Often confused with “harbor tour” demos, Qualifying demos are used to help customers qualify you as a vendor. The information should still be aimed at high-level audiences, but should be substantial enough to answer their questions.
This demo shouldn’t be as in-depth as a technical demo since they’re mostly trying to understand where your product would fit in their processes. The information can be presented with generic data and common use cases.
Introducing the Qualifying Demo
As buyers progress through their journey, they want to narrow down their options and start taking more in depth looks at the solutions they’re considering. A Qualifying demo should show the customers a deeper look at your solution without overwhelming them with every possibility.
Once customers have moved to the Learn stage, they begin to sort through all the available use-cases and solutions, then begin the process of narrowing them down to the best ones. Usually they’ll arrive with a preconceived set of business drivers, which they’ll look to see reflected in the software and services you can offer.
What customers are looking for is explorations into capabilities and use cases, but only the ones that fit their specific needs. If you show them a feature or function that’s irrelevant, you run the risk of losing their attention; so ensure all the topics you introduce are backed up with solid value messaging that helps them understand the concepts clearly and easily.
But this exchange of information shouldn’t be one way. Qualifying demos should also be when sales and presales teams begin conducting discovery to learn how best to work with this buyer. Buyers are still looking for a solid understanding of how your solution solves their problems or helps them achieve goals, but now they have specific objectives in mind.
Just make sure you refrain from showing off every feature your software provides. Instead, focus on what differentiates you from your competitors, but be careful not to insult your competitors. That leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Instead, act as a guide to show prospects what’s available and possible while still being open and honest about any limitations you may have.
Come see how easy buying can be.
Where Qualifying Demos Fit in Your Sales Model
The Qualifying demo is where you and the prospect qualify each other to see if this arrangement is a good fit. This can be done live or with automation depending on the complexity of your solution and the capabilities of your sales enablement tools.
What are buyers thinking at this stage? Buyers are gathering a list of solutions that could work. This is where they compare multiple vendors looking for obvious disqualifiers.
What should you deliver? Provide clear examples of how your solution differentiates itself from other vendors and why those differences matter.
Where does it fit in your sales model? This type of demo should be delivered towards the middle of the process, but before spending any live presales resources on this customer. Remember, you should use this demo to qualify the customer at the same time they’re using it to qualify you.
Should you Automate it? Usually. While we’d love to be able to say that the qualifying demo can be 100% automated, that’s just not true. For this type of demo, you’ll have to consult with your AE and SE teams to decide if your demo automation software provides you the discovery information you need.
To determine if automating your Qualifying demos is the right approach for your organization, check out the Definitive Guide to the Six Demo Types for a complete map for scaling presales and adopting these demo types into your sales methodology.
