Tech Demo Guy

I recently had the privilege of meeting some of the staff at Merced Systems in Redwood Shores, CA. They are looking for a couple A-quality Sales Engineers in the West to represent their products. They are currently producing software in to areas: Performance Management and Incentive Management. Their software is solid and they have a fantastic executive team. The hiring manager, Hamish Eisler, is a great guy. If you are a star player and want to join a company that not only survived 2009, but actually thrived, you should check them out. You can see the full job listing on LinkedIn.

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In one of my earlier posts I talked about one reason why you should consider presenting last in a sales cycle: so that you can stand out in a crowded field. This is just one of the strategies that you can apply when you have lots of competition.

The biggest problem with having lots of competitors is not the competitors’ products, it’s the attention of the prospect. Most sales teams have never had the experience of sitting through multiple demonstrations, sifting through piles of RFP responses and having to put your familiar work environment aside for an extended period. But that is exactly what an evaluation team at a prospect goes through in a sales cycle, particularly one where there are lots of vendors on their preferred list.

What do I mean by a crowded field? If you have more than 3-4 competitors on a deal, the field is crowded. When I have been in deals with crowded fields, I have been amazed at just how confused prospects can get about the vendors. I remember one deal where a prospect regularly emailed me questions that were clearly intended for another vendor.

There are several strategies that can help you stand out in a crowded field:

1. Have a personality

Often prospects can’t keep all the salespeople from the various vendors straight. Showing a genuine personality during the sales cycle can help the prospect remember you and your product. This is especially true for Sales Engineers who are often expected to give “just the facts”.

2. Build trust with specific individuals at the prospect

It is inevitable that the prospect will get vendors confused in a crowded field, but if you have gone out of your way to build a relationship with a few individuals at the prospect, they can help you stand out in the evalutation. It does not matter whether the individuals are decision-makers or not, but it is helpful if they seem to be vocal. Your goal is to build an advocate or two that will speak up for your viewpoint in discussions.

3. Focus on your product, not the competition

In some deals it makes sense to set traps and focus on the competition, but this is not the case in a crowded field. The propsect is already confused enough about which vendor said what; you shouldn’t add to that confusion by talking about the competition even in a theoretical way. Focus on your product and how it will directly benefit the prospect.

4. Stick with the main message

Sales is all about flexibility and most successful sales cycles will diverge from the standard marketing message (or “brand”) of the product to win the deal. But if there are lots of competitors you should consider staying with your standard corporate message so that all your marketing materials and sales presentations are consistent. Keeping your message clear in the prospect’s mind is more important than tailoring it for that specific prospect when there are lots of competitors. You should absolutely focus on solving the prospect’s problems, but try to do so without moving too far away from your standard marketing message.

5. Stand out early

If there are many vendors early in a deal, it is tempting to just wait things out and see if you make the short list before investing in a deal. If you really believe you are column fodder then this strategy makes sense, but if you are confident you have a good shot you should come on strong and early. As a Sales Engineer you can do this by having a personality (see #1) and being willing to take risks early in the deal.

6. Put yourself in the prospect’s shoes

More than anything else you should think about what it is like to be the prospect when there are lots of vendors. Often individuals don’t have much choice about how many vendors they evaluate: the number might be set by upper management, company guidelines or one member of the evaluation team. Having empathy for the challenge being faced by the prospect can go a long way toward building a relationship that will help you as the field narrows.

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Why is it that Sales Engineers do a great job for some Salespeople and not for others? What can a Salesperson do to get the best possible performance out of their Sales Engineers. Although the talent of the Sales Engineers you work with will vary (I will do another post on how to get the best Sales Engineers assigned to your deals) you can follow these tips to get the most out of what you have:

1. Treat them like they are special.

There are times when you may need a stellar performance in the demo to seal the deal. Or you may need a Sales Engineer to complete a long (but important) RFP. But even when the Sales Engineer is not critical to the deal (e.g. a deal where political connections are more important than product functionality) you still need to treat them as if they are special. Most Sales Engineers see themselves as the “talent” with a special set of skills and a role that requires ability to sell AND deep technical/product knowledge. They are typically well-connected in the company they work for (because they deal with so many different departments) and since they are on display at customers on a regular basis they are sensitive to their reputation. It may be annoying to ask them politely to take on work that you feel is just part of their job, but it will pay back dividends when you really need their help on a difficult deal.

2. Learn how to brief them before a demo

I have only encountered a handful of Salespeople who have mastered this skill; you will be among the very best if you can do it consistently. Briefing a Sales Engineer (or any team member) before a demonstration or presentation is a critical role for the Salesperson. You are the quarterback as well as the coach on the deal, and the team members will be looking to you to call the plays. A great briefing outlines the roles for every individual, what you need the Sales Engineer to accomplish, and what topics should be avoided during the demo or presentation. A briefing should also determine who takes on what questions and identify any key individuals that will be present from the prospect side.

