite and Leadership up at night, that they are held to or seeing a decline in (ex. massive decline in sales).


Customer-Centric Sales Demos


It comes down to discovery!


A great demo showcases how your solution addresses a buyer's precise, immediate problem(s).


While there are a slew of products where you can demo and click to purchase (transactions), we are talking about when your team has to be able to make a case for change with a buyer.


Your team has to innately understand the buyer's current state problems, their future desires state, the gaps, and the impacts of not meeting those.


Not understanding the above has your team:

  • Presenting basic demo slides
  • Leaning in to saying things like "if you have this problem, this will help" (then showing 5 features)...
  • Not able to make a problem-product correlation
  • Leaving it all to the buyer to understand if your product/service will help


You can continue to scratch your head as to why your salespeople's demos suck and you are losing pipeline, or you can lean into understanding WHY your team has to do a banger of a job during discovery.


Don't Believe Me? How About Research?


In a study done by Keenan . , 1230 Buyers (C-Suite, Directors, Managers, etc.) were surveyed and 61% of buyers have purchased a product/service they didn’t know they needed until after their interaction with the salesperson.


And for all of you who are experiencing a stalled pipeline post demo - the buyers in the survey stated: 36% of buyers said that the main reason that the buying process stalls is because the seller doesn’t understand the buyer’s problems.


The Changing Room Experience


You want buyers to be able to see how 5-6 features (no more), match up to the 3-4 business problems so they have a clear understanding of how you will not only solve what's going on but why your product/service is the BEST choice.


Routinely during the Demo, STOP....ask...


Can You See This Helping?


As you demonstrate a feature, be sure to ask your prospect if what you just showed them would help them achieve their goals.


Ask questions like:

  • Can you see this improving your churn rate?
  • Do you see how this will shorten your sales cycle length?
  • Can you see this improving conversion rates?


That is the changing room experience - when the buyer is actually able to SEE themselves using the product and the desired state as you've done an amazing job of the problem-product correlation.


But, Wait, There Is More


As I talked with a team this week that is losing 90% of their pipeline after discovery and demo, I'd be remiss not to share - it doesn't have to be this way. Hone in your discovery, gather that (buyer input data) BID information and customize every single demo.


For more in depth information on how to have your demo not suck and the 6 key feature rule - make sure to download "How to Do A Kick-Ass Sales Demo". It's a quick read and one of my favorites.