{"id":35940,"date":"2024-09-05T19:51:44","date_gmt":"2024-09-05T19:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/?p=35940"},"modified":"2024-09-05T19:53:23","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T19:53:23","slug":"are-we-getting-better-presales-practice-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/are-we-getting-better-presales-practice-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"Are We Really Getting Better? A Sobering Analysis of Presales Practices!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cLearning never exhausts the mind.\u201d<br \/>\n\u2013 Leonardo da Vinci<\/p>\n<p>This article is for all of us who <em>are<\/em> experiencing the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dunning-Kruger<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> effect<\/a>, <em>have<\/em> experienced it, or <em>will<\/em> experience it. And if you aren\u2019t concerned, you should be!<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s in This Article?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A Story and a Harsh Lesson<\/li>\n<li>Competency, Complacency, and the Dunning-Kruger Effect<\/li>\n<li>Seven Levels of Skills \u2013 Before and After<\/li>\n<li>Four Stages of Learning<\/li>\n<li>Outflanking Dunning-Kruger<\/li>\n<li>A Summary and a Challenge!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>A Story and a Harsh Lesson<\/h2>\n<p>I will immodestly state, while simultaneously suffering from and defying Imposter Syndrome, that some years ago I was the \u201cgo to\u201d person for our organization\u2019s demos. If it was an important opportunity, it was \u201cCall for Cohan!\u201d I flew across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific delivering thousands of demos to prospects, customers, partners, and third parties, and enjoyed unrelenting accolades from my sales colleagues. Very frequently my demos \u201csealed the deal!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I was at the top of my game. My demos were smooth, polished, precise, and practically perfect (or so I thought)! Until\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Until I became the <em>prospect<\/em> and was on the <em>receiving<\/em> end of demos from vendors asking <em>me<\/em> for hundreds of thousands of dollars in license fees. Then the scales fell from my eyes!<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s when I suddenly realized I was standing firmly atop \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/workmatters\/the-dunning-kruger-effect-climbing-mount-stupid-navigating-the-valley-of-despair-and-ascending-b22d37c1e6f9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mt. Stupid<\/a>.\u201d There was an <em>enormous<\/em> amount about demos that I didn\u2019t know!<\/p>\n<p>What had happened?<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d moved to a new position founding and leading a business unit and was growing a sales and presales team to the point where we needed a CRM system. We invited several vendors to present demos of their offerings.<\/p>\n<p>Of the vendors solicited, only <em>two<\/em> held discovery conversations with my team, focused on confirming that we had \u201cpain.\u201d While the two vendors who <em>did<\/em> do some discovery performed slightly better, <em>all<\/em> the vendors\u2019 demos were traditional end-to-end, show-everything, non-conversational, two-hour-long, agonizing Odysseys. They were perfect examples of stunningly awful harbor tour demos!<\/p>\n<p>After suffering through these demos from a prospect\u2019s perspective, two things became very clear:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Those vendors who did little or no discovery were disqualified extremely rapidly.<\/li>\n<li>All the vendors\u2019 demos followed a traditional, end-to-end, linear approach.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>But there was something else that was even <em>worse<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p>I realized that <em>we<\/em> were doing the same things. We were doing insufficient discovery (because our technology was so cool!) and we were presenting boring, traditional, end-to-end demos that \u201csaved the best stuff for last.\u201d We loved our products and wanted to show our prospects <em>everything<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p>After the experience with the CRM vendors, I gathered the team together and said, \u201cFolks, I have bad news. If you felt that the discovery done by these vendors was insufficient and that the demos we just saw were painfully bad, guess what? We\u2019ve been <em>doing the same thing<\/em> to <em>our<\/em> prospects\u2026! We need to make two <em>major<\/em> changes:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>We need to approach discovery from the perspective of what our prospects need us to know before we propose any \u2018solutions.\u2019<\/li>\n<li>We need to turn our demos upside down and Do the Last Thing First.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>These revelations resulted in substantially rearchitecting our discovery and demonstration processes. And, while it was sobering to realize that we were just as bad as other vendors, it was even more painful to realize that we never would have <em>known<\/em> it until <em>we<\/em> became the prospect!<\/p>\n<p>Why does this happen?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Competency, Complacency, and the Dunning-Kruger Effect<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cAll truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.