Anatomy of a Demo

Tell, Show, Tell.

It’s one of the first things you learn as a presales person, and it still rings true today.

Make sure each topic the buyer watches has a title slide and a positioning slide. 

Longer demos, like Qualifying or full Technical recordings (anything over 10 mins per topic), benefit from a summary at the end of the demo too, recapping what you’ve shown.

Remember, you can show software, documents, slides and your webcam – people love buying from people – you’re a real person – so make sure they can see you!

Guidelines

Your demo should always go through a QA process, but you can do this yourself. If you’d prefer to get a colleague to help, that’s ok too!

Video

1. Is the video in high resolution? At least 1080p is best. Does it look grainy? If so, record with different screen-capture settings.
2. Video should show the authentic you.
3. Webcam should be on to support your authentic message.
4. Do not show brands or other logos from other companies/teams.
5. Backgrounds should be professional but realistic. Some webcam software has different background/blur options which may help.
6. Do not show your corporate email, calendar or chat in the recording.
7. Check to see if your bookmarks bar shows anything non-professional. You can hide the bookmark bar if it’s easier.

Sound

1. Sound should be clear with no background noise. A headset microphone can help here.
2. Ensure there’s no ‘popping’ – Google microphone popping for more info.
3. Do not use background music.
4. Your video will be watched by people in many countries whose first language may not be English. Keep what you’re saying natural and in your own style, but make sure it’s clear and not too fast.

Policy

1. Does your demo comply with the content policy?
2. Customer employee and customer company names or logos should not be shown unless they are used in-line with the reference agreement with that customer.

Content

1. Does the demo actually show what you set out to? Is the content up-to-date, relevant and accurate?
2. Slides should be the corporate standard and should be used sparingly. Showing live software is preferred.
3. Minimal slides should be used. Remember, you’re trying to show people software – so do that asap!