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Elements of a Good Product Demonstration

Greg Pease Miscellaneous

Good product demonstrations can make or break a sale of applications and information systems!

We all chuckled under our breath as Bill Gates recently demonstrated Microsoft's newest version of the Windows operating environment. Remember when it crashed during the demonstration to the Press and some young, Microsoft engineer standing next to Bill had to reboot the computer and reset the demonstration so that Bill could continue? What you demonstrate and how you demonstrate it can make or break a sale to your key customers. Here are some things to think about:

Never demonstrate a product sitting down. I have worked with teams conducting demonstrations of applications and information systems where the lead presenter/demonstrator started by sitting down at a notebook computer to begin the demonstration--he gave up all control of the presentation and his audience. He failed to bring someone to help during the demonstration so he could stand, lead, maintain control, and hold the audience's attention and interest.

IDEA: Take two people to the demonstration; ensure that the presenter/demonstrator leads the demonstration. Train someone on the presentation team to assist in conducting your demonstration.

Help your audience understand the context of the demonstration. So often, presenters quickly launch a demonstration thereby losing the audience before the first mouse click. This is evident in the IT industry where customers are technologically savvy and curious. They form questions about products before you have the chance to stand up. These questions can cloud their reception of your demonstration.

IDEA: Set the stage through the use of a scenario or by just providing a brief introductory presentation that outlines the product and its features and benefits. Some call this "Telling them what you are goingto show them." You will help answer their questions and lower the chance of losing the audience before the demonstration begins.