Our podcast Demo Diaries is back to talk about giving great demos.
This week, Jorge was joined by Lori Richardson who is CEO at ScoreMoreSales to talk about giving your demo to the right person.
Because you can give the world’s most perfect demo, but if you give it to the wrong person? It’s almost like you didn’t demo at all.
Soft Skills in Sales
The most important part of selling is knowing who you’re pitching to. As CEO, Lori gets lots of pitch requests that turn into super-detailed, feature-focused demos. But she’s high-level and wants to know the business case and the essentials instead. Target your pitch to the role or it can be pretty cringe.
And building rapport is critical. Small talk about the weather just doesn’t do it – instead, get specific. Lori’s been working on her own podcast for months, and people who go out of their way to mention a specific episode or work she’s done win big points.
Get some serious bonus points by sending highlights of your conversation to prospects an hour or two after your call. People who are getting demos are busy too, and they have notes to fall back on now. Personalize and highlight the call to action and then they can follow up with you easily.
What Not to Do
Don’t show up unprepared because you’re busy. The people you’re demoing to are busy as well – it’s often best to do one less call and have time to do all your other ones better with more in-depth discovery. Prep work is basic, but it’s hard when you’re busy. But that doesn’t mean it’s an excuse to skip it or you might end up looking silly.
And don’t act awkward on camera. Knowing how to use your webcam effectively is essential in sales these days. Buyers still need to see eye contact so don’t keep staring at the screen the whole time – talk into the camera instead. For really important calls, Lori will have a picture of the person she’s talking to taped next to the camera as a reminder. It helps everyone feel the connection.
Top Takeaway
Become a dedicated student of communication because that’s such a key element to being successful in sales. Learning new vocabulary and brushing up on your communication skills and techniques will help you be a better seller.
Find Lori at ScoreMoreSales.com and WomenSalesPros.com
And view the whole podcast here so you don’t miss a moment:
Joe Caprio is a cofounder at Reprise.
He also advocates for ICW, ask him about it!
