Myth header
Think about this -    
 
There are many myths and misperceptions about sales - let's call them Myth-Perceptions. This edition deals with Sales Myth #7: the idea that if we can just show our prospect how cool our product or service is, they will buy.  
 
Now, to this edition's myth -
 
_____________________________
"I don't believe in Pegasus, Unicorns or commodities - I've never seen any of them."  - Chuck Reaves
Myth #7
Demos Sell
 
Myth: Demos Sell
 
Truth: The prospect still needs to be shown what the product or service will do for them, not just what it will do
     
"If I could just do a product demo, the customer would buy."
 
This lament is common in sales. Some salespeople think that if they could just get in front of the customer and show them how cool their products or service is, the customer would fall head-over-heels in love with it and buy. This is a myth.
 
This is just another form of the "better mousetrap" myth (See Myth: Products Sell Themselves). I'm hearing it more and more and not just form high-tech companies with complex products and services.
 
The old scenario is that we get in front of the customer either in person, on the web or by some other means and show them the cool features of our products or services. Perhaps we throw in an occasional benefit as well. This particular selling process is becoming less and less effective.
 
To be effective, any demo MUST be preceded by a needs analysis, and not just any needs analysis. If you know that a demo will be a part of your sales process, conduct a needs analysis that allows you to drill down in specific areas. The areas of emphasis in your demo will be the ones that are most important to your client AND where your product/service has distinct advantages. In other words, you prioritize the benefits in your demo based on where you can be the most effective, not by using the customer's greatest need.
 
This is a departure from the typical needs analysis.
 
If your client has a significant problem that your offering does not address or does not address well, put that issue lower on your priority list. If your client has a less costly issue that you address better than anyone else, put that one up front. What you are doing is demonstrate your greatest strengths against their problems, not your strengths against their greatest problems.
 
This is one of the few exceptions to the rules about putting the customer first. 
 demo chart 4
Demonstrations show what the product or service will do; they do not show what the product or service will do for a specific customer. Just because the demo dazzles the potential buyer, do not expect them to make the leap of understanding all your product/service will do for their organization. That's what us salespeople are for. 
 

 _______________________________

Another Reason for Rethinking the Demo
    
Another reason for rethinking how you will use demos is automation.
 
 
More and more of my clients are automating their demo processes. There are several software programs that generate interactive demonstrations. Once created, you can make these available to your clients and prospects 27/7 on the web.
 
A few rules when creating an online auto-demo: 
  • Make them as interactive as possible so the customer will gain a sense of ownership
  • Use the Show-Do-Review method: show how to use the product or service, allow the user to do it themselves and then review what they have experienced
  • Make sure you have a call to action at the end of the demo - let the user know what they need to do next (this is better than calling them back after your services notifies you that they have tried your demo!)
  • Use off-the-shelf programs to make demos fast and easy

 _______________________

archiveMiss an issue?
No problem.
 
Visit the archives:
 
Use the information in this Sales MythPerception newsletter to stimulate discussion at your next sales meeting. More ideas are available on my web site: Chuck Reaves
 
Vistage Chairs: forward this to your Members and use it to help them help their salespeople. Members with better top and bottom lines make better members!
 
Teach Others!

Chuck Reaves, CSP, CPAE
SaleSSuiteS 
Join Our Mailing List
Fabulous, Valuable Demo of a Multi-Million Dollar Product Being Ignored
violin
Click on the picture above to watch more than 1,000 customers ignore a demo that others pay dearly to see
 
(Yes, it's the Washington Post so you'll need to wait for the 20 second ad to play)
cas low res
Chuck Reaves, CSP, CPAE
 
 
1.800.MR. REAVES
(800.677.3283)
 
________________
 
 

It's Here!

   The
Nanosecond Salesperson
For us, a minute is just too long
Nano front
 
It's easy to read and it will bring you up to speed quickly on the changes that are happening in sales, including:
  • Real Sales Automation (RSA)
  • Kaizen for Sales
  • Chief Sales Officer (CSO)

In the genre of the "One Minute" books - only faster! - this allegorical account of the activities in a sales office will sound familiar to you. The outcomes of some of those encounters will not be so familiar.

_________

FREE! Online Training Resource

Go to the book's website
 and download a Leader's Guide and Sales Handouts. Use each chapter in the book as a training module - there are more than a dozen of them.
 
Pick up one for yourself and some for your customers - it will help you teach them how to sell more effectively.
 
Just click on the book...
 
Easy-to-carry paperback or get-it-now download
 
(Special edition copies are available for you to give to your customers with your logo on the front cover - ask me for details)