Why We Don’t Lead With Demos–And Why You Shouldn’t Either

You might have noticed, if you pay attention to details like this, that the CTAs at the bottom of my articles no longer encourage you to book a demo. Likewise, if you call our sales team, they won’t offer you one either. The reason we no longer do this is simple: It was always a mistake when we did.

Why Leading With Demos Is a Mistake

In complex sales, understanding the customer must come first.
Of course we’re always proud to show off our product and all its features. We think it’s pretty amazing. But if what we have to offer doesn’t match what you need, then it’s just another dog and pony show. Perhaps a fun exercise, but mostly a waste of time for both buyer and seller.

A vanilla demo is just a time-wasting dog and pony show.

And if we don’t know what you need, we might show you features that are irrelevant to you, even if we actually do have the perfect solution for your situation. Then we both lose.

When we offer a demo without first aligning with you, neither of us gets what we need.

What We Do First, Instead

At Membrain, we use a dynamic sales process, plus a methodology called VIBE. VIBE is the way we ensure that we are the right solution, and that we are aligned with your teams to ensure we give you what you actually need, before we show you how we’ll do it.

VIBE stands for Vision, Impact, Barriers, and Execution. We offer potential customers a 60‑minute strategy session to uncover your growth blockers and leave with a concrete action plan. Zero fluff. Zero risk. Here’s how VIBE works:

• Vision
  Vision means that we get in the trenches with the prospect and figure out what are they missing, what are they aiming at, what problems do they want to solve, what goals do they want to reach. We identify the major stakeholders to understand their different perspectives and assist in creating alignment within the internal team, so that we’re all pointing at the same vision.
  
  If we can’t help them reach that vision, then we let them know that. And if we can, we move to the next step.
  
  
• Impact
  We begin the process of understanding the impacts the solution will have on the company, both good and bad. Complex solutions often have cascading effects on the business, and we want to understand exactly what that might look like for them, and who will need to get involved. We also want to know how important the solution will be for them, and how much it will benefit them, so they can quantify and make decisions from an informed place.
  
  
• Barriers
  We find out what could get in the way of a smooth implementation. This equips us to understand and address risks,  concerns, obstacles, and hesitations. We don’t want stakeholders to be quietly resisting the solution because of obstacles we could have addressed earlier. Don't dodge discussing perceived risk - explore it straight up or it will come bite you later.
  
  
• Execution
  Finally, we address the question of how, exactly, the solution could be executed, timelines, and project teams. Our ClearPath Promise ensures a smooth implementation, and we want to know ahead of time how that will interface with their systems and processes. We also want to understand how we can best support them in execution and proactively manage any risks and potential roadblocks.

THEN a Demo
Only when we have created alignment and we’re “vibing” with the customer, do we consider offering a demo. When we reach that alignment, presenting a demo becomes low pressure and effective. We can show them exactly how our product and services will solve the problem, how we’ll address barriers and obstacles, who needs to be involved, and how we can implement it in the least disruptive and most productive way.

By the time we offer a demo, we’re already pretty sure it’s the right solution for you, we know why, and we can show you.

What This Means for Your Sales Team

If your teams are still leading with a standard demo, we get it. We all do things we “know” we shouldn’t, because we don’t know what to do instead. Been there, done that.

The long term answer to “what to do instead” is implement a process and a methodology that works for your company. This becomes your Way of Selling. Then execute on that using software tailored to place all the steps and resources directly in your team’s workflow.

The short term answer is, change your CTAs. Instead of “book a demo,” try “learn more” or “let’s find a solution together” or even, simply, “let’s chat.” Set your salespeople and their opportunities up for success by priming the customer for a conversation, not a dog and pony show.

Tell me, where do your salespeople start the conversation? And could they be doing it better? What CTAs have you tried that best combine buyers wish to see your product with the critical importance of solid discovery?

Want to explore how Membrain can make your way of selling come to life? Then, let's VIBE together!