\u201d<br \/>\n\u2013 Galileo Galilei<\/p>\n<p>Prior to the painful revelation above, I believed that I was truly at the top of my demo delivery game. It turned out that while I was decidedly skilled at communicating the advantages of our capabilities, I was merely <em>competent<\/em> in terms of demo effectiveness!<\/p>\n<p>Worse, I had grown complacent and had ceased to explore alternative approaches to my demos. I was focused on the <em>least<\/em> valuable phase of change, <a href=\"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/step-change-vs-optimization-vs-refinement\/\">refinement<\/a>: <em>very<\/em> small improvements that yielded little or no additional value.<\/p>\n<p>I was sitting <em>firmly<\/em> atop Mt. Stupid! The Dunning-Kruger effect takes place when a person <em>believes<\/em> they are more competent that they actually are (and often ceases to continue to learn).<\/p>\n<p>This effect takes place frequently in people who have been in a role for several years and are perceived by themselves (and others, in many cases) as highly competent and effective. Presales folks who have three-to-five years of experience are frequent victims and those who have been promoted into front-line manager positions are even more susceptible!<\/p>\n<p>It can be extremely hard to recognize the Dunning-Kruger affliction in oneself. It often takes an outside push, such as my case in the story above, to recognize the ailment and pursue a solution!<\/p>\n<p>This article is written for all of us who <em>are<\/em> experiencing Dunning-Kruger, <em>have<\/em> experienced it, or (take a breath!) <em>will<\/em> experience it!<\/p>\n<p>Is the Dunning-Kruger effect real? Oh, yes!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Seven Levels of Skills \u2013 Before and After<\/h2>\n<p>At the beginning of Great Demo! and Doing Discovery <a href=\"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/training\/\">Workshops<\/a> I often introduce seven levels of skills and ask the participants to rate themselves. Most participants mark themselves as operating at Levels 4-6 (where Level 7 is the highest).<\/p>\n<p>At the <em>close<\/em> of these Workshops, I ask participants to rank themselves again. This time, they have <em>downgraded<\/em> their level of competence to Levels 2-3. The \u201cbeginning\u201d assessment is Dunning-Kruger at work!<\/p>\n<p>Why does it happen?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Four Stages of Learning<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;If knowledge is power, knowing what we don&#8217;t know is wisdom. We learn more from people who challenge our thought process than those who affirm our conclusions.\u201d<br \/>\n\u2013 Adam M. Grant<\/p>\n<p>There are four stages that people go through when learning new concepts, skills, and practices:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Unconsciously Incompetent: They don\u2019t realize that there <em>are<\/em> problems with their skills and practices. Very simply, <em>they don\u2019t know what they don\u2019t know!<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Consciously Incompetent: They realize that there are problems, but they don\u2019t know how to address them. This is when training and\/or mentoring have the greatest impact.<\/li>\n<li>Consciously Competent: They now understand how to address their problems but must consciously <em>think<\/em> about the new practices and skills to apply them. They are in a phase of ongoing improvement and need to be supported by active coaching.<\/li>\n<li>Unconsciously Competent: They no longer need to think about their actions and are able to act automatically. They are at the top of their game\u2026 Or are they?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>One would <em>think<\/em> that Stage 4 is optimal, but it may only represent a <em>waypoint<\/em> in a person\u2019s learning journey: It may simply be another Mt. Stupid!<\/p>\n<p>This is why I continually exhort my team, my colleagues, my customers, and myself to \u201cNever Stop Learning!\u201d It is only through the recognition that \u201c<em>there must be much that I don\u2019t know\u201d<\/em> that we can escape Dunning-Kruger!<\/p>\n<p>What are other ways to combat Dunning-Kruger?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Outflanking Dunning-Kruger<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cIt is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to open one\u2019s mouth and remove all doubt.\u201d<br \/>\n\u2013 Mark Twain<\/p>\n<p>First, we need to admit that the effect and its impact are real! This alone can take some major mental manipulation. Consider the following phrases:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cThis is the way we\u2019ve always done it\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThings are working just fine\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI\u2019m at the top of my game\u2026\u201d (Rarely uttered, but frequently thought!)<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI\u2019m making my numbers\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI\u2019m achieving my objectives\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI just earned a promotion\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI just earned a raise\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And here are a few more subtle forms:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cOh, I continually work to refine my practice\u2026\u201d (But only in very small ways.)