I discovered from the Daniel Pink's blogthe work of Graig Damrauerwho has made abstracts concept in the form of math equations : have a look at it from my favorites one : Afterwards, I tried to make my own contribution to this work and I did some equations about software demonstrations : Good Demo
Bad Demo Great Demo = Demo2Win + PresentationZen (have a look clicking on the link)What do you think of this post ? please make also a contribution by sending me your own math equation about software outstanding Demo !
Last week I attended an interesting and inspiring demo class animated by Cheryl Reisdorff (from 2WIN!® Global) who is one of the most enthusiast and engaging demo trainer I ever met. What we had to do each of us during this workshop was to prepare and to perform a 15 minute demo scene from our own experience. ( and all of that was filmed and recorded !) After each participant's demo scene, Cheryl gave her feedback with the things we did right and the things we could improve for the next time. The theme of this workshop was "the 2% factor",the idea behind it is that if we only improve 2% the way we used to do our software demonstration, this 2% could probably make all the difference between a won deal and a lost deal !
Watching back at the video (the image above) of me while I was demoing my software, I didn't see me as too awful in many ways as I did my best applying the demo techniques ( using the limbic effect, using the Tell Show Tell ...) and as I got it out all the irrelevant stuff from the slides. Unfortunately this video informed me about 2 bad news : The first bad news is that I am already an old guy because I actually though that I looked younger ! ( eh Cheryl do you have any tips for that, I would be interested in it) and the second bad news is that I realized that I had less impact than I though on my audience and that I was not enough engaging. Anyway, let's me share with you some of the the feedback points and takeaways Cheryl gave me in order to improve my demo skill and my impact on the audience.
Never read your slides : I know that I gave this recommendation in this blog but unfortunately it turned out watching the video that I didn't follow enough my own advice. And no only I read the slide (even though they were very simple) but sometimes I was not engaged with the audience as I seemed to be lost in my thoughts seeking my English words. The next time, I will stare at my audience without disruption ( because if you lose your audience be sure that your audience will lose you)
Prepare in advance the flipchart : For instance prepare the framework of the flipchart so that the only thing you will have to do during the presentation will be to add significant writing or figures.
Never diminish your benefits or the relevancy of your references : Underestimate our value is something Cheryl told me French people are good at it, in my demo scene I picked up a reference for my customer and I said "of course this reference is not exactly like you" whereas the right thing would have been to say "I have chosen this reference, let me explain why this company that have got many benefits with our software, is like you"
What do you think about this ? what are the main takeaways you learnt from the last demo you did or from the last training session you attended ? I am looking forward to reading your comments
The number 3 is magic for successful and powerful software presentations, it helps you to build demo content fast and to check whether you have got for your outstandind sofware demo : --> The 3 main business benefits that you will provide to your customer -->The 3 acts ( Act I, Act, II, Act III) of the story you are going to tell them ( problem, action, happy end) -->The 3 mean features (asked by the stakeholders) that your are going to show them into the system in details and with their own datas. And once you have customized their 3 most important business processes, you have to ask yourself the question "SO WHAT" before making more technical work for new processes ! will it be worth it to show them more features as you will have already proved them your software capabilities , does this new feature bring additional values or additional complexities ? ( Visualize your customer debriefing after the demo " oh their tool is very powerful and the sales engineer guy demonstrated every feature we had but it sounds now a little bit too much complicated for our people and our company, we would do better to choose another tool simpler and less sophisticated) -->The 3 main pain points they are currently facing and that your software will solve -->The 3 reasons you will give them (if asked) to buy your software licenses -->The 3 reasons you will give them (if asked) to buy your software licenses NOW ! And also, take care to use the Rule of Thirdsin every slide because that rule allows you to create design attractive slides. The rule of third is a technique that photographers learn for framing their shots.It is a guideline for composition that suggests placing key graphic elements along lines which divide your image into thirds, or at the intersections of those lines. the image above is an example of the third of rule application. The method is to divide the slide with 4 lines so that you have 4 crossing points and 9 boxes. This 4 crossing points are called "power points" and are area you might place the key element of your slide rather than in the middle. And once you have placed your image to one of this power point, you need to use carefully the "Empty Space" in order to highlight your image ( So many slides are crowded using all the space because sometimes we want to do our home work well by fulfilling all the space) If you want to know more, have a look to the post "How to Improve Your Slides with the Rule of Thirds" from the Six Minutes blog and you will get too as usual interesting insights in presentationZen and in this video below.
This scenario invented by the french author Alain Mincwon't probably never happen. But in his book "10 days that will change our world" ( no English translation available yet) Alain Minc tell us 10 credible and metaphoric stories that may happen in our future and among them the story of the New York Timesacquisition by Google stroke me. The amazing fact is that this scenario is plausible and almost realistic ! Today, the print is not holy anymore indeed, newspapers (may be books too) are facing tricky issues : their circulation and advertising revenue are desperately and steadily decreasing and no solution can't be found easily to change this situation ; they have got their way in an endless spiral of decline. Of course most newspapers have added their content on the web and some are trying to launch subscription on their title with PDF format but their new Internet revenue can't counterbalance the losses in advertising and the distribution costs. Moreover, the Internet transformation requires newspapers to reinvent and adapt themselves to the new economy ( how they operate, how they relate to the public, how they make money...) that include many things they were not enough prepared for . In the Minc'sfiction the New York Timeseventually decided to turn off the presses, stopping the press distribution and publishing all the news content on a big website platform so that they could be the perfect prey for Google company willing to add credibility and trustworthiness to their information platformGoogle News !
eh ! Additionally, it will be a bad news for me as i won't be able to make demo (more or less outstanding one) for the newspaper media solution I am currently an expert in. !!!!!
