{"id":27695,"date":"2022-02-10T11:45:03","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T19:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/?p=27695"},"modified":"2026-09-15T19:34:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T19:34:20","slug":"stunningly-awful-demos-buying-it-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/stunningly-awful-demos-buying-it-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Stunningly Awful Demos \u2013 Buying It Back"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you Buying It Back?<\/p>\n<p>Have you ever been in a situation where your prospect said, \u201cIn your demo, you showed us a bunch of stuff that we\u2019ll never use \u2013 and we don\u2019t want to pay for capabilities that we won\u2019t use, so either remove those capabilities or cut the price\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Sadly, you can\u2019t just \u201cslice out\u201d the features and functions they won\u2019t use, so you have to give a discount to get the business.<\/p>\n<p>This is known as Buying It Back \u2013 and it is counterintuitive for most people.\u00a0 After all, the value of your software increases with the number of capabilities included, right?\u00a0 Nope \u2013 the value of your software is based on the prospect\u2019s perceptions of what they\u2019ll use and the nature of the solution it delivers.<\/p>\n<p>In a demo, the more capabilities you show that your prospect doesn\u2019t need, the more you are at risk of Buying It Back.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wants and Needs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In a traditional demo \u2013 and, in principle, any demo done without prior discovery \u2013 each capability you show will fall into one of the following categories:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Must have;<\/li>\n<li>Nice to have;<\/li>\n<li>Neutral;<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t need it;<\/li>\n<li>Really don\u2019t need it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The \u201cmust have\u201d and \u201cnice to have\u201d capabilities are all great \u2013 and should become the Specific Capabilities desired by the prospect.\u00a0 But what about \u201cNeutral\u201d, \u201cDon\u2019t need it\u201d, and \u201cReally don\u2019t need it\u201d?\u00a0 Each time your prospect sees one of these in your demo they think, \u201cWell, I don\u2019t need that \u2013 and I don\u2019t want to <em>pay<\/em> for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And since they have just <em>seen<\/em> these demonstrated, they know that they will be paying for these features as part of the license fee.\u00a0 One or two small capabilities isn\u2019t much of a concern \u2013 but when their perception grows to where there are several or many features that they won\u2019t use \u2013 especially capabilities that are positioned during the demo by the vendor as particularly important or high-value \u2013 then prospects get concerned.<\/p>\n<p>They wonder, \u201cWhy should I have to <em>pay<\/em> for all of these if I\u2019m not going to <em>use<\/em> them?\u201d\u00a0 And when it is time to negotiate the price and license fees, your prospect says, \u201cYou know, you showed us a lot of capabilities that we\u2019ll never use \u2013 so you need to reduce your price accordingly.\u00a0 We don\u2019t expect to pay for things we won\u2019t use.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As noted above, most vendors believe that, \u201cThe more capabilities; the more value\u2026\u201d\u00a0 This has been part of the reason vendors traditionally try to pack as many features and functions into demos as possible \u2013 they <em>believe<\/em> that by showing more and more, the perceived value of their software should similarly increase.<\/p>\n<p>This is one (of many reasons) why traditional \u201coverview\u201d and \u201cend-to-end\u201d demos \u2013 also known as stunningly awful Harbor Tours \u2013 put you at risk.<\/p>\n<p><strong>An Example<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Human Capital Management software is a hotly contested space with many vendors who often present a \u201chire-to-fire\u201d demo, showing how to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Open new hire requests<\/li>\n<li>Create and post job descriptions<\/li>\n<li>Review applicant resumes<\/li>\n<li>Extend offers<\/li>\n<li>Onboard new hires<\/li>\n<li>Manage certifications<\/li>\n<li>Assess employees\u2019 skills<\/li>\n<li>Provide and track ongoing development<\/li>\n<li>Execute and track performance reviews<\/li>\n<li>Identify high performers<\/li>\n<li>Implement succession plans<\/li>\n<li>Establish workflows and approvals<\/li>\n<li>Communicate internally<\/li>\n<li>Manage time and PTO tracking<\/li>\n<li>Track employee satisfaction<\/li>\n<li>Offboard employees<\/li>\n<li>And more\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Further, many of these vendors\u2019 packages are monoliths \u2013 you get everything, even if you don\u2019t need it.<\/p>\n<p>Now imagine that you are the prospect watching this demo and you only need or want \u00be of the functionality presented.\u00a0 The salesperson has stated an annual price of $144K, based on the size of your organization of 120 users at $100 per month.\u00a0 You would arrive at two conclusions:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>This is way more than you need;<\/li>\n<li>You don\u2019t want to pay for the capabilities you won\u2019t use.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Based on this, how much would you be willing to pay on an annual basis?\u00a0 (Hint:\u00a0 \u00be of $144K is $108K).\u00a0 The vendor\u2019s price is based on the full suite of capabilities but you will only use 75% \u2013 your argument is irrefutable\u2026!\u00a0 The vendor just lost $36K by Buying It Back.