<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI\u2019m open to new ideas\u2026\u201d (But I don\u2019t take action.)<\/li>\n<li>\u201cNew is not necessarily <em>better<\/em>\u2026\u201d (I\u2019m very comfortable with my current way.)<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWhy don\u2019t <em>you<\/em> give it a try\u2026? (But <em>I<\/em> won\u2019t!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each of these communicate satisfaction with status quo and resistance to change. After all, if things are going well (or appear to be going well), why <em>should<\/em> you contemplate change?<\/p>\n<p>In the world of <em>products<\/em>, one of the best strategies is to be your <em>own<\/em> competitor: It should be <em>your <\/em>new product that disrupts the status quo and surpasses your <em>existing<\/em> product. In other words, if a product is going to out-compete your existing offering, it is best if that new product is yours, as well!<\/p>\n<p>The same principle applies to skills and practices. The best situation is where your new, superior practices replace the old ones (before your competition does)!<\/p>\n<p>For most of us to even <em>try<\/em> something new, we consciously or unconsciously examine the associated risk-reward equation: \u201cIf I <em>do<\/em> try this, what is the likely outcome? What is the best possible result? What is the <em>worst<\/em> possible result? What happens if I do nothing\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If the equation doesn\u2019t show a sufficient gain with low or acceptable risk, we tend <em>not<\/em> to pursue the change. For example, \u201cIf I try a new demo technique and it fails, we might lose the business!\u201d That\u2019s a severe <em>disincentive<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Technology_adoption_life_cycle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology Adoption Curve<\/a> applies to acquiring and practicing new skills and methods, in addition to products: The same principles apply! Innovators represent only 2.5% of the population and Early Adopters comprise 13.5%, so only 16% of us naturally <em>embrace <\/em>exploring and trying new ideas. That\u2019s about one person in six, a distinct minority.<\/p>\n<p>Not surprising, then, is that about the same sixteen percent of presales and sales folks actually <em>adopt<\/em> the practices rolled out in organizations\u2019 annual training efforts. Everyone else is in a \u201cwait and see\u201d mode.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s like people considering jumping into a pool that might be a bit cold. If the 16% who leapt into the water appear to be enjoying cool refreshment (resounding success), only <em>then<\/em> will the Early Majority enter the pool (and they\u2019ll do so carefully!). The Late Majority will cautiously test the water with their toes but will not get wet unless they are pushed! And, of course, the Laggards wouldn\u2019t be caught dead near the water at all.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>A Summary and a Challenge!<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cIf you think training is expensive, try ignorance.\u201d<br \/>\n\u2013 Peter Drucker<\/p>\n<p>Recognizing that you or your team are suffering from the Dunning-Kruger effect may be an important first step. Have you made any <em>significant<\/em> changes to your practices over the past few months? Past year? Past several years? In the answer is \u201cNo, not really,\u201d or \u201cWell, we keep tuning things,\u201d then you may be near or at the summit of Mt. Stupid<\/p>\n<p>You can use internal or external skills assessments to determine your position on the skills development curve. Here are two examples, one for <a href=\"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/assessing-demo-skill-levels-how-do-you-rate\/\">demonstration skills<\/a> and one for <a href=\"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/assessing-discovery-skill-levels-how-do-you-rate\/\">discovery skills<\/a>. An honest assessment may yield surprises and corresponding opportunities!<\/p>\n<p>With respect to learning and changing, there are five possibilities:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>You can not learn and not change.<\/li>\n<li>You can learn and not change.<\/li>\n<li>You can change and not learn.<\/li>\n<li>You can change and learn.<\/li>\n<li>You can learn and change.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>It\u2019s your choice!<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>To learn the methods introduced above, consider enrolling in a Doing Discovery or Great Demo! <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>, <a href=\"http:\/\/GreatDemo.com\/learn\/articles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">blog and articles<\/a> on the Resources pages of our website at <a href=\"https:\/\/GreatDemo.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">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>\u201cLearning never exhausts the mind.\u201d \u2013 Leonardo da Vinci This article is for all of us who are experiencing the Dunning-Kruger effect, have experienced<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35947,"comment_status":"closed","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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