How to Avoid “Death By Demo” in Technology Sales in EdTech

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Every sales pro in Education Technology (EdTech) knows that product demos are an extremely important part of “closing the deal” in the sales process. A great presentation could be a reliable way of producing interest of potential customers. Nonetheless, most B2B product trials can be too boring to generate any kind of interest from the potential buyer, and are often given before identifying what a prospect’s needs are. So these demonstrations end up ‘eliminating’ your chances of developing a relationship and making an efficient and convincing presentation. This can push potential customers toward your competitors, or feel forced. Think of it this way, a brand-new prospect and you are set up on a date. Not literally, but stick with me… On your first date, do you think it’s a good idea to talk about yourself and brag about how terrific you are–or–get to know them a bit, learn the interesting things you have in common, and show them you understand them? You guessed it, the latter. Besides, nobody wants to get married on a first date. It takes careful listening, genuine interest, and a helpful approach to get your prospect to develop interest in you. Your demonstration should be treated no differently than a first date, to make sure that you could have a second date, to show the value they are searching for and get closer to a sale. Here are some ways to avoid ‘death by demo’ in your Education Technology (EdTech) software sales:

Getting potential customers to the demo

Know your Buyer Persona Just as people aren’t prepared to get married on their first date, even if they ‘request a demo’, your potential customers aren’t ready for the demo conversation right after they come to your website. You can ramble on and on about your Education Technology (EdTech) options, but without a complete understanding of who you’re speaking with and what these individuals need, it will be extremely challenging for you to close the deal. For that reason, it’s ideal to start by detailing and researching your ideal Buyer Personas (imaginary personality that matches your perfect customer). This will help both your marketing team’s efforts and help you better prioritize your outreach and demo. For example, your Buyer Personas might be ‘Clinician Christine‘, ‘Physician Phineas‘ and ‘Administrator Adam‘ with a checklist of objectives, difficulties, challenges, and various other qualities that define each. You can then personalize your sales demonstration and discussions to deal with each of their needs in general and then have more conversations to learn their unique needs. This will show them you don’t just offer a one-size-fits-all widget.

Providing the demonstration

Keep it brief As soon as you show how your services or product will fulfill the prospect’s needs, take a pause. Talking continually without a break will simply make your target market lose interest. Make sure to keep your demonstration short, concentrating on what’s important. Additionally, do not get caught up in the discussion and ignore your leads. Watch their facial expressions and gesture to determine if they have any questions or comments. When your leads want to say something, stop your discussion and let them interrupt you. Be animated B2B sales presentations can be uninteresting and boring. If you want to engage your target market, you have to put some enthusiasm into your presentation. Make sure to change the tone of your voice throughout the presentation. Individuals will lose interest if you talk in a monotone. Use your facial expressions and gestures to show your potential customers that you are excited to help them fix their issue. Anik Singal, the Founder and CEO of Lurn and VSS Mind, is an example of a person that makes a B2B demo dynamic and appealing. Use case studies and stories Do not invest all your time talking about the features and advantages of your product and services. Use case studies and stories to demonstrate how other businesses or companies just like those of your leads have benefited. For example, you could point out throughout your demo how your Education Technology (EdTech) service or product helped ‘X Hospital’ reduce the average patient waiting time by Y%. Doing this will make it easier for prospective customers to have a basic understanding of what it costs, advantages your firm will give them and, ultimately, make a buying decision. Marketo’s case studies are fine examples of research studies that show their potential customers how they can pick marketing automation software. Avoid unnecessary comparisons Many salespeople use presentations to compare themselves to their rivals and show why their services or products are better. This has to be done moderately and with discretion. If you understand that the prospect is considering a rival, find a way to highlight your strengths versus the rival’s weak points. Nonetheless, if you talk about a competitor that your prospect had not been thinking of, you might be showing them an alternative to consider. To stay clear of such blunders, you could ask exploratory questions to figure out where your prospect stands in the buyer’s journey and which alternatives they’re taking into consideration. Practice, Practice, Practice! It is a good idea for anybody giving a presentation to practice it at least two times before the real thing. Getting familiar with the content of your demo will relax your nerves and make you more prepared. Looking at your materials several times will help you identify your errors and fix them. If possible, find a coworker that could play the role of the prospect and provide you feedback. Remember to test any tools or technology that you will use in your demo to guarantee that every little thing is functioning well. Be on time Whatever you do, make sure the product demo starts on time and ends on time. Beginning or finishing late will irritate your potential customers and lessen your chances of closing a sale. If you happen to start late as a result of inevitable situations, say sorry and explain the hold-up. In case you need to run a few minutes over, ask the prospective customer if they could spare the time. Your leads are just as busy as you are, so keep that in mind. End with a call-to-action Make sure to conclude your presentation with a call-to-action (CTA). The CTA could ask for business, setting up a telephone call, or asking to talk to other decision-makers in the company. This will ensure that the discussion proceeds after the demo. This will give you more time to take care of any type of objections, boosting the possibilities of making a sale. Corevist, a leading supplier of SAP B2B ecommerce solutions, has a brief product demo that finishes with a CTA to set up a customized demonstration

After the demo

Keep engaging leads with content After a prospect asks for a demonstration and either does not show up, or says they are not ready, you could be a useful expert by providing them with content to help keep them engaged up until the moment is right. Using your defined Buyer Personas, you can work with your marketing team to produce content customized to the needs or interests of each potential buyer. This content could be blog posts, infographics, or how-to-videos. You can then share this content weekly with your leads in Lead Nurturing Emails. Doing so will help your potential customers inform themselves and will improve their trust in your brand (thought leadership). Over time, the content can increase awareness regarding the problems your potential customers have and help them think about various options and remedies to make sure that they’re in fact interested and excited to get a demo from you.

The bottom line

As critical as it is for you to provide a good and positive presentation, your efforts will only show to be effective if your leads are moved by what you have to offer. In order for that to take place, the content that you provide and the demo you present need to be aligned with your prospect’s objectives and needs. Simply put, your sales process has to be customer-centric, where your objective is not to sell more services or product but to help your potential customers overcome their difficulties and challenges. This type of sales process is called the Inbound Sales Methodology. It can be tough to do all this alone. We at Responsify partner with Education Technology (EdTech) sales and business development pros to offer strategy, support, and help implement these tasks. By collaborating, we help marketing and salespeople strategically bring in brand-new website visitors, convert them to qualified leads, and then delighted clients. We’ve helped lots of skilled salespeople include integrate Inbound into their sales processes and close more deals. Don’t hesitate to book your free strategy session now to help you examine your assets and get free insights and suggestions in order to help you understand your demo and close more deals!