The “demo”…

I’ve worked with many wonderful selling teammates throughout my career.  Their business card titles varied by company; Systems Consultant; Solution Architect; Product Line Specialist; Subject Matter Expert; etc.  Regardless, I benefitted greatly from their knowledge, expertise, and contributions to the deals I sold; we sold.  Of course, the most exciting selling activity was the demonstration: 

Charismatic salespeople vie to win the attention of the visionary with outrageous promises, which heroic sales-support specialists try to illustrate in demos invented more or less on the fly, and which R&D groups agree to make come true under the influence of contagious enthusiasm and too much caffeine. 

Geoffrey A. Moore 

Yep – that was often what my world felt like.  I’d blame it on the prospect.  Those darn prospects.  They could be as stubborn as a cat when it came to demanding a demo customized to their specific business needs.  And that was pretty stubborn as our Unknown Sage knows: 

     Long's Notes 

Never try to out-stubborn a cat. 

Nonetheless, often the first and hardest hurdle I had to overcome in my deals was negotiating with my internal sales teammates when I needed to address the prospect’s request for a custom demo.  Or, as my college classmate put it: 

Coming from an IT background (programming, support, sales, mgmt.), I lived in the culture you describe and we had a saying that the first rule of giving custom demos was “Don’t”. 

David Langston 

So there I’d be between two centers of stubbornness; the prospect and my sales support teammates.  Then along comes my sales manager asking when to expect that deal to close.  I would try to explain my situation, but: 

The definition of "Try" is; 

an explanation of failure in advance. 

Steve Olsen 

The second hurdle to overcome (then and today, too) was the availability and stability of the demo system we were dialing into.  Today, it’s the Internet connection.  Have you ever witnessed a demo when the Internet connection would just grind?  Ever hear the sales side apologize with, “the Internet is slow”?  Back in the day it wasn’t the connection that was the issue; it was the demo system itself!

Don’t worry, I’m not going to claim that things were harder back then.  You know, trudging uphill; in the snow; both ways, et al. 

It may have been hard back then, but I know demos in the marketplace have become increasingly difficult to deliver today.  Not only have the dynamics (aka stubbornness) of prospects and sales support specialists not changed, but we now add in a world where demos are typically conducted virtually vs. in person.  Gone are the days when I could bring the coffee and donuts to help keep my prospects alert.  Especially when my teammate decided to do a “deep dive” on some arcane product feature guaranteed to put everyone to sleep. 

Speaking of which, still with me?  Did you dose off, HaHa!  See what I mean? 

To meet today’s demo challenges, we need to double down on mastering the requisite skills.  Think you’re good with cats and don’t need a little help?  Well OK, but: 

Learn from the skillful:  He that teaches himself hath a fool for his master. 

Benjamin Franklin 

If you believe as I do that the sales demo requires new skills taught by master teachers, take a look at one of my favorites, Julie Nelson.  Maybe she can help you avoid telling your manager your are “trying” to closing that deal. 

                                                            GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.