Effective SaaS product demos don’t happen by accident. They take careful planning and execution. We’ve compiled the best practices for making your own SaaS product demos.
Demo Anatomy
Every good demo should be built and structured similarly following the Tell, Show, Tell method. You can add a Try element to your demo if you use product walkthrough software.
This method gets to the point so your audience knows what they will see without any added fluff.
Use the title and agenda slides to tell your audience what they will see in the demo. Nobody wants to listen to someone read a laundry list, so if you have a lengthy presentation, have the points build as you go.
Get out of your slides and show live content as soon as possible. This is why they’re watching your demo in the first place, and attention spans are short. Remember to summarize each topic at the end so nothing gets missed and the information sticks in the customer’s mind.
Tell the audience one more time what information you covered, especially for videos longer than ten minutes. Again, repetition helps the customer retain that information.
Add the bonus ability to try to drive your points home. But keep the features restricted to what you showed in your demo. As always, brevity is key.
Guidelines for Demos
Topics will differ for every organization, but the basic guidelines for a good demo will all be the same.
Video
- Use high video resolution. At least 1080p is best.
- Speak and act authentically.
- Keep your webcam on. People want to see you, and it adds authenticity.
- Do not show brands or other logos from other companies/teams.
- Keep backgrounds simple, professional, and realistic. Don’t use background/blur options if they’re distracting.
- Do not show your corporate email, calendar, or chat in the recording.
- Hide the bookmark bar or remove any non-professional bookmarks.
Sound
- Audio should be clear with no background noise. A headset microphone can help here.
- Ensure there’s no popping or static.
- Do not use background music.
- Speak clearly and smoothly. This is especially important if you have customers whose first language isn’t English.
Policy
- Avoid sensitive information. Refer to your organization’s content policy for guidance.
- Only use customer employee and customer company names or logos if doing so is in line with the reference agreement with that customer.
Content
- Keep content up-to-date, relevant, and accurate. Don’t show the customer anything they don’t want to see.
- Use slides sparingly. Focus on showing your screen live.
- Use company-approved slides, preferably from a template, for uniformity.
Review Before Sharing
Your demo should always undergo a QA process, but you can do this yourself. If you’d prefer to get a colleague to help, that’s ok too!
No matter how you do it, don’t let the review process take so long that the demo ends up in limbo. A pretty good demo that gets shared is better than the perfect demo that never leaves your library.
Once your demo is ready, share it with your customers and the world!
Taking Your SaaS Product Demo Even Further
Using these best practices will help you create a world-class demo every time. For a deeper look into the Tell, Show, Tell method, check out 2Win! Global, who inspired this blog. Or, get a more comprehensive understanding of how to craft amazing demos by taking their software demo training course. For more from Consensus, check out our resource center that’s packed with informative blogs, guides, and white papers.
