How to Give Product Demos That Sell + Script Examples

Product demonstrations (demos) are a key component in the sales process that lets a lead see a product in action. They require lead qualification, formal invites, an organized agenda, and focus on your product’s value and uses to be effective. By doing so, they build trust in your brand and your business’ expertise. In this article, we show you how to conduct them (with example scripts), and suggest tools you can use to get the most value out of your demonstrations.

As you begin filling your pipeline with leads and guiding them toward this stage, follow these nine steps to get the best product demo results.

1. Qualify the Lead

Even before inviting a lead to a product demo, make sure this potential customer is a good fit for what you’re selling. As part of the lead qualification process, ask extensive questions during your introduction calls or through email exchanges to understand their situation and purchase timing. This helps ensure you aren’t wasting time presenting demonstrations to buyers who don’t have a need (or the budget) for your products.

Pre-demo questions also help you gear your demonstration to things that matter to your leads. To best understand their needs and priorities, you can refer to these example questions below as a guide to uncover important information before a product demo:

Qualification Questions

• What is your budget for this type of solution?
• Are you the primary decision-maker for this solution, or should other people be involved in the buying process?
• What specific problems are you looking to solve?
• Are there specific features or product attributes you’re looking to get out of this solution?
• When would you like to implement this solution?

If any answers to these questions don’t fit your pricing, product or brand attributes, or ideal timeline, consider not moving forward with the demo at this time.

Product Demo-related Questions

• What current product or provider are you using (if any)?
• Is there anything particular that you like about this product or provider?
• Is there anything you’d like to see improved about this product or provider?
• Do you have any concerns about making this type of change?

Focus your demonstration on addressing the answers to these questions. This will be most applicable later during the product demo, specifically, during step six.

2. Send Detailed Demo Meeting Invitations

Once the lead has agreed to allow you to present your product and you’re confident they are a solid fit, send out the invitations. It’s essential to have anyone involved in the buying decision present at the meeting. You should have found out this information when asking about “other decision-makers” or “other people involved” during step one.

In addition to the actual invite (that’s likely a Zoom or other video conferencing call), you should include an email message acknowledging your appreciation for them taking the time and showing interest in a demo. Additionally, include directions required to get on the call and a brief description of what will take place. Below is an example template to construct this email:

If you are meeting with them in person at their office, rather than include instructions to your meeting, ask if there’s any information they need to know for parking, entering, security, and so on. If you are hosting the in-person meeting, your instructions should include basic directions to your office building and additional details they will need to know once they’ve arrived.

Calendly scheduling portal (Source: HubSpot)

3. Start With Expectations & an Agenda

Once all of the attendees have arrived, start with brief introductions. Some teams like to bring in a product or software expert from the organization to help explain some of the technical aspects—the sales rep should introduce that person. This is also when you’ll go over the agenda and assure everyone you will stick to the allocated time established prior to the meeting.

Some video conferencing software, like Zoom, for instance, has a note-taking feature you can use to show your agenda before starting the meeting. You can even take notes throughout the meeting to send to the attendees upon completion.

Zoom note-taking feature (Source: UXDesign)

4. Build Your Company’s Credibility

The first section of your product demo presentation should be an overview of your business to build some brand credibility. Quickly go over your founding story, the products and services you provide, and the types of customers and clients you work with. This is also a good time to talk about any awards and accreditations your company, product, or key personnel, such as your CEO, have received.

You can also use testimonials or customer success stories. These help expand your credibility and trust by letting your customers and the value they’ve obtained speak for you as opposed to you building your brand up without evidence or context. Below is a script template you can use:

It’s important to keep this section brief so you can focus on the product and customer needs of your attendees. Ultimately, the presentation isn’t for you to brag about past achievements, but to show how your product can help customers achieve their goals.

Fiverr freelance services (Source: Fiverr)

5. Explain Your Product’s Value

Once you’ve established trust and credibility with your leads, go right into the product they want to see. If the product has an interesting backstory, such as a unique way it was designed or an initial purpose different from today, share that story with them so they can understand your product better through its development history. Next, go into how the product works by describing its architecture, design, and how it’s delivered and hosted.

For example, if you were selling software, go into how it’s cloud-based so the data isn’t stored on-premise and can be automatically backed up. For a tangible product like a cleaning solution, explain the chemical compound used in the solution and how it works once it’s sprayed on.

After the baseline product description, walk through the specific features of the product. On a software application, you could show the modules, such as the home dashboard that lays out the button options for navigating the platform. You might even dive deeper and show how a data entry is made in the system, then talk about the advantages and benefits of your product’s design as opposed to others.

If you are showing something tangible, such as a multipurpose printer, go through the sub-features of the unit to show it printing, scanning, and faxing. When you show the features of a product, focus more on the end result rather than how to get there—they’ll learn that once they’ve purchased the product.

6. Provide Use-case Scenarios

This step is arguably the most valuable one in the eyes of your lead attendees. It is your chance to take those features you briefly showed and put them in action through real-life scenarios. Directly address a pain point or daily activity the lead or their employees face. You can refer back to answers they gave to your demo-related questions in step one.

