Peter Cohan
Peter Cohan
Have you ever seen a bad software demonstration? Peter Cohan is the founder and principal of Great Demo!, focused on helping software organizations improve the success rates of their demos. He authored Great Demo! - how to prepare and deliver surprisingly compelling software demonstrations. Peter has experience as an individual contributor, manager and senior management in marketing, sales, and business development. He has also been, and continues to be, a customer.
Product Selection Tip – Customers’ Perspective
A recent article providing product selection tips for customers evaluating software offerings included the following advice: - Compile a list of questions from your...
The Terrible Tabs Death March
I sat in on a demo recently where the presenter navigated to a page with about 10 tabs displayed across the screen and then...
Best Practices for Network Connections for Face-to-Face Demos
I've watched a number of vendors struggle with trying to connect to their network/software applications when at customer sites. Typically, they are...
Live Meeting: Another Task for Your Meeting Manager
I've noted that the best practice for Remote Demos is to have a representative at the customer site to be your active conduit of...
Presales On-boarding Training Novel Concept
Here's a terrific idea for training new presales staff: Teach them your discovery/qualification process before teaching how to demo your software… Why consider this...
We Are Programmed To Forget – And Its Impact on Our Demos
Indeed we are – and consider the impact this has on traditional software demos! Imagine you are driving home from work or on an errand…...
Presales On-boarding Training Novel Concept
Here's a terrific idea for training new presales staff: Teach them your discovery/qualification process before teaching how to demo your software… Why...
Remote Demos – Don’t Forget to Disconnect!
While this is certainly obvious, I'm occasionally amused – and sometimes astonished – by vendors who forget to close their Remote Demo meetings (e.g.,...
Understanding Before Proposing Solutions
We all know that we need to gain a sufficient understanding of our customers' needs and specific situations before proposing solutions – and before...
Remote Demos – Consider Using Two Computers
Consider hosting your Remote Demo sessions (e.g., using WebEx, GoToMeeting, Adobe Connect, etc.) on separate computer – not the one you are using for...
“A Link and a Login”
Software has always been an "intangible", making it difficult to understand the value of what the software offers – and it only gets harder. In...
Twas the Night Before The Big Demo
Twas the Night Before The Big Demo (with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore) 'Twas the night 'fore the demo and all through the house Not…
Remote Demos – Three Audio Considerations
If they can't hear you, it is all over even before you begin…! Here are a few ideas specifically regarding the...
Implementation Strategies – For Great Demo! and Other Methodologies
When presenting new ideas to teams that may include sales, presales and marketing, there are some strategies that work better than others, with respect...
Performance Challenges – (Not) Waiting For the Hourglass
You've just started a process that will take several seconds to complete, in your demo, and now the audience's attention is riveted watching the...
Fuze – Another Entry in the Web Collaboration Marketplace
Fuze Box, Inc. (www.Fuzebox.com) has announced three offerings to enable presentation and sharing of information over the web: - Fuze Meeting – (www.fuzemeeting.com) - Fuze…
Show Document – Web Sharing Tool
A Great Demo! Blog reader noted another tool for sharing content over the web: Show Document (http://www.showdocument.com). While it doesn't appear to have...
Best, Bester, Most Bestest
I was watching a demo yesterday and heard the presenter say, "Now here's the best part of our software…" at least 5 times. ...
Attention-Retention Curves – The “Serial Position Effect” – The Basis Behind a Very Important Concept
In Great Demo! Workshops we execute a wonderful exercise designed to help participants understand the importance of "chunking" information – of organizing demos into...
Props for Demos
I saw a great prop yesterday in a Great Demo! Workshop: one of the participants used his laptop as the prop, holding it...