How can you demonstrate the value of your product over time using demos?

Conducting a thorough technical discovery not only supports you in demonstrating value but also positions you as a trusted advisor who truly understands your audience's unique technical landscape. I’d advise instead of focusing solely on gathering technical specifications, take the time to understand the broader context of your prospect's business challenges and goals. Ask open-ended questions that uncover not just what technology they use, but why they use it and what outcomes they hope to achieve.

In my role as a sales engineer, I establish clear goals and expectations to guide my efforts. I define measurable targets, like revenue quotas and client acquisition objectives, providing a roadmap for success. Articulating roles, responsibilities, and performance metrics is crucial for clarity and alignment. This approach empowers me to focus on achieving tangible results. By setting specific and achievable goals, I enhance my effectiveness and contribute to the overall success of the sales engineering team. It fosters a collaborative environment, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and working towards shared objectives.

Define specific goals for each demo, such as showcasing key features, addressing customer pain points, or highlighting unique selling propositions. Objectives should align with the customer's needs and stage in the buying process. Aim to create engagement and understanding, ensuring the customer sees how your product directly benefits them. Use measurable objectives, like obtaining feedback or confirming the next steps, to track the success of each demo.

Demonstrating the value of your product over time using demos involves showcasing its evolution, improvements, and impact on the user's experience. Here's how : - Showcase New Features: Regularly update your demo to include the latest and greatest. explain how these address user needs, and improve functionality and experience. - Incorporate user feedback into your demos to demonstrate how your product addresses their UC's - Present before-and-after scenarios to show how using your product positively impacts users - Provide 'real' case studies that showcase how your product was successfully implemented -Share long-term success stories/testimonials from satisfied customers - Incorporate data-driven insights/metrics into your demos

Andy starts by deeply understanding TechFirmX's current challenges through detailed questions, uncovering not just surface-level issues but the impact on productivity and morale. Discovering that delayed projects are costing TechFirmX significant revenue, Andy aligns the demo to directly address this pain point. The demo focuses on outcomes, showing how the software's project management capabilities can drastically reduce project delays. Andy uses data from existing customers to quantify potential savings and efficiency gains, making the value proposition tangible. The close becomes a natural next step, as TechFirmX can clearly see the gap the product fills and the ROI it offers, making the decision to proceed almost a foregone conclusion.

As a sales engineer, employing storytelling and scenarios is a powerful strategy to engage clients. I often use show-and-tell skill to give product demos to my prospects. They feel engaged and shows interest in the product. By explaining narratives and practical scenarios into presentations, I humanize technical details and demonstrate real-world applications. Sharing success stories and potential use cases creates a compelling narrative that addresses client concerns and builds confidence.

Customer stories are your MOST powerful tool in striking a balance between tech depth and value. They help you - form an emotional connection by humanizing the problem - establish relevance - preemptively handle some objections - differentiate your offering AND your sales approach from the competition Practice storytelling with your SE team and with your AEs. Use simple frameworks such as CONTEXT > CONFLICT > RESOLUTION > TRANSFORMATION. When presenting to a Director or above, tell stories of how your solution helped their peers at other companies achieve lower spend, do more with a team, etc. When presenting to a practitioner, tell a story that helps them understand how their peers are able to do X faster or easier. Have fun!

Integrate storytelling into your demos by presenting relatable scenarios or challenges your product resolves. Share success stories from other clients, emphasizing measurable outcomes. Connect emotionally by illustrating how your product positively impacts users' experiences. Ensure the demo flows logically, guiding the customer through a narrative that aligns with their needs, making the value of your product more memorable and compelling.

As I mentioned above, the type of demo that you use should relate to the outcomes that you and the customer are trying to achieve. Stories are the best way to convey a vision, and idea and an outcome. The customer can then see what their future could look like

Incorporate tangible results and metrics into your demo by showcasing real-world examples of how your product has improved key performance indicators (KPIs) for other clients. Use before-and-after scenarios to illustrate the impact on efficiency, cost savings, or revenue growth. Clearly present quantifiable data, such as percentage improvements or specific numbers, to demonstrate the concrete value your product brings. This approach adds credibility and helps customers envision the measurable impact on their own operations.

The use of metrics and results really depends on what type of demo you are running. If you are running a discovery and positioning demo then yes - use metrics. However, if you are running a technical deep dive then the customer is more likely to be interested in the how and not the why.

Encourage customer involvement during demos by asking open-ended questions to understand their specific needs. Incorporate interactive elements, like hands-on exercises or simulations, allowing them to experience the product firsthand. Create space for questions and feedback throughout the demo, fostering a two-way conversation. After the demo, explicitly request feedback and insights, demonstrating your commitment to addressing their concerns and ensuring the solution meets their requirements.

Please use an appropriate demo for each situation. You would not (normally) use a hammer to drive a screw, so why would you use a single demo for EVERY customer interaction ? Tailor the demo for the types of situation that it will be used for

I love using relatable examples, analogies, and metaphors to simplify complex concepts, and share success stories that resonate with their experiences. Be authentic, personable, and encourage two-way communication throughout the demo.By adopting this approach, you can create a more engaging and impactful demo that connects with your audience on a deeper level. Best advise I got was " Speak TO the people not AT them"

Demonstrating the value of our product over time through demos involves a personalized approach. There's no one-size-fits-all demo; each company and prospect is unique. By understanding their specific needs, tailor the demonstration to address their challenges and goals. Emphasizing key features and benefits, showcase how the product evolves to meet their evolving requirements. Incorporating real-life scenarios and industry-specific case studies, illustrate the sustained and adaptable value the product provides. This approach ensures that each demo resonates, highlighting the ongoing relevance and applicability of the solution to their specific business needs.