{"id":34744,"date":"2024-04-08T17:04:22","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T17:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/?p=34744"},"modified":"2024-04-10T01:57:11","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T01:57:11","slug":"demo-do-let-your-champion-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/demo-do-let-your-champion-drive\/","title":{"rendered":"Demo Do: Let Your Champion Drive!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Demo Do: Let Your Champion Drive!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>A Never Stop Learning! Article<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\u201cStand away from the mouse and nobody will get hurt!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\u2013 Salesperson at a tradeshow when a prospect tried running the software themselves<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur objective is to \u2018suspend disbelief.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Me<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Easy to Use?<\/h2>\n<p>One of the prospects\u2019 most common concerns is, \u201cWill the software be easy to use?\u201d Accordingly, an objective when presenting demos is to make our offerings appear as easy to use as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Sadly, most traditional demos fail to achieve this! Why?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>They fail to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Doing-Discovery-Important-Enablement-Processes\/dp\/B0B8RJK4C2\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1U8XAZMG8HBYK&amp;keywords=doing+discovery&amp;qid=1659904849&amp;s=books&amp;sprefix=doing+discovery%2Cstripbooks%2C216&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">discover<\/a> prospect needs and desires, resulting in a generic demo that is <a href=\"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/a-prospects-tale-humorous-account-of-woe-and-triumph\/\">confusing and complicated<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>They show too many features, resulting in <a href=\"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/stunningly-awful-demos-buying-it-back\/\">Buying It Back<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>They show too many options, in the form of <a href=\"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/stunningly-awful-demos-two-words-to-avoid\/\">\u201cif\u201d and \u201cor\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<li>They answer simple <a href=\"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/lost-in-the-weeds\/\">questions<\/a> in depth, when a crisp \u201cyes\u201d may have been sufficient.<\/li>\n<li>They show a long \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/day-in-the-life-demos\/\">day in the life<\/a>\u201d story rather than focusing on specific workflows and deliverables.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These habits result in a misalignment between vendors\u2019 desires to generate a vision of \u201cease of use\u201d and prospects\u2019 actual perceptions. How do we solve this?<\/p>\n<h2>Fewest Number of Clicks!<\/h2>\n<p>The \u201cDo It\u201d pathway in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0C9SNKC2Y\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1688763837&amp;sr=1-4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Great Demo!<\/a> is a terrific way to <em>prove <\/em>ease of use. Just Do It: Execute <em>all<\/em> demo pathways using the <em>Fewest Number of Clicks<\/em>. That should be a mantra for <em>everyone<\/em> who presents demos!<\/p>\n<p>Reducing the number of clicks and moving the mouse deliberately can go a long way toward creating that ease-of-use vision. But there\u2019s another, delightfully effective approach!<\/p>\n<h2>Let Your Champion Drive<\/h2>\n<p>Wait, what? Won\u2019t they make a mistake and click on the wrong thing?<\/p>\n<p>Possibly, but likely <em>not<\/em> if you do a dry run ahead of time. And who\u2019s the best prospect player to drive? Your <em>champion<\/em>! After all, your champion <em>also<\/em> wants the demo to go well, so they are typically willing to invest a few minutes to practice.<\/p>\n<p>When your prospect drives the demo or part of it, three fabulous advantages are gained:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The rest of the audience sees first-hand that their colleague can run the software successfully, proving ease of use.<\/li>\n<li>The audience feels that <em>they<\/em> also can run the software: \u201cIf Bob can do it, then certainly I can as well\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<li>The prospect feels a <em>stronger<\/em> sense of proof of the Specific Capabilities than when the vendor drives. The sense of reality is deeper and there is less perceived \u201csmoke and mirrors.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>An additional advantage is often enjoyed: The demo becomes <a style=\"font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/remarkable-demos-what-makes-a-demo-truly-memorable\/\"><em>remarkable<\/em><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">. The prospect team talks about the demo afterward, \u201cYou should have seen the demo today. Bob drove and it was really cool!\u201d The result can generate a very positive word-of-mouth effect that ripples through the prospect\u2019s organization.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>A Few Pragmatic Guidelines<\/h2>\n<p>Work with your champion or other volunteer ahead of time. They need to be comfortable and confident that they know what to do and how to do it. A practice session is a great solution for this.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, offering to \u201cLet Your Champion Drive\u201d can also serve to validate that your champion is, indeed, really a champion! They should be willing to invest time to get it right.<\/p>\n<p>Involving your champion in delivering the demo also increases their ownership in the process. This generates a positive feedback loop: The more involved, the more ownership; the more ownership, the more involved.<\/p>\n<p>Another recommendation? Simplify! Consider limiting your champion\u2019s driving to a Do It pathway. The longer the segment, the greater the risk.<\/p>\n<h2>What About Online Demos?<\/h2>\n<p>This approach also works wonderfully with demos delivered over the web: Just make sure that the tool you use allows your prospect to have \u201cmouse control.\u201d And <em>definitely<\/em> practice transitioning between you and your champion (or other prospect player) doing the driving!<\/p>\n<h2>Two More Options<\/h2>\n<p>If no champion is available, you can still contemplate using an audience volunteer. You will have to give guidance on the individual steps, but the effect will still be very positive.<\/p>\n<p>Another approach is to ask the audience while <em>you<\/em> drive, \u201cWhat would be my next step?\u201d or \u201cWhere should I click to\u2026?\u201d This provides the ability to manage the process and reduces the risk of things going wrong but decreases the impact of a volunteer stepping up to the mouse.<\/p>\n<p>The moral: It is good when you prove your capabilities; it is <em>great<\/em> when your prospect does it!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2005-2024 The Second Derivative \u2013 All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n<p>To learn the methods introduced above, consider enrolling in a Great Demo! Doing Discovery or Demonstration Skills <a href=\"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/training\/\">Workshop<\/a>. For more demo and discovery tips, best practices, tools, and techniques, explore our <a href=\"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/learn\/books\/\">books<\/a>, blog, and articles on the Resources pages of our website at <a href=\"https:\/\/GreatDemo.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/GreatDemo.com<\/a> and join the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/2430414\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Great Demo! &amp; Doing Discovery LinkedIn Group<\/a> to learn from others and share your experiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Demo Do: Let Your Champion Drive! A Never Stop Learning! Article &nbsp; \u201cStand away from the mouse and nobody will get hurt!\u201d \u00a0\u2013 Salesperson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34755,"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 center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,14],"tags":[6,7],"class_list":["post-34744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-great-demo-blog","category-advanced_topics","tag-articles","tag-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34744"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34745,"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34744\/revisions\/34745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}