Sales Tip: Avoid these demonstration pitfalls

Even the best prepared and experienced salesperson has those times when the wheels come off and your demonstration rolls over and crashes. Try to avoid these common causes of the dreaded demonstration disaster.

1. The environment just isn't right for a demo

If you're giving a presentation in a location that is noisy, busy with distractions, or has constant interruptions, you’re doing the prospect, the product, and yourself a disservice. Suppose there's a torque wrench pounding or an air compressor pumping while you’re trying to explain the finer details of a new TrueSensor Universal TPMS Diagnostic Tool Kit. In that case, you’re risking failure in so many ways. You get distracted, your prospect gets distracted, and neither of you can concentrate. The more distractions, the higher the chance of demo failure. Get the prospect out to your truck, and meet them early in the morning before the shop erupts with distractions. Just don’t set yourself up for failure. Remember, if you’re distracted, they’re distracted too.

2. You forced the demonstration on an uninterested prospect

There is also a high incidence of a presentation going wrong when you have pushed the prospect too hard to see your demo.  They will be uncomfortable and not really pay attention.  You will feel their unhappiness, which will lead to you being off your game. It is often important to urge your prospect to see a new product, but if your urging goes over the line of being too annoying, the result will often be less than you hoped. It could even push that customer to the competition.

3. You skipped a feature you don't think is important

If you think about a great product demonstration, it is very similar to being the star in a Broadway play or singing a song. You never skip anything. Like it or not, when performing a product demonstration, do it all.  What seems boring or unimportant to you may be the very feature and benefit that the prospect is looking for.

4. You didn't prepare enough for the demo

More often than not, a demonstration disaster is a direct result of less-than-complete preparation. My son’s a Marine, and he tells me their training includes the phrase “P.P.P. gets P.P.R.:” P--- Poor Preparation gets P--- Poor Results.