What are the most effective ways to showcase unique software features to customers?

The biggest mistake most enterprise software sales people make is not listening to the customer. The customer will almost always tell you what is important to them. Of course it is necessary to validate that it is truly important and that you understand it well. Then bring examples of other customers that have solved the same problem. Tailor your message to those key needs regardless of how "amazing" the rest of your software may be. If you can't address those key things then everything else is a waste of time.

The key is to start with the people. Unless I have no other choice, I get to know them and as much about their taste and interest as possible. If I utilize that knowledge and their experiences in my demonstration, it will hit harder and become more relevant to who and where they are at that time. Canned demos are like pre-chewed food. No one wants it for a reason. Saying to a customer, "You've mentioned your frustration with your current tools and the extraneous steps you must take to complete a simple task. Let me show you how we are different and even some shortcuts to get around the parts you might find annoying with our tool." It is critical to know them at this level and meet them where they are without judgment.

This sounds so simple but also very easy to get wrong. The typical mistake I see is to see the customer through the lens of your solution. The need to jump to a solution is so intense for a typical sales person that they can jump to conclusions that fit their own internal narrative. Consultative sales training, coaching and engagement from your Presales team can help reduce this bias. But needs to be watched out constantly.

The most effective way to showcase software new features is to link the new features to customers’ issues, challenges and unmet needs. This way can help you articulate your value proposition more logically and clearly

Client Research is a key, identify target audience, profile them like company profile & person profile. This knowledge allows us to tailor our software demo precisely to meet their specific needs, preferences, and expectations, ensuring a more impactful and relevant presentation.

One thing that like to do before going into a demo and as part of my research and preparation, I like to ask my customers or prospect to give me a “reverse demo” i.e. to ask them show me how they currently do it. What is a “day in the life” for their users This really help prepare to show them what’s relevant to their pain point vs jumping into demoing all and every cool widgets/feature of our product that may or may not resonate for them

I'm a big fan of using personas in a demo. Explain who you are as the demo persona, what you used to do before, and how what you are doing now is beneficial. Everything you show you should be trying the answer the question: "so what?"

An easy way to showcase a feature would be to take a current use case or pain point of the customer , build a proof of concept showcasing how a particular feature can help customers overcome the issue and gain efficiency in their workflow which could in turn be translated into monetary gain.

The classic 'Tell-show-tell' model never disappoints. I like to tell them about the feature they're about to see, then show it. The final tell isn't just a summary of what I just showed them. Instead, I'll end the segment with a clear eyed articulation of how the capabilities they just saw translate into measurable monetizable business value.

A common way to materialize the benefits is by presenting use cases and at the same time you should focus on 2 types of uses cases: 1. Use cases that reflect core process scenarios of the customers that could clearly showcase how the solution provide value and efficiency in that processes 2. Use cases that are not yet part of the customer journey and that your solution could provide to generate tangible value to the day to say business of your customer.

Software demos should be designed to be interactive and engaging, encouraging audience participation and feedback. Whether through live demos with realistic industry-specific scenarios or visually compelling screenshots and videos

I believe in two ways to demonstrate software. The first is a video capture of the key features and functions. I speak over and pause my video to take questions and drill down on topics of interest. I use the first demo this way to limit issues with network access or software errors in front of the customer that may leave them concerned. The second way is a hands-on workshop. Two to four hours in length, giving them the chance to try the software their way with a series of tasks as close to what they do today as possible is critical. For us, Ansible automation is essential to our success in building and deploying these types of semi-custom workshops every day.

Sales is more science than art in today’s world. There is a solution for every challenge so instead of reinventing the wheel use a state of the art demo solution that includes a knowledge management backend, a user configurable front end (let’s them choose what they want to zoom in), and an analytics engine to get insights through the whole process. As a sales leader if your sales enablement tool for your team is a ‘cool’ ppt you need to think again…

It's important to agree upon next steps while in the meeting. This makes follow up and follow through easier. You collectively agree on next steps and recap the important aspects of the sofware demo in an email to the group.

A mutually agreed plan is an indicator of customer willingness and drives more accountability from them. Dont push, engage and pull them in tight.

Ensure you establish a manner by which you can hold yourself AND your customers accountable. Take clear actions/next steps, ownership, timescales, dependencies, etc and document them. Share them and check in often to ensure everyone is doing what they said they will do. Validate these points as you progress through any cycle and check that it's still delivering value to your customer. If it's not, don't hesitate to ask for help from the customer and pivot on how you manage your follow-up/follow-through.

Hosting forums, webinars, or user meet-ups creates a platform for shared experiences, insights, and collaborative problem-solving.

Dealing with a software important part is its development, error corrections and the SLA. If those 3 elements are provided at reasonable price to customer it can build the satisfaction.

Una de las formas más efectivas de mostrar características únicas de software a los clientes es mediante el uso de casos de éxito. Los casos de éxito son relatos breves que describen cómo un cliente ha resuelto un problema o mejorado un aspecto de su negocio gracias al software que le hemos ofrecido. Estos relatos permiten ilustrar los beneficios y el valor agregado del software, así como generar confianza y credibilidad en los potenciales clientes. Además, los casos de éxito pueden adaptarse a diferentes sectores y necesidades, lo que facilita la personalización del mensaje y la conexión con el público objetivo.