Consider where your buyer is in their process

A demo of your product or service involves investing time and money to put together. If you’re going to do a demo, understand where your buyer is in their process:

• An early-stage prospect A prospect who is at an early stage is still doing their research and trying to figure out what is out there in the market. This prospect doesn't need a demo, they aren’t even sure yet what they need. Provide them with something that educates them on understanding their problem/challenge/need.
• A prospect that knows the challenge they want to address A prospective buyer who is at this stage has identified the need/problem/challenge they are trying to solve. Showing a demo to such a prospect will be more effective because the demo will be based on what the customer understands they need.

The right time to demo

A demo should be shown at the point in the process where you and your prospect:

• Have mutually agreed on the pain and problem your customer is trying to address.
• Are capable of addressing the problem, both from being able to get it done as well as being able to afford to pay for it.
• Know what the solution looks like.

Starting with what i like to call a have to-have and a nice-to-have list is a great way to build a demo as it directly addresses what a customer need.

How to make your demo effective

Before a demo is done, you need to qualify your prospect. by:

• Understanding who’s involved in the decision
• How your prospect’s organization make decision
• What is important to them in a demo (HINT: It’s not 15 slides about your company. . .)

In summary, doing a demo for every prospect is a waste of your time. To avoid this, take the time to find out if your prospect has identified the problems they need to solve and then present a demo that caters specifically to their needs.