In which we identify a number of common challenges with overview demos and offer solutions.

[Warning graphic and potentially painful content ahead!]

1-Hour Web Overview Demo Timeline

Heres the rough but strangely consistent timeline for most web-delivered 1 hour overview demos:

[Starting time for each element on the left side]:

00:00: Fumbling with Zoom/WebEx/GoToMeeting/Teams

Looks like John/Sue/Page/whoever is just joining now

Can you see my screen?

Looks like youre muted

Were hearing a really bad echo

(This consumption of time is delightfully known as the WebEx Tax).

00:04: Introductions, but generally one-sided

Introductions and brief personal history of each of the vendor participants, but limited information requested or offered regarding customer participants before diving in

00:06: Corporate overview presentation (gag), often including

1. Mission statement

2. Products and services (high level see next section at 00.18 for the gory details)

3. Product history and milestones

4. Founders and origins story

5. The Team

6. Revenue history and financials

7. Office locations

8. Obligatory logos slide(s) (with logos that often have nothing to do with this customers market)

9. Customer testimonials (actually the most useful part of corporate overview presentations, but often ignored by the vendor Why?)

00:18: Product overview presentation (yawn), including

1. Obligatory architecture slide(s), with equally obligatory rectangles and cylinders representing software and database components (how novel)

2. Equally obligatory product-centric slide (showing companys product in the center of a circle of other things (e.g., users, other applications, process steps, you name it so novel, once again!)

3. Key differentiators, presented without context to the customers needs or specific situation (and largely forgotten by the customer, since they havent yet seen a solution that makes remembering anything relevant)

4. Case studies, if any, that are typically skipped over because were short on time (too bad real case studies would be the most interesting section)

00:26: Actual demo, including

1. Slide that says, Demo (which lets the audience know that everything from this point forward is fake)

2. Opening statement that We planned on 45 minutes for the demo, but we only have 30 minutes remaining, so well have to go really fast

3. Followed immediately by, But wed like this be interactive, so please stop me if you have any questions (while the presenter is actually thinking, But please dont stop me because Ive got so much to cover and youll interrupt my flow!)

4. Brief introduction of the plan for a story and 5 fictional characters whose day in the life will be followed in the demo

5. Followed by a firehose-like delivery with the presenter speaking non-stop for 4, 6, or 8 minutes or longer (I just saw an overview demo where the presenter went on for 40 minutes non-stop!)

a) Interspersed with the obligatory, Any questions so far?

Customer response? Nope, were good

b) Or Does that make sense?

Customer response? Um, yes (What else could the customer say to that?)

6. Overview of navigation elements

7. Introduction and definitions of vendor jargon, acronyms and product names (e.g., What we call a _____)

8. Repeated comment that everything is configurable

9. Repeated comment that everything can drill-down to the underlying data

10. Details on how to set up the application, (even though this task is typically done only once, when first implemented, and often by the vendors implementation team)

11. A walk-through of the workflow (a run-through, in fact, since time is really getting short)

a) Exploration of as many if, or, and also options as possible

b) Frequent references to, Remember when I (that arent remembered by the audience)

c) Zippy-Mouse-Syndrome mouse movements exacerbated by a tiny mouse cursor that can barely be seen with the naked eye

d) Made even worse through the lack of use of annotation tools

e) Made yet worse by the vendor presenting from a high-resolution monitor to audience members laptops (I cant read the text)

12. The occasional piling on of a feature description by the salesperson, immediately after a perfectly adequate explanation by the presenter

13. Pre-answering questions that youve heard frequently (but werent asked)

14. Being driven into the weeds by a random question from a low-level customer team member

15. Cutting off customer questions before the customer finishes (because youve heard the question so many times before)

16. Not confirming that you actually answered the customers question, before moving on

17. A rapid verbal description of the canned and custom reporting and dashboard capabilities:

a) Often including the claim that we have over 600 canned reports/dashboards of which a typical user might only consume a few!

b) Discussion of broad report and dashboard editing and creation capabilities

c) Repeated comment that everything can drill-down to the underlying data

18. Showing data that is obviously fake and/or lacks problems to solve, opportunities to exploit, or exceptions to investigate

19. Comment that we didnt have enough time to show you everything

20. No summaries whatsoever just a firehose furiously flinging features, functions, and facts

21. No analogies or metaphors to improve memory retention for the audience

22. No stories to cement memories, either

23. And, of course, absolutely no communication of value

00:58 Salesperson summary, with marketing platitude value proposition statements (that have little or limited bearing on the customers specific situation)

00:60 Salesperson suggests scheduling a deep dive demo or offers a POC

Customer reaction of, Thanks well get back to you

Frightening, gruesome and remarkably common!

If the objective was to show the customer a demo then that objective was achieved but it is very doubtful that other tangible progress was made in the sale.

Very sad; and largely a waste of time for all involved.

Assessment Time Prepare Yourself!

Play a few recordings of your organizations overview demos and see how many of the items identified above you or your team does today. Score 1 point for each item committed above.

[If the recording shows that each item above was exhibited, then your score is (sadly) ~50 the good news is you have LOTS of room for improvement!]

Now for grading how did you do?

0-5 Points: A your demos are delightfully unusual (and you are likely a Great Demo! graduate!)

6-10 Points: B your demos could improve

11-15 Points: C your demos could really improve

16-20 Points: D your demos should seriously improve

20+ Points: F your demos qualify for membership in the Sales Prevention Team!

Sadly, most overview demos rate a C grade or worse. If you are comfortable with the results, read no further (and keep your expectations low!).

Read more:
Stunningly Awful Web Overview Demos The Gruesome Anatomy of a Traditional 1-Hour Web Overview Demonstration And Some Solutions - Customer Think