BY Jessica Helinski
Your sales demonstration techniques can be what pushes a sale to close. Whether you are demoing in person or via a webinar, you are performing in front of an audience. And your performance has a major influence on the prospect’s choice to buy, according to SalesFuel research.
Nearly 40% of B2B buyers say, just in the past year, a vendor’s value-added webinar increased their consideration of a product or service. This influence was higher, 45%, among buyers working in companies with 500+ employees.
This could be due to the more complex decision-making processes at larger companies. Decision-makers may rely more on educational content like webinars to justify purchases across teams.
Additionally, the B2B BuyerSCAN study showed evidence that buyers want access to webinars. In fact, nearly a quarter say they’re willing to share contact info with a vendor for a free webinar. Specifically, baby boomers are more likely to say this than younger sellers.
And many buyers want to engage with webinars immediately. 37% of B2B reps hope to see a demo during their very first meeting with a vendor. And one-third prefer to have a seller demo their product or service before purchasing.
Sellers should keep in mind that once again, webinars appear to be more important to older buyers. A notable 43% of baby boomers expect a demo at a first meeting while 45% prefer to see a demo before making the choice to buy.
Why should you leverage sales demonstration techniques?
While highly valuable, webinars must be conducted thoughtfully to be successful. Sellers need to understand, first, how their demonstration can be valuable to a prospect.
According to Hubspot’s Kristen Baker, buyers appreciate sales demos for a variety of reasons, including:
- Showcasing personalized value – They demonstrate how a solution specifically solves the buyer’s unique problems.
- Establishing credibility and building trust – They build confidence in the product and the company’s expertise.
- Addressing questions and objections – They provide an opportunity to answer questions and resolve concerns in real time.
Best practices
Once you understand just how your demo can encourage sales, it’s time to embrace best practices to ensure you do so. Denise Gibson, Director of AdMall Sales, points out that this is just as important as promoting your solution.
"Mastering your demo isn’t just about showing features; it’s about connecting with the prospect’s needs and guiding them toward the right solution."
Research
As with many initiatives in sales, research is a vital step. Strong knowledge about the prospect, their business and how your solution fits is essential.
Likely, you have a template or other standard for your demo. This is a great way to save time; just make sure that you clearly personalize what you say and display for each use.
As SalesFuel points out, “The more types of intelligence you gather, the more well-rounded the knowledge you gain.”
“Basic information, like company details and their offerings, should always be covered.”
Then, SalesFuel suggests moving on to uncover broader intelligence, including
- Industry: current challenges and opportunities in the industry
- Competitors: main competitors, their strengths and weaknesses
- News: relevant announcements or events
- Pain points: their key challenges and frustrations
- Customers: key business issues and objectives
- Software stack: tools and technologies they use
- Workflow: how they currently operate
- Financial performance: profitability status
Humanize
Another vital sales demonstration technique is humanizing the demo, especially if it’s a webinar. Baker believes that this is essential to come across as a trustworthy seller who genuinely wants to help.
“You might ask the prospect how they've been, how their latest project went…time is precious, but so is rapport.”
Deliver thoughtfully
When it’s time to showcase your solution, your walkthrough should be concise, clear and customized. And make sure it’s interactive; you should only be doing a fraction of the talking. Encourage engagement by asking questions, which can drive dialogue, as well as uncover any disconnect.
Continue learning and practicing
Honing your sales demonstration techniques is an ongoing process. You should always be improving and practicing these skills to ensure each in-person demo or webinar connects and educates.
Photo by SEO Galaxy on Unsplash
