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.
The Surprising Road(s) to Demo and Presales Mastery
This article explores the road(s) towards demo and presales mastery – and may change your perceptions whether you are experienced or new to the discipline. …
Stunningly Awful Demos – The 2020 Great Demo! Top Ten List of What NOT to Do
Here’s a collection of poor tactics, bad errors and faulty steps you can take to increase the likelihood that your demo will be a failure. …
Using Analogies and Metaphors (and More) in Demos
Well-crafted analogies and metaphors1 help our audiences remember the key ideas we present in our demos. Some examples are very effective, others could be improved……
The Million Dollar Demo and the Good Little Salesperson
Once upon a time, there was a software company, with a Good Little Salesperson. One day, the Good Little Salesperson came across a customer that…
Thousands of Websites Offer “Book a Demo” – Should Another Option Be “Book a Conversation”?
Think about it… Wouldn’t it be great to start the interaction with your customers with a conversation – or a substantial Discovery discussion – before…
COVID-19, Presales, and Leadership
Presales practitioners as leaders. This is a critical time for presales folks to leverage their trusted advisor status to lead and guide our customers in…
Seven Habits for Stunningly Successful Demos
--> Here are seven demo success factors that lead to closed business. We’ll discuss each of these briefly and, for current Great Demo! practitioners, we’ll…
Great Demo! Remote Demos Best Practices
Want a horror story? I’ll give you a teaser: The punchline is, “Nope, I’m good…” I do a lot of “prep” demos with my customers,…
The Great Demo! Top Ten List
Here are ten steps you can take to improve the success rates for your demos: 1. Be clear on your Objectives for the demonstration. “It’s…
Staff vs. Manager vs. Exec Perspective – Avoiding the “Spaghetti Bowl” Demo
Most traditional demos seek to engage all customer job titles in the audience – rightfully so! But timing is the question… Here’s a traditional demo…
A Story of LEGO Bricks, Software Demos, and Vision Generation
The wonderful thing about “toolkit” software offerings is that they can do so many things – the challenge is that the customer often doesn’t know…
A Humbling, Yet Valuable Lesson
I was delivering a Great Demo! Workshop last week in Europe to an international audience and during our first break, a woman came up to…
What’s the Value of Better Demos?
For the clueless, not a thing. (Yes, there are those who believe their demos are just fine – no reason to change or improve. Let…
How Would You Feel If…? A Hospital Example of Daily-use vs. Set-up Mode
--> Imagine you go to the hospital emergency room because you think you may have broken a bone in your arm… You arrive and: The…
Rescue – From the Tyranny of Traditional Demos
Ask yourself: · Have you ever felt like you have far too much to show in a demo – and insufficient time to show it? …
Stunningly Awful Sales Outcomes – the Opportunity That Just Wouldn’t Close
Getting Critical Dates from prospects is very often neglected, but is surprisingly significant… There are typically three reasons why a sales opportunity goes to “No…
Stunningly Awful Remote Demos – The Top Ten List of Inflicting Pain at a Distance
Would you like a horror story? I do a lot of “prep” demos with my customers, asking them to present live demos to me, over...
What Can We Learn by Analyzing 67,439 Software Demos? – Some Surprising New Insights
What can we learn by analyzing 67,439 software demos? A great deal…! Surprising Insight Number 1: Traditional linear, end-to-end and overview demos are NOT a...
Stunningly Awful Demos – The Great Demo! Top Ten List of What NOT to Do
Here’s a collection of poor tactics, bad errors and faulty steps you can take to increase the likelihood that your demo will be a...
Disasters Neatly Averted – Dealing with “Day-in-the-Life” Demos
A colleague once cynically commented, in response to a request for a “day-in-the-life” demo, “Give me a week and I can show you a...