Can you take that feature out?

Many people give demos and try to show prospects features that they think are cool. However there is a potential problem if you do this without confirming that they can benefit from that feature before you do the demo. I gave a a demo to a state government agency...I mentioned the Do Not Disturb (DND) feature. After I demonstrated the feature...one of the prospects said "we don't allow state workers to HIDE behind that type of feature...can you remove it?". Fortunately, the system I was representing could disable that feature...but the comment made by the prospect made me realize my mistake...I should have not tried to sell (demonstrate) a feature that they not only saw little benefit in...but actual considered the feature detrimental to their application. I learned a valuable lesson and I hope that by passing this on you will be able to avoid the same mistake. Excellent Selling!

What did you call that feature?

Many people fall into a trap of using telecom terms (including feature names) when communicating with prospects. You might think you are communicating effectively by calling a feature by its name...because if the prospect has heard of the name of the feature before...you might feel that you can speed up communications with them by using a term they have heard of. For example...if you use the term ACD and the prospect has heard of an ACD before...then the tendency is to think that every time you use that term...the prospect understands what you mean. Actually...this is not a good habit to get into because it has the potential to short circuit your opportunity to show value. For example...the prospect may think that the letters ACD mean "an expensive feature that his company does not need". So every time you use the term you are actually hurting your chances. In one demo...I demonstrated a feature and spoke about it for several minutes. I talked what it did for his business, what problems it solved and how it benefited his business. Then he gave me the ultimate confirmation that I had communicated effectively...he asked me what it was called? I thought to myself...wow...how cool was that? He wants to know what it is called because I never used the name of the feature in my discussion. Another benefit of this approach is that the prospect may not be able to get the same results for his business by buying a product that has a feature with the same name as the one I just described because I never called it by name. For example...if I said the feature is called Speed Dial. And the prospect found Speed Dial in a competing product...he might think that the products are the same in this regard (sometimes this is called a "feature" war or "checking the box"). But what if he needs 100 Speed Dial number capability...what if my product has 200 and the competing product has 70? You get the point...by just using the feature name you do not effectively communicate to the level that you need to and you open yourself up to competition that may have inferior solutions (with the same name). But it is not really about you...it is really about solving problems for the prospect. The prospect is really not being served as well as they could be if you do not dig down into the details of their real needs. So don't let your application discovery work go to waste by taking short cuts in describing your solution. Excellent Selling!

Is a live demo really required?

I believe the final decision to purchase a product quite often happens during a live demonstration. As a result I have spent a lot of time an energy learning products and developing demonstration techniques. I have done thousands of demos and trained many sales people on demonstration technique. Over the years I have seen some very successful sales people sell equipment without doing demonstrations. And I have seen new sales people try to emulate these successful sales people and fail. What I discovered is that the successful sales people used to do live demonstrations...and after many years of success...have refined their craft to the point where they can tell such compelling stories...that they can cut out the step of doing a physical demo. In other words...they have put in the work of doing live demos (many times) and they have "paid the price". The problem occurs when a new sales person sees that the successful sales person does not do physical demonstrations...so they try to get away without doing them. Quite often they do not end up with good sales results. The reason is that the new sales person has not paid the price...they have not done so many physical demos that they can cut that step out of their process...and win business. They can not tell stories and make the prospect understand the benefits of the product just with words. So my advice to new sales people...is not to try to emulate this part of the successful sales person's process...but instead...put the time in to become proficient and demonstrating the product you sell. Excellent Selling!

Delivering a message without speaking

How do you deliver the message that a product is "easy to use"...or... "user-friendly"? It is easy to say...but saying it really does not deliver the message as effectively as it can be delivered. I have delivered many telephone system demonstrations and developed a method that worked for me...and may work for you.

I figured out what features I wanted to demonstrate and programmed them to be accessible by the fewest button pushes possible...typically one. For example...if I wanted to make a call from extension 301 to extension 302...I could either lift the handset and dial 3 + 0 + 2...or I could press a single button on the phone that has been pre-programmed to dial 302. So...when I was doing a demo...I would say..."we are going to make a call from 301 to 302...let me do that for you now...then I would press a single button and extension 302 would begin to ring. I would do this for feature after feature. At the end of the demo...observers would say..."that is the easiest system to operate I ever saw!" The point is...that I did not say...this system is easy to use...I just operated it many times during the demo. At the end of the demo...if no one pointed out how easy the system was to use...I would call their attention to what they had just seen so that the benefit of ease of use was called to their attention. Bottom line...the message that something is easy to use is something that needs to be experienced...not just spoken about. Excellent Selling!

