Let me set the scene for you. We’re in the middle of December. This is the time of year that we review internal processes and operations. Part of that means evaluating new software solutions. We take a ton of product demos, talk to dozens of SDRs and Account Executives to try and find the tools we need to implement the process we envision.
We generally go into these meetings with a really clear picture of what we want to see within the platform we’re viewing. This should be the perfect opportunity for an account executive. The good ones generally nail these demos, the worst ones can waste 30 minutes of your day trying to ram irrelevant features down your throat. So what separates the good from the rest in these situations?
Focus on the prospect.
Proper discovery (whether done in an initial meeting with an SDR or prior to the demo by the AE) should uncover the pain/needs that your prospect has that can be solved by your product. If there’s no pain you shouldn’t be doing a demo.
Once you’ve uncovered the pain, start the demo by showing how your product solves this. Don’t follow a set flow. There’s nothing more frustrating for a prospect than sitting through 20 minutes of features that bear no relevance to what I’m trying to achieve.
By starting with the most relevant feature/benefit, you get the prospect engaged, they’ll be more willing to open up and engage in dialogue and you can use this to engagement to find out whether any other features make sense to them.
If you’re not customising demos to each prospect’s pain, start doing it today. You’ll close way more deals.