Sales demos are categorized into two broad categories: those available for public viewing, like a demo on your website, and those personalized for a prospect.
With sales demos being so critical, especially in the SaaS environment, personalizing a demo can work wonders for sales – especially if your software is layered and offers a variety of features too complex to cover in one sales demo sitting.
Instead, you can personalize the experience to create a tailored experience that fixes your lead’s unique pain points.
To get started, use these sales demo personalization tips to improve your sales demos and boost SaaS sales conversion rates.
What Is A Sales Demo?
A sales demo is a short but engaging presentation of a service or product. It showcases the features and benefits of a product to entice buyers to hit the purchase button.
In SaaS, sales demos are critical because there is no physical product for prospects to see, touch, or try. The sales demo showcases the software’s features, allowing them to experience the software as it would be after purchase.
What Does It Mean To Personalize A Sales Demo?
As for sales demos, there are many ways to elevate your approach and increase your chances of landing sales. One such method is sales demo personalization.
Sales demo personalization is the process of personalizing the demo environment and data to match your client’s needs.
Instead of providing the same demo to all customers, you get to know the prospect’s pain points and tailor the demo to show how your software can fix those pain points. The demo personalization process also considers cosmetic changes, like inputting the prospect’s logo and colors on the software during the demo.
Sales demo personalization can take many forms, but it’s all about letting the prospect experience the software with a native touch. It should already feel like their software.
The Benefits Of Sales Demo Personalization
All clients want different things from software. When you personalize the demo environment to match client needs, it targets their pain points and increases their confidence in your software. But personalization goes so much further than that.
Here are just a few reasons why you should tap into the power of sales demo personalization.
Solves Their Pain Points
Public demos or generic demos, while still valuable for your brand space, aren’t going to land clients as effectively as a personalized sales demo.
First, when sales demos are personalized, it allows prospects to experience the demo environment like a native. They get to visualize how the software fits their needs and treat it like it’s already theirs. It’ll be much more difficult to walk away from than a generic demo.
Second, a personalized demo solves unique pain points, which a generic demo can’t do. It showcases the true appeal of your software and the benefits prospects can enjoy when using it.
Build Long Term Relationships With Clients
Getting to know your clients and them getting to know you is an awkward period, but a very important one. Clients who feel connected to your brand and feel a sense of loyalty are much more likely to stay with you long-term and share their positive experiences with your brand with other people.
Sales demo personalization is the start of this great bond. Personalizing the sales demo for prospects shows the time and care your brand puts into clients’ needs. Tailoring the software to other unique pain points also shows that your brand is willing to listen to them.
While it might seem like a small benefit at first, building a strong foundation with your clients will ensure client retention, a critical point for SaaS who rely on recurring subscriptions and long-term interest.
Engage The Audience
Much of our human reaction to products comes from how engaging we find it and the same rule applies to software demos. If the demo is engaging and the client is invested in the features, they’re more likely to subscribe to the software.
Personalizing the demo environment is a great way to keep prospects engaged. You show them only the features they’ll have vested interests in, so every second of the demo will feel important and noteworthy. Personalizing the demo environment with the client logo and other cosmetic and interactive changes will also keep them invested in what’s happening during the demo.
Once the demo is done, you can use prospect engagement levels to inform your next step – be more aggressive with post-demo sales with more engaged clients.
Increase Sales, Revenue, And Brand Reach
All of the above good stuff will naturally lead to an increase in sales, especially when comparing post-demo sales with generic sales demos.
More sales means higher revenue, which you can invest back into your business. And, lastly, a good demo experience and software that delivers will build a positive reputation for your brand and increase brand reach.
9 Sales Demo Personalization Tips
To personalize sales demos for future clients, consider these top sales demo personalization tips.
- Get To Know Your Audience
It’s an age-old sales and marketing tactic, but only because it works. To effectively sell your software to leads, you need to know your target audience.
In personalized sales demos, knowing your target audience falls into two categories.
First, know your general target audience. Use social and website analytics, and CRM (customer relationship management software) to learn about your target demographic and the features people are more likely to gravitate toward.
Next, narrow down your target audience. Part of personalizing sales demos is inputting new data and demo actions for each client. Use the above data to sell your “bestseller” features. Then gather data from your prospect on their company, pain points, etc to finetune the personalization.
- Tailor The Demo To Their Pain Points
An integral part of the SaaS sales cycle is talking to your prospects. During the negotiation stage, prospects share the pain points they’re struggling with – pain points they’re hoping your software can fix.
Use this interview process to shape your sales demo environment. Take note of the issues they’re struggling with and personalize your sales demo to showcase the software features that can alleviate these pain points.