Let’s say you’re selling customer relationship management (CRM) software specifically for marketing agencies. Your platform has a built-in project management and content management system (CMS) as part of containing features important to an agency.

Because you know your market well, you understand how marketing agencies often find it difficult to collaborate on certain projects. This is because many different specialists are required for large-scale marketing campaigns (search engine optimization specialists, content developers, digital advertisers, project managers, and so forth)—some of which aren’t necessarily employees of the agency, but contractors for other companies.

Therefore, you would focus your use-case scenario on this pain point by showing the project management module in use. Show them exactly how it works by creating projects, adding the personnel, creating and assigning tasks, uploading content and materials, then updating the project status. The point here is to take the “explain product” step even further by adding relevant context.

7. Discuss Product Implementation

After presenting the product features and use cases, outline what the implementation process looks like. It could be a simple one-day installation, one-week order to deliver, or more complex like a three-month process of subscribing, and then going through training. This is also an excellent time to explain any infrastructure requirements of your product.

For example, your software might only work for certain operating systems, integrate with specific tools, or be restricted to cloud or on-premise environments. If it’s an industrial printer, it may need specific space dimensions and power channels to be fully installed. On the other hand, a cleaning spray might require a certain temperature for safe storage. These details should be discussed during your presentation along with purchase costs.

Total cost, pricing model (flat fee, per unit, per user, and so on), financing options, and any warranties, free trials, or return policies should be explained. You may also have customizable options or a tiered pricing system to use if the lead wants to purchase from you but needs to stay within a certain budget.

8. Answer Questions

While answering questions during a Q&A session seems simple, it’s best to anticipate what might be asked prior to the product demo. Be prepared to re-show the product in use as common demo questions involve going over a feature a lead wants to see. If a question is asked but you do not know the answer, include your response in the post-meeting plan to address it in a follow-up email.

Additionally, you can offer to set up another meeting that will address the questions or concerns they had during the initial demo that you were unable to answer. You can also record a video to include in your follow-up email that answers their questions.

You might also get outspoken concerns during this session such as the cost or fear of change or commitment. These are considered sales objections that you can easily manage by reading our how-to guide for overcoming objections in sales. You’ll learn about how to take various types of common concerns and turn them into opportunities.

9. Establish a Post-meeting Plan

The final component of a product demo is developing a plan to move forward. Odds are, the lead won’t be ready to make a purchase decision after the demo and will need some time. You’ll need to carefully listen to the position they are in during that moment as they might need to include more people in the buying process, take the idea to the board, or learn more about the product before making any decision.

To keep control of the process, offer to send anything relevant to their current position. For instance, if they expressed they’re interested in pricing, send a proposal or quote information. Send product information following the call if they need upper management to review anything first or want to learn more about the product. Also, reference that you’ll get answers to unanswered questions they had and provide them with next steps based on their situation.

Below is an example script you can use to conclude your product demo:

Even if the lead is undecided on a purchase decision, sending more information following the demo keeps you fresh in their minds. After a demonstration, it may still be months to a year before the decision is made. Don’t be discouraged, as timing can be a factor despite plenty of interest. Continuously follow up to check in with the lead and see if there’s anything that will speed up the process.

Pipedrive pipeline management (Source: Pipedrive)

What Is a Product Demo & Why They Matter

A product demo is a presentation of a tangible product or software application and is typically presented live, either in-person or via video conferencing, or through a prerecorded video.

For businesses selling these types of solutions, such as software as a service (SaaS) companies, industrial or office equipment retailers, or retail businesses with a unique or innovative solution, product demos are an essential stage in their sales pipeline.

As a killer product demo can be the difference between winning and losing a deal, there should be extensive sales training for new reps in this area. Experienced sales reps should also continuously reinforce their skills and technical knowledge of your product.

Product Demo Statistics

Whether you’re conducting a live presentation or recording a demonstration video, these statistics show just how valuable product demos are and objective ways to optimize them:

• 71% of consumers prefer video over any other form of content to understand products.
• Lots of questions after a demo prove a high degree of interest in your product, with top sales performers receiving 28% more questions than average performers.
• Shorter demos are much more effective, with studies finding that 9 minutes is the perfect amount of time to discuss product features.
• During demos, there is a clear advantage to addressing objections with questions. Top performers ask 23.3% more questions than average performers.
• If you talk about return on investment (ROI) in a product demo, your likelihood of closing the deal falls by 27%.
• Closing rates decline by 71% when reps don’t talk about the next steps at the end of a demo.

Sources:

• https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/importance-of-product-videos-for-ecommerce
• https://www.gong.io/blog/product-demo/

Bottom Line

Business owners and sales management personnel must develop a riveting product demo procedure to convert interested leads into potential buyers. This stage of the pipeline helps prospects gain confidence in your brand and see how your product will help them achieve their goals. By using our step-by-step process, script examples, and recommended software tools, you will close more deals and help your business scale.