Posted by Becky Clark, Senior Consultant
A lot of time and effort went into creating an exceptional product. Now is the time to show the end user how it works. Use these 7 easy tips to make a good demo a great demo!
1. Work out Your Flow on Paper First
…or in Visio or Lucidchart, or Word; the medium doesn’t matter. Just be sure to map out your demo first to be sure you are not missing any key feature or business requirement. If you know it is going to be a long demo, or that the end user is prone to ask many questions, schedule in pauses or breaks to address questions and concerns.
2. Show Order of Operations from the User’s Perspective
The best part of your newly developed web-to-lead process may be the beautiful new web form, but don’t save it for the end. Consider the user’s business process and start from the beginning ─ even if the beginning is the show-stopper functionality. Cut confusion by walking through the system as if you were the end user. If they have a different profile, log in with a test user on that profile. Keep your demo as close to “real life” as possible. That being said…
3. Mock Data is Your Friend
Having blank or unrealistic data during a demo can be distracting to an end user. Be sure to create believable, but noticeably fake, test data to give a realistic system scenario. Some websites like Mockaroo can be useful for creating larger amounts of test data.
4. Speak to the Business Need
You have spent a lot of time perfecting the functionality. Now is the time to relate it back to the business requirement. That custom link is nifty but why does the system need it? How and when should the user use it? If there are business needs that were documented by the end user, speak directly to them. When using “Salesforce speak,” be sure to elaborate on what the functionality is (lookups and related lists, for example) and work in end user terminology when possible to facilitate their understanding.
5. Go Slow
The system or functionality may be old and familiar to you at this point, but it is brand new to the end user. Be sure to go slow and give the user a chance to observe the pages. Also, be prepared to describe any and all features on the screen. Even though it may not be part of your demo, the end user could potentially ask what something does or what it is for. The more prepared you are to answer questions, the more confidence the end user will have in the system.
6. Practice Makes Perfect
Seriously, practice. And remember that confidence sells! The flow you established in steps 1 and 2 helps to make sure you don’t forget anything. But sometimes users will start asking questions in the middle of the demo. The more rehearsed you are, the easier it will be for you to address the impromptu comment and then pick up right where you left off.
7. Keep Your Screen Clean
Close out of your email client. Mute your chat notifications. Hide the bookmarks bar. Use your browser in private or incognito mode to prevent any personal auto-fill information from appearing. Try to prevent any distractions to keep your demo seamless and keep the end user focused.
And there you have it! We hope your next technical demo is one to remember by using these useful demo tips.