Product demos are extremely important. Especially for SaaS companies, they can make or break a deal. They can show prospects exactly how your product can solve their problems.

Unfortunately, demos are often generic and lack any type of personalization. If you want to provide an effective demo, you need to address the specific pain points of your leads, and not just walk them through your product.

Providing a good, engaging demo isn’t always easy, and it can be especially challenging in a remote setting. Here are 4 best practices that can help you deliver great sales demos and improve close rates.

Know how to schedule the demo

Whenever you’re dealing with cold prospecting, there’s no way to avoid no-shows. However, there are ways you can minimize them. There are many appointment setting tips that can help you master the art of scheduling demos and make sure that your prospects actually show up.

The best time to schedule a demo with your prospects is while you’re still on call with them. Ask them to check their calendar and suggest a meeting time right away.

If you’re unable to schedule the demo while still on the call, it’s crucial to follow up as soon as possible and send suggested time slots or a booking link.

Ideally, you want to schedule the meeting shortly after the call, not more than five business days after. Leaving too much time between the initial call and a demo can only make your prospects grow colder or even turn to a faster competitor in the meantime. To keep things moving faster, it’s always better to automate sales processes and save time.

It’s best to keep the demo around 30 minutes long, but always leave more room between meetings to avoid overlapping and have enough time to prepare. Aim to schedule demos at the end of the workday, between 3 pm and 5 pm.

Lastly, make sure that the prospect you’re scheduling a demo with is a key decision-maker who will be able to actually make the buying decision.

Be prepared and well-organized

You can’t expect to deliver a great demo just by improvising. You need to do your research, get prepared, and rehearse everything in advance.

If you want to deliver a demo that converts, you need to sound confident and be comfortable talking about your product. If you sound confused and robotic, your prospect won’t find you believable and will lose interest.

Structuring your demo properly is crucial. Not only will it allow you to strategically share the best features at the beginning and grab leads’ attention, but it will also help you make sure that you don't forget to mention anything important.

There’s nothing more awkward and off-putting during the demo than listening to the sales rep stumble to think of what to say next and being all over the place.

A proper structure and preparation will also help you stay within the arranged meeting time. You don’t want to realize that you’re only halfway into your presentation and the meeting is already coming to an end. By rehearsing your demo beforehand, you’ll know exactly how much time you need.

Personalize as much as possible

Gone are the days of generic, cookie-cutter marketing and sales strategies. Today, customers expect a highly personalized, highly relevant experience.

Once you get to the point of booking a demo, you should already know a lot about your lead. Use this information to customize your demo and address their specific pain points.

Some of the personalized details you can include in your demo are:

• Why is your product suited for their industry or vertical?
• What makes your product stand out compared to other products they’ve tried?
• Does your product integrate with other solutions they already use?
• What makes your product ideal for your leads’ type of organization or team size?

Although it’s important to present what your product has to offer, try to refrain from talking about every single feature. It can easily become too overwhelming, so only focus on those solutions that are actually relevant to your lead.

Stay in touch with your prospects

Finally, make sure to always stay in touch with your prospects. Sending them reminders about the sales demo can significantly improve your demo show rates.

After the meeting, no matter how successful the demo was, it is crucial to follow up. Some deals require several rounds of correspondence, so you have to be persistent and always stay on their radar. The key is to not be too pushy, but make sure to stay connected.

Once you make it that far and get your prospects to hear about your product, you can't afford to lose them due to a missed follow-up.

To ensure that you never forget to follow up, choose a sales engagement platform that will help you automate such menial tasks. With the right solution you’ll be able to handle every lead with maximum efficiency and stay in touch with them to keep them engaged.

It’s best to follow up within 24 hours after the demo and send an email asking what their opinion is about your product.

Always include a strong CTA and clarify what the next steps are. Let them know that you’re available if they have any questions or concerns and make sure to answer them as soon as possible.

Demos offer you a unique opportunity to build stronger relationships with your leads, understand product fit, address their specific pain points, and resolve their concerns. It is a crucial step to move a qualified lead towards a close. Follow these tips to make the most out of your demos and utilize them to their fullest potential.