Handling Demos at Scale: Tools and Strategies for Success

Curious how folks here are handling demos at scale, especially for cold prospects. Are you using platforms like Storylane or Consensus, or do you rely more on live walkthroughs after the first touch?

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6 comments

Nicholas P.
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if its self-serve or for a PLG company that could be more useful
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Dylan M.
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Totally agree on demos being too feature-heavy. I’ve seen the same thing where discovery + story does the heavy lifting, and the demo should just reinforce that. That’s part of why I’ve been exploring lighter-weight, self-serve demos. More like a quick follow-up or proof point that prospects can explore on their own, without replacing the narrative conversation. Although I don’t think demos by themselves solve the issue, I’m hoping they can still provide useful insight into buyer interaction and interest if they’re plugged in at the right moments throughout the sales cycle. Have you seen that kind of approach work?
Nicholas P.
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I think the tools you listed above do a great job at helping with demo's but the issue is doing a demo not finding ways to create better demos
Nicholas P.
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I'd say part of it is some reps make it too feature-heavy and can't tie it back to the story. Demo's in B2B have been around for 40-50 years consistently (they have been around for hundreds) but it's an old process. Similar to BANT which was developed by IBM in the 50's. Although some pieces are valuable it doesn't fit for a lot of businesses in todays world and so many companies use it and wonder why they have a qualifying issue or why the demo to close rate is so slow. IMO it's all about discovery via conversations and finding the problem and allowing them to figure out it is a problem. A demo isn't really needed unless its a very complex product that requires a heavy technical flow - which in that case you should bring on a SE who can also talk through each problem. I use demo's or presentations as a follow-up for clients that don't close or I need to progress, I'll send it to them in an email but I won't open it for them. When I stopped doing a traditional demo or even customized demo's my close rate jumped to over 50%.
Dylan M.
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Interesting take Nicholas P. - I like the narrative approach too. When you say demos kill deals, do you mean because they're too feature-heavy and not tied back to the story?
Nicholas P.
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I think demo's are what kills deals. I take the Jeff Bezos approach in creating a narrative and story telling
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Loading comments

Nicholas P.
·
·
if its self-serve or for a PLG company that could be more useful
1
Dylan M.
·
·
Totally agree on demos being too feature-heavy. I’ve seen the same thing where discovery + story does the heavy lifting, and the demo should just reinforce that. That’s part of why I’ve been exploring lighter-weight, self-serve demos. More like a quick follow-up or proof point that prospects can explore on their own, without replacing the narrative conversation. Although I don’t think demos by themselves solve the issue, I’m hoping they can still provide useful insight into buyer interaction and interest if they’re plugged in at the right moments throughout the sales cycle. Have you seen that kind of approach work?
Nicholas P.
·
·
I think the tools you listed above do a great job at helping with demo's but the issue is doing a demo not finding ways to create better demos
Nicholas P.
·
·
I'd say part of it is some reps make it too feature-heavy and can't tie it back to the story. Demo's in B2B have been around for 40-50 years consistently (they have been around for hundreds) but it's an old process. Similar to BANT which was developed by IBM in the 50's. Although some pieces are valuable it doesn't fit for a lot of businesses in todays world and so many companies use it and wonder why they have a qualifying issue or why the demo to close rate is so slow. IMO it's all about discovery via conversations and finding the problem and allowing them to figure out it is a problem. A demo isn't really needed unless its a very complex product that requires a heavy technical flow - which in that case you should bring on a SE who can also talk through each problem. I use demo's or presentations as a follow-up for clients that don't close or I need to progress, I'll send it to them in an email but I won't open it for them. When I stopped doing a traditional demo or even customized demo's my close rate jumped to over 50%.
Dylan M.
·
·
Interesting take Nicholas P. - I like the narrative approach too. When you say demos kill deals, do you mean because they're too feature-heavy and not tied back to the story?
Nicholas P.
·
·
I think demo's are what kills deals. I take the Jeff Bezos approach in creating a narrative and story telling
🔥1