The second key step in creating a winning demo is to know your product. So what does that mean?
Knowing your product is much more than learning the specs and even how to run your product. The key to a great demo is to learn to use the tool to solve the typical problems that your customers face.
As an example, I often train support people to give sales demonstrations; many of whom have many years experience with the product. More often than not, their product experience is much less helpful than you would think.
The reason is that support people are focused on what the tool can do and not on the types of challenges their customers face and as a result they end up giving long boring tours of every feature and menu. They do this because they lack an appreciation for their prospects’ world and because they are used to doing product training, NOT product demos.
Once we make it clear where prospects are coming from, it can be a real “eye-opener” for support people and usually results in a dramatic improvement in their sales demos!
Next time you think about learning a new product be sure to think about your customers’ needs first.
Good selling
pat