3. Tell them what outcome you want, not what they should show

Although, as a Salesperson, you may think you know what the Sales Engineer should show in their demo, you should focus more on what you want to impress on the prospect and pass that advice on to the Sales Engineer (as part of your briefing). For example, rather than saying, “Let’s make sure to show them the scheduling administration screens” you could say, “There will be a couple of managers in the room that are going to want to know how easy it is to manage staff schedules. Let’s make sure they come away convinced it is easy and powerful”. This gives the Sales Engineer the information they need without boxing them in too much. This is part of the trust mentioned earlier: tell them the desired outcome and let them figure out how to get there.

4. Help them get set up for the demo or presentation

When a Sales Engineer arrives at a prospect site they often have a lot to deal with: setting up projectors, getting their demonstration equipment prepared, teleconference setup and arranging the room all require focus from the Sales Engineer. The more of these tasks you can handle, the better. Even if you can’t help with the task at hand, you can assist by keeping the prospect off of the Sales Engineer until they are completely set up. Getting them water, snacks or just asking what they need during this often stressful time will score you points for Rule #1.

5. Handle all non-technical tasks during the demo

Whether it is documenting the list of follow-up items, keeping track of time or writing down the names of attendees, if there is something you can do as a Salesperson that does not require the skills of the Sales Engineer, then you should do it. Although they may be menial tasks, they will free up the Sales Engineer to focus more on the thing that they do best: impressing the prospect with the value of your solutions.

6. Make sure they can work the room at the breaks

A good Sales Engineer will want to get feedback and inside information from the prospect during the breaks. As soon as there is a break you should ask the Sales Engineer if there is anything they need. Short of going to the bathroom for them, you should handle calls, water, taking notes, etc.. so that they can focus on interacting with the prospect. A good Sales Engineer can quickly build credibility with the prospect and they will want to talk honestly with them 1:1. Don’t let this great selling opportunity go by just because the Sales Engineer had to make a call that you could have handled for them.

7. Give them direct, honest feedback, but only after you have won them over.

My favorite Salespeople were those that gave me clear and direct feedback on how things went after a demonstration. They did not pull punches and gave me their perspective on what they saw in the presentation. But to accept that feedback I first had to have a sense of trust with the Salesperson, and understanding that the feedback was meant to be constructive and was about winning more deals. If the Salesperson was new (or new to me) and hammered me after a demo, I was unlikely to want to work with them in the future. So building that trust (by following rule #1) first allows you to give criticisms that will be heeded.

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The most obvious selling opportunity for a Sales Engineer is during a demonstration. But I have consistently found that talking to individuals during the breaks of a demonstration day is the most effective time to sell your product. Although we spend a tremendous amount of time preparing for demos, we often miss this real selling opportunity.
How can you use the breaks more effectively for selling? First off make sure to plan for several breaks during a demonstration, making sure to have one especially early in the schedule. For example if you have a 3 hour demonstration, plan to take at least two breaks of 10 minutes, one after an hour and another after two hours. Always plan to have a break (even a short one) within the first hour, no matter how long or short your presentation might be (okay, if you have a 1/2 hour presentation, you might not get a break into it).
Secondly you should use that break to get feedback from audience members. Ask your sales representative or other team members to do the same. The first question I always ask once I introduce myself during a break is:

“What do you think so far?”

This typically does not elicit much of a response unless they have a really strong opinion. Next you can move on with:

“Is there anything you saw that surprised you?”

This is a fairly neutral question because you are leaving open to whether it was a positive or negative surprise. A third question for the first break can be:

“What else do you want to be sure to see before the end of the day?”

This can help the presenter understand what areas they should focus on in the rest of the presentation. This certainly is not a replacement for doing good discovery, but often audience members may want to see specific things on the day of the demo.
Before the end of the break the sales team should regroup and deliver any critical feedback to the presenter. The presenter should then use that feedback to address the concerns of the audience members.
I often start up after the break with:

“During the break I heard something interesting from X that I would like to show you now in our product”

This shows that you were engaging with the prospect and want to incorporate their concerns. You should also take into account any other comments that you heard during the break, such as “it’s going too fast”. Rather than just slowing down, you might ask the audience whether they agree:
“I heard from a couple of you during the break that things were going a little fast. Do we all agree that I should slow things down a little?”
Remember that you don’t want to take just one person’s opinion as representing the group (unless you have identified that person as the key influencer). Always validate what you heard during the break with the entire audience if at all possible.
During later breaks you can be more forward in your discussions. For example during later breaks I would often ask:

“Was there something you saw from our competitor that you really liked/did not like?”

