This article is based on a presentation given by Rachel Nulman-Schapiro at the Product Marketing Summit in Tel Aviv. Catch up on this presentation, and others, using our OnDemand service. For more exclusive content, visit your membership dashboard.
Before I say anything about our topic for today, let’s take a moment to appreciate the titles for this article that didn’t make the cut:
- Demo like you mean it
- Demo, drugs, and rock and roll
- Demo or die
- Demo-cracy (my personal favorite)
- Demo-lishing doubts
- SaaS demos that suck: The art of not impressing anyone (another favorite)
I chose this topic because demos are core to product marketing’s role as in-house storytellers. When I think about product marketing, I see a team of storytellers bringing products to life with contagious enthusiasm. We’re the ones with a sparkle in our eyes as we talk about our products.
So, in this article, I’ll share tips for nailing your next big demo. I’ll cover suggestions for setting the stage beforehand, best practices for showtime, tips on sales enablement, and some miscellaneous, yet valuable, lessons I’ve learned throughout my career.
Some of these lessons were learned the hard way, but they’re all part of the journey.
Setting the stage
If you know a demo is on the calendar, you can take some steps in advance to ace it. Let’s dive into some of those steps.
Tip one: Create a believable demo account
Numero uno (and this applies equally to sales teams prepping demos): Ensure your demo environment looks legit. Nothing torpedoes a demo faster than a janky test account. Bad or fake data distracts viewers and prevents them from engaging with your narrative.
Instead, populate accounts with realistic customer profiles: Believable (fake) names, photos, contact info, and messages in coherent languages. This level of fidelity helps prospects relate to the use case and follow the story. No one wants to squint at “Lorem Ipsum” placeholders while you’re making a business case around personalized experiences!
