That’s the mantra of this digital age where everyone can look up you and your company, products, and more in an instant. You’re no longer the only game in town, and the competition is fierce. Plus, all that research quickly unveils when companies exaggerate or over-promise. And, what place seems to have more exaggeration than that third pitch deck slide promises efficiency gains of X%?
It’s time to ditch the deck for more showing and less selling. Product demos with live video are the way forward, especially when you can record that experience and give each prospect a custom recap of how you make their day better.
With all that power, it’s no surprise that 95% of all Zoom meetings where reps closed the deal use its screen sharing feature. So, if you want to take advantage of that big win, what video do you share?
Our take is that a demo of your product is almost always going to have an added benefit for your team because it allows you to get the best of both worlds. A product demo is entirely in your control, allowing you to make the presentation just like you would with a deck — and customers can guide how detailed or high-level you operate.
Best of all, instead of having a slide that makes a claim, you can generate dashboards that prove it. We also like the live nature of video in a demo, where things feel less rehearsed. It is better at giving you that 9% bump from having your video on during the entire conversation.
To help you get squarely in the demo camp with us, let’s look at five key areas where a demo can improve your chance at landing a sale thanks to increased interactivity and personalization compared to pitch decks.
Visuals improve comprehension
One of the biggest reasons that sales teams turn to visuals is that they can enhance your audience’s learning by up to 400%. They’ll also stimulate the imagination of your audience. You can use this to your advantage by matching visuals to the customer to help them imagine using your product or service.
A demo extends that reach and capability even further by making it simple to tailor your presentation to each client. The visual cues that help rapid-fire trigger emotions and help them connect with you are increased significantly when they can see their own name, company, logo, or data in your presentations.
Plus, visuals make them remember you more. According to John Medina’s Brain Rules book, multiple research studies have found that if you hear information, you’ll remember about 10% of it three days later. This jumps to 65% if you add a visual to that.
Dynamic changes are easy
When you’re building out a demo and related script, preparation is vital. Every great guide to demos showcases this need, and some of our favorite advice is to build in time for initial questions. Questions allow you to cover information about the product/service as well as the demo itself.
You’re building a personal experience by asking about the prospect’s needs, what solutions you might be replacing, and any functionality that they want from you that they don’t currently have. Their answers drive the value propositions that you can hit during the presentation, and demos allow you to adapt to those specific items.
You’re flexible and open, answering questions, and demonstrating capabilities when someone asks a question. Plus, we find demos to give the prospect more chances to ask questions easily. If they’re confused or want to see something specific, they can ask when it is most relevant, and you can respond accordingly.
With a demo instead of a deck, you’re no longer limited to static elements or promises that you can achieve a goal. Your audience can see it, judge it, and agree with it all with their own eyes and minds. Demos mean you’re no longer asking someone to trust you, you’re proving that you deserve the trust.
Let’s you ask questions as you need
Demos and presentations are part of your prospect’s discovery process and can play different roles in the sales cycle. This means your audience is curious and still learning, trying to ensure that you’re a good fit. It’s the beginning of a relationship, and like any relationship, there needs to be understanding and questions from both parties.
Demos are a perfect place for you to ask questions too, and it’s a smart tactic to boost your sales.
A recent study found that the most successful sales reps ask a question every one to two minutes during a presentation that’s under 20 minutes. If your demo runs a little longer, successful marketers and sales reps ask a question once every four minutes during a demo.
Questions are important because they give you a chance to engage and share your best element, adapting to customer needs. Your team can then highlight the most relevant features for your audience and simplify the demo by not showing unnecessary features. It focuses on what the audience wants, engaging them, and making them feel appreciated, just like questions do for your day-to-day relationships with others.
The same study identified that you need an “engaging moment” every eight minutes for your best chance at conversion. Your team will like the demo for this because they can share elements on the screen and have that conversation as the central point of the interaction.
They’ll be able to use a demo or live video as a way to enhance the conversation and relationship that they’re building. It is what will keep the presentation from feeling like a timeshare or waterless cookware presentation that someone is sitting through just for the freebie at the end.
Let customers take the lead and help them adapt it
A presentation deck is static and akin to you giving a presentation at a podium as the audience watches in the back row of chairs, trying either to not fall asleep or get caught looking at their phone. A demo is inherently interactive, which brings the audience to the forefront and even invites them up on stage with you.
Demos give customers a chance to exert a little control as well. They can guide you through their daily situations and occurrences, seeing how you’re able to adapt. You might want to resist letting your audience take over and control the conversation, but we think it’s a smart idea when you keep things on track and focused on your product or service.
That’s most true and useful when you’re recording the presentation, like with Zight (formerly CloudApp).
Recording the demo and making it available gives your audience something they can share with their leadership. If you’re in the B2B space, then there are likely multiple stakeholders for different steps during the purchase decision. Video records of your demo live on and can be shared continuously, impacting people beyond who was on the call.
If you take things a step further and use our features to create small videos for different sections or features, your leads can send the best snippets to their leadership. They get a distilled message that will make the most significant impact, instead of you having to make that presentation to each group.
Video gives every customer a tool they can use to convince decision-makers to buy what you’re offering that makes their daily lives better. You can be convincing with one big presentation, while empowering potential customers to do the small sharing, helping save some time and expense for your sales reps too.
Get a guaranteed follow-up
The final reason that a demo can be a better tool to than a pitch deck to up your conversion rates is that they make a compelling piece of content that’s relevant to your audience. It is relevant because it is customized and personalized, meaning all leads get a targeted reminder.
When using services like Zight (formerly CloudApp), you can capture the screen through a recording , screenshot, or snippet, then share it through a simple link. After the software creates your video, you choose how to save and upload it. You’ve got the perfect reason to email your lead and share the video.
We all know a follow-up email help keep you top of mind and boost sales — with some reporting up to 22% more prospects converting with a single follow-up email. A follow-up with a video link has the potential to get you even higher because you’re able to combine the “thank you” email with the video resources that they can share or re-watch.
You’re also giving them a chance to ask questions, or you can provide any answers to questions asked during a demo. If they wanted to see something you specific, you could add a quick video of that in too, proving that you’re able to meet their needs. Annotating your demos allows you to achieve all of this and more without needing to attach 20 documents or otherwise get in your client’s way.
All of this keeps the conversation going. And that is the key to boost your sales over the long term.
Still Don’t Believe Us? Try for Yourself
See all the difference a demo using your product or data makes compared to a stale old pitch deck, without spending a cent. Sign up for a free Zight (formerly CloudApp) account to record and share your next demo for a quick share. We’ve made it easy to record what’s essential, answer questions, and annotate the big takeaways to make the most of the visual medium. Sales, meet your new best tech friend.