Deliver your message three times in a demo

Good communications is the key to getting your messages across and delivering an effective demo. I have seen even professionals that have been at it along time struggle to get their points across in a demo. Sometimes trying to talk while operating equipment which splits the focus of the audience and makes it harder to receive your messages. Try this...(1) tell the prospect what you are about to show them...(2) then operate the demo and show it to them...(3) tell them what they have just seen. I think this process is great because it allows you to build drama into the introduction...and deliver a clear benefit message...without competing for the audience's attention during the actual demo feature operation. Excellent Selling!

Making it memorable (and fun) at a Pentagon demo

Inside the Pentagon, I demonstrated a phone system that was to be used by the secretary of defense. The demo was given to top aides in the DOD at the Pentagon. After a very successful demo everyone crowed around the equipment to get a closer look. As the meeting time was just about to run out...I asked one of the generals to reach over and press a specific button on one of the key telephones. (I had this button programmed to call another extension. And in this system when you called an extension the name of the extension you called appeared in the display of your phone). Only in this case I had pre-programmed the name of the called extension to be: "MISSILES LAUNCHED". Every one there looked at the display...and had a great laugh. I think the demo was fun and memorable for all involved. Excellent Selling!

Controlling a difficult prospect

As the sales engineering part of a sales team...I was setting up an on-site demo in the office of a very busy manager. I was told by the salesman that the manager was in high demand...never sat still ...and was always taking calls in the middle of appointments. I looked at the physical layout of the office and came up with this plan. I set up the demo equipment on the coffee table in front of a couch in his office. After the prospect came in and sat on the couch facing the demo...the sales person pulled up a chair on his left and I pulled up a chair on his right...so...he had no way to easily leave the couch. As we started the demo...a secretary announced a new call on the phone on his desk. He sprang up...stepped over the coffee table...walked to his desk and took the call. When he returned to the couch...we started again...and another call was announced...he started to get up and step over the table again...but stopped...he said to the secretary..."hold my calls" and sat back down. We proceeded to get him involved in the demo which lasted over two hours! Then he called the rest of his staff in and said..."you have got to see this system"! What we did was make it too inconvenient for him to escape from the demo. He purchased the system...and it was partly due to to the fact that we recognized a potential problem...getting and holding his attention...and creatively solved it. Excellent Selling!

Should you stop in the middle of a demo?

I was near the end of delivering a demo to six representatives from a copier company. I had just demonstrated to them (several examples) of accessing features using a "single button push philosophy" that was one of the "hallmarks" of the system I was selling. This was in rather stark contrast to the popular feature access method at that time...which was pressing button after button of context sensitive menu choices. Just then...an individual walked in wearing jeans and sat in the corner. I thought about continuing the demo...but stopped and turned to the individual and asked who he was and what was his role in the acquisition of a new phone system? He said "I am John Smith and I sign the check"! I said..."Can you tell me what you are looking for in a new system"? He said...we distribute copiers and I can tell you the biggest problem is that users have to hit button after button of context sensitive menus and have great difficulty. So I am looking for single button access to features". Everyone laughed...including me...and I proceeded to show him why he didn't have to look further than the system now in front of him! Moral of the story...it pays to find out who enters the room in the middle of a presentation. Excellent Selling!

Focus on the HOT BUTTONS

I have participated in many sales demonstrations. I have been part of good ones and not so good ones. On some of the not so good ones...I have actually heard the prospect say something like "I am not sure if we need all this stuff". So I bring this tip to you. Fall in love with the product you are selling...but control yourself. It is easy to get caught up demonstrating as many features as you are able to demo. This approach not only taxes the attention span of the participants but it also detracts from the emphasis of a smaller group of features that can really deliver big benefits to the prospect. I suggest that you create a long list of the features that that a product offers...and prior to the demo...prioritize the list so that they are in the order of importance to the customer. Perhaps you will not prioritize the entire list...as an example...if a product has 50 popular features...then pick the top five or ten HOT BUTTONS. Demonstrate these five or ten features and make clear benefit statements about them. That is all the prospect is looking for. This process shows that you understand their business and what is important to them. Hint: if you have trouble prioritizing the list...it is a signal telling you that you really don't know your prospect's needs...and you need to improve your skills in that area of the sales process. Good Selling!!

Did you ever feel like you lost the prospect in the middle of a demo?

Things are going well at the beginning of the demo...and then for some reason there is a "disconnect". You finish the demo but you get the feeling that enthusiasm for your solution has cooled. It could be something so simple as turning your back on the prospect while you type at a keyboard. Suggestion: try to arrange your demo room...or traveling demo...so that when you are keyboarding...you are facing the prospect(s) for the entire demo. If you have to turn your back to them for more than several seconds...you will start to lose them. Good selling!