The State of Conversation Intelligence
Performance Intelligence
Sales Demo Best Practices
A great demo both shows the real day-to-day impact, and tells a story that connects. Use the following sales call data benchmarks to build or improve upon your demo best practices, and determine how your team's demo experience compares to the majority of other sales teams.
How Much Time is Spent Demoing?
There is a lot to be said for a demo that moves faster and gets to the point quicker. Not to say that you should rush through your value props, but it is likely that teams are getting better at showing the real value of the product quickly so that they can spend more time on other areas like rapport building, discovery, and the business case. We observe that sellers are spending approximately 13% less time demoing in Q2 & Q3 vs. Q1.
“The days of holding back and only showing the product at the right time are over. We want to understand as much as possible, but again, we also want to create a frictionless process for our customers.”
— Shaunt Voskanian, Vice President of Sales at Datadog
How Much Time is Spent Showing Slides?
Decks can be used in tandem with a demo or as the main event. The goal is to create engagement, regardless of the medium.
2%
Slides were shown 2% more in Q3 vs Q2 during demo calls.
How Quickly Do Reps Begin Demos
During peak COVID, the demo would start later into the call. This is likely due to both sides of the call checking in to ask how they’re doing, build rapport, and genuinely ask about welfare. Now we're seeing it trend back to pre-COVID start times as sellers and buyers get back to business.
1
Demos are starting over 1 minute later into the call on average now than they did at the start of the year.
How Quickly Do Reps Begin Sharing Slides?
Similarly with the Demo start time, we saw a lengthening of introduction and rapport building time before eventually getting into the deck. We're seeing this trend back to pre-COVID levels with sales teams striking the balance of genuine empathy and getting back to business. Thus, sellers are starting their presentations earlier in the call.
1
Reps start sharing slides over 1 minute longer into the demo call now than they did in Q1.
In Which Call Do You First Show the Product?
Buyers want to see the product - and the value of the product - quickly. We can see that there has been a slight shift to show the product earlier in the process with most demos happening on the first or second call.
2%
On average, reps are showing the product 2% sooner in the sales process now when compared to Q1.
What the data says about Performance Intelligence
Sales Cycles in some segments are shortening. And we are seeing that demos are getting more focused as they start earlier in the call and take up less time.
As a result, the line between demo and discovery becomes a little more blurred. While you and your team are conducting demos, don't forget to engage the prospect and other decision makers to continuously learn what strikes them as the most essential benefit to their business.
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