The Power of the Demo

Mike Donoghue is a member of a multinational information technology corporation where he collaborates on the communications guidelines and customer relationship strategies affecting the interactions with internal and external clients. He has analyzed, defined, designed and overseen processes for various engagements including product usability and customer satisfaction, best practice enterprise standardization, relationship/branding structures, and distribution effectiveness and direction. He has also established corporate library solutions to provide frameworks for sales, marketing, training, and support divisions.

  CRM   Stakeholder Management  

Are you feeling frustrated from following up on unqualified leads, making cold calls and attending every two-bit conference and convention in the hopes of getting some new prospects? Maybe it's time you considered working on a soft-sell option.

Thanks to cheaper and easier-to-use applications, the increase in talented designers and the wonderful advancements in Web content and delivery, making demos of your products can be done with considerably less investment of time and money and provide you with more business opportunities--at all times of the day.

What It Shouldn't Be

Okay--it's relatively simple to create screen captures, stick them in a PowerPoint presentation or similar application and overlay some snazzy arrows onto the images as you walk through a slideshow. This, however, is not a true demo.

A demo in its ideal form is a close-to-real-life representation that provides a user with the look and workflow of the genuine article. Presentation and showmanship can be included, but function is the most important feature.

The more effective demo does not mean escort service via a sales person, either. Yes, there are times when a carefully controlled walkthrough is needed, especially for intensive or extensive processing, however this isn't a justification for more sales pitch related activities. You need to have bait …

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