Sales Process: How to Deliver Effective Product Demonstrations - Part 2

by Alan Rigg

In Part 1 of this article we examined two primary reasons why so many product demonstrations fail to produce orders. Then we discussed two activities that must be completed before product demonstrations are scheduled.

In Part 2 we will explore how to structure product demonstrations to maximize the number of demonstrations that convert into closed sales.

Step #1: Review business problems and quantified impacts

Why should you review the prospect's business problems and quantified impacts before beginning a demonstration? There are two primary reasons:

1. To re-engage the prospect's EMOTIONS. It may have been some time since you last spoke with some of the people that are attending the product demonstration. You need to make sure every demonstration participants' emotions are engaged during the product demonstration, as emotions are a key driver in buying decisions being made.

2. To find out if any NEW business problems and quantified impacts should be added to the list. How often have you walked into a room to deliver a product demonstration and found people in the room you had never met before? The larger a prospect company is, the more likely this is to happen.

These new participants may have different concerns than the other demonstration participants. If they do, you need to make sure the new concerns are identified (and the related business problems quantified, if possible) before proceeding with the demonstration.

Step #2: Focus the demonstration on the SPECIFIC product features that solve the prospect's SPECIFIC business problems

Remember, the goal of a demonstration is to prove your company's product can solve the prospect's specific business problems while avoiding information overload.

It doesn't matter if the features that will solve the prospect's business problems constitute just a small percentage of the product's capabilities. You should focus the demonstration on the specific product features that deliver the return on investment described in the proposal. The prospect can learn about your product's many other wonderful capabilities after they buy!

Step #3: Carefully manage expert resources

Unless you are a real product expert, I always recommend having a product expert be involved in delivering a product demonstration. This increases the chances that all of the prospect's questions will be answered accurately during the demonstration.

With that said, there must be no doubt as to who is running the show. You must be willing to take on this responsibility!

You must ensure the demonstration follows (as closely as possible) the predetermined script. You should ask questions to clarify the intent of demonstration participants' questions prior to answering the questions (or prior to asking the product expert to answer the questions). You should also be prepared to "reign in" the product expert if the expert gets into excessive detail or begins to address product capabilities that are not critical to the prospect's buying decision.

Step #4: Gain agreement regarding "next steps"

Hopefully the next step following completion of a demonstration will be processing the prospect's order! But, if you are not successful closing a sale at the end of the demonstration, make sure there is clear agreement regarding the next steps in the prospect's decision process.

Summary

If a prospect doesn't have the kinds of business problems your company's products and services can solve, or if the impact of the prospect's business problems is not severe enough to motivate them to invest in your company's products and services, it doesn't matter how wonderful the demonstration is. The prospect will not buy!

You will maximize your time and resource investments if you delay scheduling a demonstration until after a prospect agrees there is a compelling business case for buying your product.

Remember, product demonstrations should play a specific role in the sales process. This role is proving a product or service will indeed solve the prospect's specific business problems!

About the Author

Sales performance expert Alan Rigg is the author of How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Sales Team Performance: A Step-By-Step Guide to Building and Managing Top-Performing Sales Teams, and the companion book, How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Selling: A Step-By-Step Guide to Achieving Top Sales Performance. His 80/20 Selling System™ helps business owners, executives, and managers end the frustration of 80/20 sales team performance, where 20% of salespeople produce 80% of sales. For more information and more FREE sales and sales management tips, visit http://www.8020salesperformance.com.

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