Demos are arguably the most crucial part of the sales cycle, but giving a great demo is much easier said than done. It takes a deep understanding of your customer and your product. Plus, a cross-functional effort to make it happen without a hitch.
Demoing is an operation and every B2B software company is running one, whether they realize it or not. So, earlier this year we hosted Demo HQ Day, where we brought together the best in the business to discuss how to think strategically about the demo operation, methodologies to build for scale, and how to do more with less.
Essentially, we discussed everything you need to know to run the complete demo operations for your company.
So, let’s look at some highlights of the 4-hour event to whet your appetite.
Demo Ops: A Cross-Functional Transformation
This session, hosted by Nick Capozzi, Head of Storytelling for Demostack, included a panel of Chris Orlob of QuotaSignal, Meagan Eisenberg of Lacework, Meghan Noel of Amplitude, and Michael Sindicich of TripActions.
The panel discussed what Demo Ops means by exploring topics like:
- What it takes to create a good demo
- How to gain cohesion in the go-to-market team around demo ops
- How to align the company around the same demo narrative
- How to demo with the minimal prior discovery
- How to meet prospects where they are and take them where you want them to go
- Demo Ops challenges and how to address them
- What a successful demo looks like and key metrics Demo Ops should use to gauge success.
Your Playbook for Running a World-Class Demo Operation
This session, hosted by Dan Katz, Head of Solutions Engineering at Demostack, included Marjorie Abdelkrime of AWS, Zach Lawryk of Rippling, and Pam Dunn of Contentful.
The panel walked through a playbook for running a world-class demo operation. Topics they discussed during this session included:
- Key ingredients of running a world-class demo operation
- What good storytelling looks like in the context of a demo
- Using a value proposition canvas to align your products and services to your Ideal customer’s interests, goals, and challenges, to accelerate customer value
- How to curate and manage demo data
- How to overcome the challenges of personal data in the demo environment
- How to measure demo success
Demystifying the Demo Solution Landscape
This session consisted of a conversation about demystifying the demo solution landscape between Gilad Avidan, Chief Product Officer at Demostack and Kerry Sokalsky, the founder and president of Pre-Sales Mastery.
It’s hard navigating the crowded demo solutions landscape without all the new tech and unfamiliar terminology. So, in this session, Gilad and Kerry break down the various types of demo technology, which companies fall in which category, and which use cases each category is best suited for.
Building the SE/AE Partnership
This session, led by Nick Capozzi, included Jamal Reimer, founder of The Enterprise Sellers Community, and Chris White, founder of Tech Sales Advisors.
During the session, they discussed strengthening the relationship based on trust and understanding between the account executive (AE) and the sales engineer (SE) so they can give great demos together. The discussion revolved around topics like:
- Why there are often disconnects between SEs and AEs
- How the two can leverage their differences effectively
- How should they handle discovery
- How AEs can use their SEs as a resource
Product-Led Sales—Where Product Meets Sales
This fireside chat features a discussion between Jonathan Friedman, Co-founder and CEO of Demostack, and Des Traynor, Co-Founder and CSO at Intercom. The topic of this session involves product-led sales and product-led growth—a hot topic in SaaS right now. Some products are too complex to just hand out for a test drive. A product-led sales approach helps you strike the right balance and bring elements of the PLG mindset into your high-touch sales motion. To this point, Jonathan and Des focus on where the product actually meets the market and how sales are involved.
How to Scale SE Resources Without Burning Out Your SEs
This session, led by Dan Katz, includes a panel of Brent Krempges of Gainsight, Rob DeMarco of Xactly, and Devin Domingo of BetterCloud.
The AE to SE ratio is rarely in the SE’s favor, but SEs are often required to be part of every demo. With an overdependence on the SE, and the pressure to hit revenue targets, the potential for burnout is real. In this session, Dan, Brent, Rob, and Devin discuss how to scale SE resources to avoid SE burnout.
The Demo Maturity Model
Ultimately, the perfect demo is a mirror that leaves your buyers seeing their own reflection in your product. But that’s not always a reality when buyers want to see a product on the first call, and you haven’t done any proper discovery yet. During this final session, Jonathan Freidman introduces the Demo Maturity Model, a methodology to address this issue. He explains how your sales organization can determine when to show what in a demo to minimize the input needed from the buyer and maximize personalization.
Everything You Need for Efficient Demo Ops
There you have it. We covered all topics about Demo Operations during our recent Demo HQ event. Leverage these expert insights to establish, improve, and scale your Demo Ops.
Ready to streamline your DemoOps? Schedule time with a team member to see how Demostack can help.
