💥 demo impact

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, Make demo features stay personal

Natasja Bax breaks down how rushing into software when having a demo can kill the conversation - no matter how accurate your responses are:

Don’t answer too quickly

When a buyer asks a question mid-demo, like “Can we export this?”, most reps click straight into the product to display how.

It seems helpful, but often it backfires.

The customer zones out or says, “That’s not what I meant.”

Not because you’re wrong - but because it skipped the why.

Buyers rarely ask questions to see features.

They ask because they want clarity, relevance, or to feel understood.

If you move too fast, you miss the deeper intent behind the question.

Use the CLEAR framework

This gives you a structure to pause, understand, and deliver exactly what they need:

✅ C – Confirm

“Thanks for asking. Exporting is necessary for a lot of teams.”

🔍 L – Learn more

“Are you thinking of a specific format or destination?”

The prospect explains they need a weekly CSV into a compliance tool.

Now you know exactly what they care about.

🔁 E – Echo

“So what you need is an automated export to .csv for compliance?”

“Exactly.”

💬 A – Answer

“Yes, we can do that. Would you like to see how?”

🔁 R – Reflect

“Did that answer your question?”

“Yes. That’s perfect.”

This keeps your answer laser-focused and earns trust by showing you care about their context, not just your product.

Why this actually works:

• You don’t fall to assumptions

• You slow things down, and understand

• You stay relevant and in control

Instead of impressing, you’re connecting.

Steal this future line

Next time you get a feature question, try:

➡ “Good question. Can I ask what you're hoping to do with that?”

It persuades the customer to explain.

It slows you down, pulls them in, and gets your demo on the right path.

What top-performing demos include

T.K. Kader discusses the 7 important elements of a high-converting product demo, and how to structure yours so clients don’t just watch, but buy:

1. Ask why before you show

Start every demo with one question:

➡ “What’s going on in your world that made you want to see this today?”

This surfaces real pain or goal, letting you tailor the call around what really matters.

2. Jump straight into action

Don’t waste time logging in or clicking tabs.

Go straight to the most valuable, high-use area of your product.

✔ Show where the user lives day to day

✔ Anchor in a real-life moment they’ll recognize

✔ Begin strong to hook their attention fast

3. Highlight no-hands mode

Show what your product automates without user input.

➤ What does the software do for them?

➤ What’s saved, synced, or tracked automatically?

Buyers pay for outcomes, not tasks.

Show them the magic.

4. Show the manager’s view

Once users get active, what does leadership have?

✔ Reporting

✔ Visibility

✔ Control

✔ Analytics

This is exactly what sells the deal up the chain.

5. Prove business ROI forecast

Bring everything towards real impact:

⇢ Growth driven

⇢ Risk-reduced

⇢ Money saved

Use dashboards or reports that clearly show results.

Don’t just claim value. Visualize it.

6. Address risks of doing nothing

What happens if they don’t change anything?

Spell out the cost of inaction based on their process, time lost, or revenue missed.

Use this to surface objections and handle them before they get raised.

7. End with transformation

Summarize what changes if they say yes. Name the improvements:

✔ "From spreadsheets to scale"

✔ "From chasing data to full visibility"

✔ "From missed pipeline to predictable growth"

Frame your product as the one making that transformation possible.

Stop running demos hidden as pilots

Monica Stewart lays out why your pilot runs might be decreasing your close rates, and what top-performing representatives do to fix it:

Stop treating it like extended demos

Most pilot testing fail not because of your product, but because the pilot structure fails them already before even demo presentation:

Here’s what’s going wrong:

• No success criteria → There’s no way to measure progress

• No given timeline → They drag on and lose momentum

• Wrong people involved → No decision-makers, no deal

• Vague use case → “Try it and see” isn’t compelling enough

• Poor support → The pilot runs cold before results can surface

Long pilots don’t improve your chances. They stall decisions and waste resources.

The best performing reps flip the pilot model completely.

Run pilots like high-stakes validation

Think of a pilot as pre-close exercise.

Not a test to convince them, but a way to confirm what’s already been decided.

Top-performing groups follow a concise, proven structure:

➤ Standardized pilot format

Limit to 30 days maximum when pilot-testing.

Set clear milestones (weekly check-ins, outcome review).

Avoid case-by-case negotiation - consistency wins.

➤ Use-case first, not “try and see”

Make the pilot about proving a specific outcome.

Example:

“Can you reduce processing time by 25%?” vs. “Try this and tell us what you think”

➤ Mandatory live checkpoints

Hold a kickoff call to align expectations.

Midpoint check-in when track adoption is necessary.

Closing call to analyze results to verify next steps.

➤ Involve real decision-makers

Make sure the buyer is part of the actual kickoff.

If the person evaluating can’t say yes, you’re just running a user test.

98% of your sale should already be done before the pilot starts.

Your goal isn’t to get them to decide instantly.

Your goal is to validate the decision they’ve already made.

That’s how you avoid 20% conversion rates, and minimize sales cycle while you’re at it.

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