SaaS sales demos allow software companies to share their software features and benefits with prospective clients. The goal of a sales demo is to “wow” prospects, showcase how your software can relieve their pain points, and close deals as quickly as possible.
However, the ability to close SaaS sales demos does not come naturally. It requires research, strategy, and persistence.
Learn how to close a sales demo with these top tips. Not only will these tips increase your chances of closing deals, but they’ll also provide the groundwork for creating sales demos that consistently close deals. It will also improve your brand reputation, and ensure long-term success.
Top Tips on How to Close a Sales Demo
Don’t waste your time with lackluster sales demos that don’t close. Structure a top-tier sales demo and use these tips to engage customers and close valuable deals.
- Know Your Prospect
It’s been said time and time again, but only because it’s the truth: to close a deal, you need to know your customer. Nowhere is that more true than during the SaaS sales cycle.
SaaS doesn’t have physical products that clients can touch and see, which means the product features aren’t inherently clear to the prospect. But to sell the right features to your client, you need to know who and what you’re trying to sell.
So, you must learn about your prospect before the sales demo starts. As soon as you book a date for the sales demo, utilize surveys and research to learn more about your prospect, their needs, and their pain points. Only then can you effectively sell and close deals with prospects.
- Create a Complete Sales Demo Strategy
Sales demos that consistently close are planned strategically. Winging it will not win you any clients, or not consistently enough to guarantee long-term business success.
Your marketing division, dev team, and other internal parties play an important role in establishing a strategic sales demo. They will help ensure that it effectively introduces your software, engages the prospect, and rectifies their pain points. If you’re not sure where to start, consider this SaaS sales demo template.
To close deals, your sales demo should also include an “after” portion. This will cover how you’ll manage CTAs, and the sales process, and engage with the prospect after the demo is complete.
- Create a Detailed Agenda
After creating a sales demo strategy, create a detailed agenda to keep yourself on track during the sales demo. This ensures you cover all the important features and increases your chances of closing the deal.
You can also share the agenda with your prospect. It’ll showcase that you’re going to cover the features that ease their pain points and keep them engaged during the demo. However, the agenda you share with them should a be summary of your agenda.
Don’t bore or overwhelm them with information. Just reading your agenda headings should be enough.
- Edit Ruthlessly
From your agenda to your SaaS sales demo template, edit ruthlessly. Share the demo with other people in your company and take their feedback seriously. Remove all fluff and filler and stick to the point.
If you want to add humor and short anecdotes, that’s fine. However, the bulk of the sales demo needs to be clear and concise.
- Showcase the Most Relevant Features First
Sales demos average between 45 to 90 minutes. It’s a long time, filled with dense information that can feel a little boring. Failing to engage your prospect during that time could significantly influence your sales conversion rate.
To engage your customer more effectively and keep your sales demo short, between 30 to 60 minutes, showcase the most relevant features first. Use the research you gathered in step one to plot a relevant sales demo. This ensures the customer is engaged and sees the value of your software before their mind has the chance to wander.
- Share Benefits, Not Just Features
No matter how impressive your software’s features are, if it’s not presented correctly, it’s not going to close sales. Prospects are simple creatures. They want to know how the product will benefit them.
So, instead of sharing just your software features and using complicated jargon, simplify and summarize the features. Don’t explain what the features do. Instead, briefly explain the feature and then how it benefits the prospect.
- Share Case Studies
Case studies share real-life examples of how your software has helped clients. It’s a great method for showing the real-world applications and benefits of your software to prospects and a winning strategy for closing deals.
Share a few case studies during your sales demo. Use case studies with clients who have similar pain points to your prospect and highlight how your software has improved the client’s business or life. Don’t forget to add relevant statistics to the case study.
- Utilize the Q&A Section of the Sales Demo
The Q&A section of a sales demo is your time to shine. It’s the part of the demo where you build rapport with your prospect and share your knowledge of the software. It’s the section of the demo where you build trust with the prospect.
Ensure that you answer questions.
The more you know about your software, the better. You can also use this section to ask your prospect questions about their experience, and their wants and needs. This will help you navigate the end of the sales demo and demonstrate any feature benefits you didn’t cover in your demo.
- Expect Push Back
Always expect pushback. Some prospects like to cross-examine the software features, which is understandable. No one wants to waste money on something that doesn’t work.
When you encounter prospects like this, don’t worry. You can still close the deal. Often, pushback or intense questioning is a result of genuine interest in your software.
Again, the more you know about your software, the better. Be confident and polite in your answers and continue to drive home the benefits of your software and how it can ease their pain points.
- Relay a Clear CTA
As you reach the end of your sales demo, remember to relay a clear call to action to your prospect. This is a critical step in closing deals. Tell your customer to get in touch, share current promotions, and explain how the purchasing and onboarding process will work.
Keep it short but make sure your prospect leaves with a clear idea of what to do next. Which, in this case, is to sign up and use your software.
- Send a Demo Summary Right After
Drive home the benefits of your software and send a demo summary right after the sales demo. The demo summary should include all the key points you covered during the sales demo and contain a CTA. This will provide the prospect with a refresher and cement your software in their mind.
- Wait and Then Reach Out
After the refresher, you’ll have a grace period. During this period, the prospect is likely to demo other software options and get a feel for the market.
While it might be tempting to bombard them with email reminders every day, don’t. It’ll only annoy your prospect and lower your chances of closing. Instead, give them time to explore other options and re-engage with the prospect after a week or two.
- Keep in Touch
If your prospect went no contact, it likely means they chose another software solution, were busy, or were waiting for you to reach out to them.
If, after a month or so, you have gotten no contact on your earlier emails, send your prospect a friendly email. Thank them for the demoing opportunity, and ask them if they want to re-engage and partner with your software and if not, why they chose another option.
If there is no reply after the first email, you can resend it. However, we’d suggest not doing this more than 3 times to avoid ruining possible future connections.
- Gather Data for Future Demos
To improve your demo experience and close more deals, collect sales demo data to guide future demo experiences. Use post-demo surveys to gather data. Your outreach emails, specifically the reason why a prospect went with another software solution, also offer valuable feedback.
Collect this data and pinpoint weaknesses in your SaaS sales demo. Use this data to improve your sales demo experience and close more deals.
Conclusion
Sales demos allow software companies to share their software with clients and showcase its features and benefits. It’s an essential part of the SaaS sales cycle. It’s also notoriously difficult to close deals consistently, a necessity for software companies looking for long-term success.
Fortunately, the sales demo process doesn’t rely on luck, but rather strategy. Working on getting to know your customer, creating a strategic demo, sharing an agenda, and sharing benefits instead of just features. These are just a few of the ways you can increase your chances of closing a deal.
As for the demo environment, an interactive sales demo that engages customers is guaranteed to help you close more deals.
Use Saleo, the first-ever live demo environment, to create data-complete demos that boost your sales and close deals more consistently. To get started, request a Sales demo today.
