Demo

What is a Demo?

A demo (product demonstration) is a structured presentation showing how your solution specifically addresses a prospect's challenges. Effective demos connect features to the prospect's pain points rather than showcasing everything your product can do.

Demo Types:

Type	When Used	Focus
Discovery Demo	Early conversation	Understand prospect needs
Technical Demo	Evaluation phase	Prove capability, address concerns
Executive Demo	Final stages	Business value, ROI, outcomes
Recorded Demo	Initial interest	Broad overview, scalable

The Golden Rule: Never demo features you haven't confirmed the prospect cares about. Every minute showing irrelevant capabilities is a minute they're disengaging.

Why Demos Matter

The demo is often the pivot point in the sales cycle. A great demo accelerates deals; a poor demo kills momentum.

Critical Moments:

• Proof of Capability: Shows you can actually solve their problem
• Differentiation: Highlights why you're better than alternatives
• Vision Building: Helps prospects see the future state
• Obstacle Handling: Addresses specific concerns live
• Relationship Deepening: Builds trust through responsiveness

Conversion Impact: When companies provide live call options alongside demo scheduling, they achieve 69.2% conversion from form fill to booked meeting.

Benchmarks

Stage	Conversion Rate
Form to Booked Meeting (with live option)	69.2%
Inbound Demo Conversion	50-60%
Demo to Opportunity	30-40%
Demo to Close (well-qualified)	40-50%

Timing Best Practices:

• Ideal demo length: 30-45 minutes
• Prep time minimum: 30 minutes
• Follow-up within: 24 hours

Best Practices

1. Discovery First: Never demo without understanding needs
2. Tell a Story: Frame demo around prospect's situation, not product features
3. Focus on Outcomes: Show end results, not just clicks and configuration
4. Use Their Data: When possible, demo with their actual scenarios
5. Check Understanding: Pause to confirm they're following
6. Address Objections: Weave responses to concerns into the demo
7. Leave Wanting More: End before they're bored, not after
8. Record for Sharing: Offer recording for stakeholders who couldn't attend

Common Mistakes

• Demoing everything (kitchen sink approach)
• Not customizing to prospect's industry/role
• Talking more than listening during demo
• Focusing on features instead of outcomes
• Skipping discovery and assuming needs
• Not handling technical issues gracefully
• Going too long and losing engagement
• Not preparing for likely questions and objections

Key Takeaways

• Great demos connect product capabilities to prospect problems
• 69% conversion when live scheduling accompanies demo forms
• 30-45 minutes is the ideal demo length
• Never demo without first doing discovery
• Show outcomes, not features—prospects buy results
• Use their language, their scenarios, their data when possible
• Leave them wanting more, not less
• Every irrelevant feature shown is engagement lost

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Sources:
- 2025 Benchmark Report on Demo Form Conversion Rates - ChiliPiper