I’m occasionally surprised to find presales staff who have never seen another vendor’s demo – not even demos from a competitor… (So, if you haven’t seen demos from other vendors, it is time to do so!)
For everyone, occasionally watching demos from other vendors is a terrific way to regain the customer’s perspective regarding demos. I typically suggest that you watch demos from vendors where you actually have interest in their products – this helps to make the interaction as real as possible – be a customer. Sign up for a demo from the vendor’s website and see how you are treated as a customer:
- Do they just schedule a demo without asking any questions or doing Discovery? What is the balance pre-demo experience like?
- How about the demo itself:
o Was it engaging?
o Did it address your interests?
o Was it interactive – or a fire-hose delivery of features and functions?
o Did you find your attention wandering – did you “check out”? (And if so, how long into the demo did this take?)
o What could have made the experience for valuable for you, as the customer?
- And what happened post-demo – did they address any open issues or questions, for example?
What you learn you may wish to apply to your own demos and processes!