Talking about the competition is always a little risky, so doing it during the break limits the risks.
Another important use of later breaks is to understand the divisions and politics in the prospect. For instance, you could ask a business user:

“The IT Manager seemed concerned that we did not support Unix. Do you think that is a critical factor in deciding what software to buy?”

Although the obvious answer for a business user would be “I have no idea”, but it is more likely that they will give you some insights into the politics of the company (“Unix would be nice, but IT is going to support whatever we decide will meet our business needs”).
The other major benefit of using the breaks in this way is that it “humanizes” the Sales Engineer. Because we are often focused on building credibility and being seen as an authority (rather than a salesperson) SE’s can sometimes come off as matter-of-fact or aloof. By taking the time to talk to individuals during the break you can create a one-to-one contact that will be beneficial during the demonstration.
Later breaks can be used to validate next steps and identify key players. You can also use later breaks (once you have built up some credibility) to set traps for the competition.
The next time that you are preparing for a demonstration, make sure you strategize on how to handle the breaks. I always say that it’s the time when the real selling occurs.

Dave Sohigian - TechDemoGuy Demo Prep, Demo Skills, Selling demo, demonstration, sales engineer

As a Sales Engineer you depend on Sales Representatives for your success. Sometimes they are a great help during a demonstration, but sometimes they say some pretty dumb things. My first example is when a Sales Rep says to a Sales Engineer:

“Can you show that thing you did yesterday?”

Although your Sales Engineer may have done a spectacular demo yesterday and really wowed the customer, but that does not mean they can do the same thing again today. Your demo guy/gal may not want to show that thing because it is going to blow up today! Or, just as likely, they don’t think it will add to the demonstration (perhaps it is a feature that detracts from what the prospect is really looking for).
So what should you do if you saw a great demo yesterday that your SE seems to be forgetting? Your first choice should be talking to your SE before the demo and going over what they are going to show. Second choice would be to wait until a break to ask them or slip them a note during a lull in the presentation. And if you have to ask during the middle of the demo, then be prepared to be the cause of a disaster you will need to clean up later.

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There are lots of mistakes that a Sales Engineer can make in a demo, but these, in my opinion, are the worst:

1. Show up and throw up:

This is a common mistake of experienced Sales Engineers. If you have done a lot of demos of your product you may be tempted to just show up at the demo without knowing much about what the prospect is looking for in your product. You may not have been given the chance to do proper discovery (see below). You might just be in too much of a hurry to slam out the demo and get on to more important things. But if you don’t customize your presentation and demo to each prospect then you might as well not do the demo to start with. I have also heard this called the “Stop me when you see something you like” approach to demonstrations and I know Sales Engineers that have made a career of it. You can win deals with this approach, but you will win more if you know exactly what the prospect values and can demonstrate your product’s ability to meet their needs.

2. Prepare too much

Lots of Sales Engineers seem to think that it is impossible to prepare too much for a demo, but I disagree. You can definitely go overboard when it comes to preparation, especially if you either focus too much on one feature/function or try to meet ALL the prospects stated needs. A demonstration should be proof of your applications ability to meet the needs of the prospect. If you try to cover all the requirements outlined in an RFP or demo script rather than focusing on some key items first, you will probably spend way too much time preparing. And if you do an equally mediocre job on all the sections of a demo script you will be judged much more harshly than if you knock it out of the park on several and miss entirely on a couple. Focus your attention to limit the required preparation.

3. Fail to dry run

I already have a post on the importance of dry runs, but I am always amazed at how often sales teams skip them. They win demos and you should do them!

4. Get too little sleep

This goes along with “prepare too much”. Being well rested and ready to present on demo day is more important than tweaking that last slide or changing the color of that button. Know when to say when and get a full night of sleep before your demo.

5. Skip discovery

Although this is often not under the control of the Sales Engineer, experienced pre-sales people know how to push for discovery. Preparing your presentation based on what you hear from a sales rep, or worse, from your educated guesses based on previous customers, is a mistake. Good discovery reduces the amount of preparation required (see above) AND often results in fewer demos because you show them just the stuff they are interested in (avoiding the “show up and throw up” problem).

6. Take too long to show product

This ties in with my post on the 30 second demo. People who come do a demo want to see product. If the sales rep stands up and talks about your company for 1/2 an hour and then you get up and discuss the demo scenarios, requirements, etc.. for another 1/2 hour, then the prospect is left squirming in their seats for an hour. Do yourself a favor and show something, anything, in your product as early in the demo as possible.

Dave Sohigian - TechDemoGuy Demo Prep, Selling demo, mistakes, presentation, sales, sales consultant, sales engineer