A technology demonstration takes preparation to do it well. Here are my Top 15 annoyances when I’m getting a technology demonstration. Avoid most of them with common sense and a little preparation.
I tried to get it down to a TOP 10, I just couldn’t leave the last 5 out!
- The presenter can’t remember their login and password.
- The presenter needs to demonstrate a file/graphic upload but has no files readily available.
- Presenter makes up funny excuses for why the technology is slow. “I should restart my computer once in awhile!”
- The presenter can’t find the link to the site they want to show (bookmarks?)
- The site used for demonstration has no data – hence looking at reporting functionality is useless.
- The presenter talks so fast, you feel like you have to interrupt to ask questions, so you don’t.
- The presenter doesn’t listen to your questions and continues to list features no matter what you ask.
- The presenter asked no questions upfront, so they don’t know what you know or what you are interested in.
- The presenter navigates through their computer letting you see all the people they have demonstrated for in the last several months (interesting)
- The presenter sounds more like a tape recorder that was turned on at the beginning and has no pause or mute button.
- Presenter never says, “our technology doesn’t do that” no matter how inane the question might be. It can do everything!
- Presenter never mentions anything close to the phrase, “I don’t know” even though it’s obvious they are making stuff up.
- The demo environment has little configured so everything starts with, this site isn’t configured for that but it can be done. Product demonstration or Product imagination?
- The presenter seems to be trying to show how much they know vs. finding out what you care about.
You nailed it again Jenn. The common thread seems to be product-centric selling instead of customer-centric solutions delivery. The customer won’t buy unless you can solve their problem in a way that adds exceptional value. You can’t solve a customer’s problem and deliver value unless you know what the issues and challenges are – in detail! There is credibility in saying “I don’t know, but I will find out” and integrity in saying “No, it won’t do that (yet).”
I think “I don’t know” could be one of the most powerful phrases to use in the sales process (not to be overused and hence unqualified but it establishes trust).
Jen
I have had to say ‘I don’t know’ and now I feel better about it!
This might be my ALL TIME FAVORITE comment. You should feel comfortable about saying “I don’t know” it builds TRUST.
Jen
Excellent List!
It’s just amazing that any business every gets done through these types of presentations. I’d only add the usual “death by Powerpoint” annoyances – reading the bulleted list of slides, talking to the screen and not the audience, paying more attention to how the slides transition than you do to the content of the presentation.
I have another post coming about PowerPoint – it deserves its own post ;-)
Jen
Hi Jenn…
Being a technology demonstrator myself I have to agree with you on this one! And the last one, really: Priceless! I have been doing this for almost 10 years and it really bugs me when I am sitting on a demo and have the demonstrator doing all the 15 plus above… It drives me crazy. Not only that, I am trying to make a sale here and I can see my chances slipping away from me because of that.
I love your insights and I am in-line with them. I wish the PSPs would listen to us and let us help them make better decisions.
Cheers,
Alberto
Alberto,
Thanks for reading, its so easy to make these mistakes and it seems like we’ve lost our ability to think from the perspective of the participants b/c they aren’t sitting in front of us. If there was virtual body language it would not be pretty ;-)
Jen
And here are the top 3 reasons why technology demos are so annoying:
1. The presenter is a technologist, product manager or applications specialist who has never had any sales training.
2. The presenter thinks his or her job is to show every feature of the product, instead of understanding that it is to create a customer.
3. The presenter has failed to take into account the gremlin feature (included without exception in all software) that is capable of detecting when more than one pair of eyes is looking at the screen and causing random glitches in proportion to the number of eyes watching.
Chris,
The technology focus in the demos is because the sales – technology resources aren’t collaborating. For more complex systems its necessary to have dedicated “sales engineers” but they have to work in conjunction with the sales team. A coordinated effort includes understanding the customer’s needs and then tailoring the demonstration to the specific customer challenges.
Jen
Maybe this one is too basic … but not starting on time drive me crazy – both as a presenter and as a participant. If you’re doing a GTM and you’re not on 10 – 15 min before and start within 5 min, you’re not doing a service to your audience.
Rusty,
This is not too basic, its assumed that your time would be respected! I’ve been on hundreds of demonstrations where the presenters say, “having a few technical difficulties here” which are collectively wasting your time because they didn’t login early and solve the technical details without wasting your time.
Jen