What do you thing about it ? Do you think print is doomed ? and what would be the consequences of the print disappearance in our work and daily life ?
Your prospect and your customer want to know who you are, they want to know how long have you been with your company, they want to know what your expertise is for the demo you will give them. And so when you meet your customer you need to specify what is your "SuperPower"as SethGodinsaid in his last post, you need to point out what is the specific value you will be able to deliver,you need to make clear the reasons why you are going to help them. If you don't have a "Super Power" you're just another handshake. So don't say as i did before " Hi, i am BOB , I am a presalesand I am from Courbevoie.France" Instead, try "I am BOB, I am a 5 years expert in media solution software and I am focused on how to improve business and reduce pains in the media industry area". You don't have to praise yourself, but you have to make the first introduction meaningful, you have to make your customer aware of your superpower. ( but not with the gun...)
In order to introduce yourself , I would highly recommend you not to introduce yourself as a presales ( by the bargain most customer don't even know that this job does exist and therefore they will assimilate you as a kind of sales guy and you will lose immediately at the first meeting the confidence and the trust that is generally and naturally granted to the technical or engineer guy ) Instead introduce your value and your superpower.
By the way, have a look the way Clara introduces herself in her pitch for 'The best job in the world" contest. Is not that nicely enthusiastic ?
And you ? what do you think of this post ? What is your point of view about how to introduce yourself ?
Here's a new book"Mastering Technical Sales" I ordered from Amazon. (unfortunately not yet delivered).I am excited and looking forward to reading it and learning new demo insights because I am a great fan of the related blogand web sitewhere I found inspiring and unexpected (no cliches ! ) ideas about my job in their newsletters. Let's me share with you some of them among my favorite posts. Click on the link to get the newsletter in a PDF format :
The Stress Free Demo : how to organise yourself and your demo for avoiding harmful stress that can destroy your work, your health and the "health of your pipeline"
Cliches: Think Outside The Box : my favorite one and how to get rid of cliches during the discovery process. Cliches are not only about overused expression or idea or main marketing ingredient ( like thinking about the box, win win, customer's view at 360°, scalable, value oriented processes, moving forward...) Cliches are also about presales superficial and predictable behavior.
What do you think of this blog ? Do you know this book ? please make your suggestions and comments !
Saying "NO" is sometimes valuable in software sales cycle as it saves money and times for both your customer and your organisation. Saying "NO" often requires some courage because it is easier to please everyone all the time and you need also courage to face the sale rep or others people from your company challenging this "NO" : " Can you explain me why our product doesn't meet such customer's requirement that sounds so basic to me ? " or " We have already got a reference customer who implemented similar features ! I don't understand why you said no !"
Anyway, I should recommend to be cautious because NO is a big stop in sales cycle and once it is said you have a difficult way to return back. If you are asked a feature that is not supported in standard by your application Don't start with NO, try to answer instead by other questions about this particular feature and why it is needed for their business goals and try to understand the business needs behind this unexpected feature, tell you customer that this special need is probably possible with some additional customising in you software, tell them you are going to check it later on and give them the schedule date when you will go back in order to get them informed about the result of your homework.... Say NO the less you can (not never) and always address your audience with the willing of saying "YES" because you want to provide a service and find out solutions to your customer's issues, Don't start with NO because you are willing to help and make the things done and not avoided.
The elevator test will help you to check the clarity of your core message, it will force you to deliver your core message in 30-45 seconds, it will help you to check whether you can explain in a few sentences your software main and unique value for your customer. Imagine this is the situation : just a few minutes before the start of the demo you meet the CEO at the elevator who suddenly says something like that "I am sorry, something come up, i won't be able to attend the demo, please give me your idea, what do you think makes your software valuable for my company ?" Imagine such a scenario, could you sell your software in the elevator ? You have indeed to rehearse the answer because this situation will happen, unlikely in the elevator, and you will have that day to answer this question in a concise manner,with the right words and without hesitation.
That sounds easy but it is not, it must be succinct, easy to understand and irrefutable as it is said in the video below :
Did you ever notice that there is 2 presenter categories, the first category relates to people that we do not listen when they speak even though we are interested in their topic and in the second category are the people we listen whatever the topic they are discussing about? Obviously SteveJobs belongs to the second and he is considered by many as one of the most talented presenter in the world.
Why ?
Does he make dramatic effect he would learn from the actor studio in Hollywood ?
Does he show complicated and colorful powerpoint slides with a lot of customized animation ?
Does he use complex techniques in order to hypnotize his audience ?
No, and may be we can learn each of us to present like Steve Job. In this video from bnet.com, communications coach Carmine Gallo provides helpful insights of the methods that Steve Jobs uses to captivate his audience.
Here is the summary of speaking tips used by steve and decoded by Carmine
Set the Theme
Make your theme clear and consistent
Create a headline that sets the direction for your meeting
Provide the Outline
Open and close each section with a clear transition
Make is easy for your listeners to follow your story
Demonstrate Enthusiasm
Wow your audience
Sell an Experience
Make numbers and statistics meaningful
Analogies help connect the dots for your audience
Make it Visual
Paint a simple picture that doesn’t overwhelm
Give ‘em a Show
Identify your memorable moment and build up to it
Give your audience an added bonus to walk away with
Afterwards, I tried to make my own contribution to this work and I did some equations about software demonstrations :
Great Demo = Demo2Win + PresentationZen (have a look clicking on the link)
What do you think of this post ? please make also a contribution by sending me your own math equation about software outstanding Demo !