<\/p>\n<p>In the world of video and movies they say, \u201cIf the camera doesn\u2019t see it, then it didn\u2019t happen\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Interestingly, the same is true for demos. \u00a0If the prospect isn\u2019t shown capabilities, they don\u2019t exist \u2013 at least in their minds.<\/p>\n<p>Clearly, this is one of the most important objectives of doing discovery:\u00a0 to understand the Specific Capabilities needed and desired by the prospect.\u00a0 This gives you the list of what should be presented in a demo \u2013 and the list of capabilities to ignore and leave out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It Gets Worse<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The mindset for many demo presenters often <em>compounds<\/em> the problem and increases the risk of Buying It Back.\u00a0 I frequently hear presenters say at the beginning of a demo, \u201cStop me if you have any questions \u2013 I want to make this interactive\u2026\u201d\u00a0 But they don\u2019t really mean it!<\/p>\n<p>What is going on in the mind of the presenter is often a different reality \u2013 the presenter is thinking, \u201cPlease don\u2019t ask any questions \u2013 because if you do, I won\u2019t have time to get through all of the content I want to show\u2026\u201d\u00a0 These demos are typified by truly awful talk-to-listen ratios and infrequent speaker switches.<\/p>\n<p>This mindset of \u201cshow as much as possible\u201d results in some of the worst Buying It Back experiences.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Differentiating?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many sales and presales teams are taught to present their \u201ccompetitive differentiators\u201d in their demos.\u00a0 In the absence of doing sufficient discovery, your differentiators may actually be <em>negative<\/em> differentiators!<\/p>\n<p>If you present a key, differentiating capability that your prospect needs, that\u2019s a good thing.\u00a0 But what if your prospect doesn\u2019t want that capability?\u00a0 Well, you\u2019ve just differentiated negatively <em>and<\/em> added that key capability to the Buying It Back list.<\/p>\n<p>Sadly, the trouble often begins before the demo with corporate overview slides that announce, \u201cHow We Are Different,\u201d citing capabilities that are differentiators from the vendor\u2019s perspective.\u00a0 Again, if those capabilities are desired by the prospect, you are moving in the right direction.\u00a0 But if they are not need or wanted, you\u2019ve set the stage for a negative outcome.\u00a0 Presenting those undesired capabilities in the demo completes the Buying It Back drama.<\/p>\n<p>Discovery should be done prior to the demo with a specific focus on your differentiators \u2013 to include them as Specific Capabilities or to rule them out as Buying It Back candidates.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What About Discovery on the Fly?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The tendency of vendors to fall into this self-made Buying It Back trap is huge and happens far too frequently.\u00a0 The temptation to dive further into your software is extremely high once it has been launched!\u00a0 It takes enormous discipline to avoid showing capabilities that the prospect doesn\u2019t want to pay for.<\/p>\n<p>There are two solutions to avoid Buying It Back when doing Discovery on the Fly:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Introduce your capabilities in the form of a question <em>before<\/em> showing them.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If the prospect responds positively, then you can say, \u201cWell, we have that capability \u2013 would you like to see it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, if your prospect\u2019s response is, \u201cNo, we don\u2019t really want that\u2026.\u201d or \u201cWe can\u2019t see situations where that would be valuable,\u201d then you simply move on and <em>don\u2019t <\/em>show that capability.<\/p>\n<p>Note that if the negative response happens too frequently, you are still at risk of Buying It Back, since your prospect will begin to assume that all of these capabilities will be in the software they purchase from you, if they move forward.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>Use a Vision Generation Demonstration <em>instead<\/em> of trying to do traditional Discovery on the Fly. A Vision Generation Demo is designed to satisfy the prospect\u2019s desire to \u201csee what\u2019s possible\u201d while moving the prospect (gently, yet firmly!) into a discovery conversation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The subsequent discovery dialog should yield the list of Specific Capabilities your prospect wants and needs, enabling you to present a Technical Proof Demo that is tailored precisely \u2013 and avoid Buying It Back.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Buying It Back is an insidious and often unrealized problem in B-to-B software demonstrations.\u00a0 Many traditional sales and presales playbooks and processes actually intensify the risk.<\/p>\n<p>Great Demo! methodology helps you to successfully avoid Buying It Back outcomes.\u00a0 Vision Generation Demos replace old, ineffective overview demos.\u00a0 Situation Slides help you guide the output of discovery conversations to capture the Specific Capabilities you need to deliver targeted and highly compelling Technical Proof Demos.<\/p>\n<p>Stop Buying It Back\u2026!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2022 The Second Derivative \u2013 All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever been in a situation where your prospect said, \u201cIn your demo, you showed us a bunch of stuff that we\u2019ll never use \u2013 and we don\u2019t want to pay for capabilities that we won\u2019t use, so either remove those capabilities or cut the price\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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