Prioritize their pain points during the sales demo. Only once you’ve showcased how your software can fix their issues, show your “best sellers” and software that can elevate their operations.
By the time the sales demo is done, they should have full confidence that your software has the solutions to their problems.
- Create A Structure And Storyline
The best sales demos are well thought out and structured. While some improvisation in the moment is fine (being flexible and adaptive is always a benefit) your personalized sales demo should still follow a planned format.
For structure, create your initial narrative and structure. Be strategic about the format and frame it like you would an essay. There needs to be an introduction, where you grab the prospect’s attention – preferably with a hook about their pain points and how you can fix it.
Next is the body. How will you move between topics, pain points, and features? Does the sales demo flow feel natural? Do the topic changes make sense?
Lastly, finish the demo off with a conclusion and a CTA that is to the point and related to the topics covered during the demo.
As for the storyline, create a narrative that matches the client’s pain points. Use the information they shared during negotiations and put yourself in their shoes. From there, create a storyline on how your software can solve their problems and elevate their operations. Treat their needs like a case study.
- Choose The Right Demo Length
Demos can range from 10 to 50 minutes, depending on the complexity of the software and the time you and your client have to spend. But choosing the right demo length is a bit more tricky than that.
On average, longer demo lengths are better for sales. A longer demo gives you time to fully share the most important features of your software. It also allows enough time for questions and other feature discussions.
But while a longer demo is better, it doesn’t mean you should cover all software features or fill the time with unnecessary fluff.
Instead, the time should be used to cover the pain points’ features in depth. Use the time to fully express how the system will improve the client’s pain points. Provide statistics and case studies of clients with similar issues.
So, take your time and be thorough with the demo. Don’t rush the demonstration, leave time for discussion between sections, and fill the time with relevant data and anecdotes.
- Input Interactive Elements
Part of keeping your client engaged is using interactive elements. In fact. companies saw a 20% increase in sales after implementing interactive content like interactive demos.
When the audience is engaged, they retain information better. They’ll also have a deeper interest in the software and its features.
Whether you choose to let them test the software during the demo, showcase real-time data, or do small quizzes, keep your client invested and on their toes.
- Make Cosmetic Changes
Another part of personalized sales demos is making cosmetic changes to create a native demo environment. When clients see the demo software with their branding, it connects them to the software and lets them experience the true potential of the platform.
So, make cosmetic changes where possible. Change the text, images, branding, graphs, and colors to match your prospect’s branding and statistics. Personalize the entire demo so it feels like they have already purchased the software. The attention to detail will also ingratiate your brand to the clients.
- Talk After The Sales Demo
After the sales pitch and demonstration, there is a talking period with the prospect. This period is when clients ask questions about the demo, the subscription service, etc. It’s a crucial part of the demo process, one many new sales reps don’t account for.
First, prepare more information than you’ll be pitching during the demo. If the client asks about other parts of the platform or the brand, the sales rep must answer immediately. Consider the client’s unique situation and prepare in advance for any industry-related questions.
Second, while it’s important for you to still pitch your product, the goal during this period is to let the prospect talk. Listen carefully and answer with confidence. Be honest on all fronts and don’t dawdle with unnecessary sales pitches. Instead, pepper them strategically throughout the conversation.
- Measure Sales Demo Metrics
Sales demos require constant adjustment and improvement, which is why you need to track feedback and metrics. Metrics are also important to determine if your demos are hitting the mark.
So, gather feedback from prospects after the sales demo. Ask them about their experience, if they felt the information was relevant to their needs, if they felt like they were listened to, and if the sales rep could answer all their questions.
Also, gather data on the sales after your sales demos. How many sales demos converted? Was there anything different in the ones that converted prospects into paying customers? What were the best-performing demo times?
Gather all the above data, track trends, and use these insights to create data-driven improvements in how you host personalized sales demos.
- Use Sales Demo Tools
You don’t need to build your own sales demo environment. You can use sales demo tools, like Saleo. Sales demo tools like Saleo are no-coding software that lets you create personalized, interactive demos with complex data models and so much more.
Sales demo tools like Saleo also come with robust metrics and analytics to simplify and improve the demoing process.
Conclusion
A sales demo can make or break your pitch. One way to ensure you make it is by personalizing the sales demo environment.
Make cosmetic changes and run through the features that solve your client’s most difficult problems. Furthermore, master personalized sales demos with the above tips and tricks.
Don’t waste time and resources building a subpar demo environment, not when you can use Saleo to create, personalize, and optimize sales demos for each of your clients. Request a Saleo demo today and create native environments that convert into sales.
