In today's market, Chief Revenue Officers (CROs) are always on the lookout for new revenue drivers to stay ahead. But many aren't making the most of demos. When done right, demos offer great insights into how sales are going, how efficient the GTM efforts are, and which levers teams should pull to improve.
We sat down with Rich Liu, CRO at Everlaw, Vince Cortese, President and CRO at Singular, Javier Ortego, CRO at Veriff, and Adam Jay, Co-Founder and CEO of Revenue Reimagined to talk about how CROs can use demos in smart ways to drive revenue more efficiently. We looked at how to use the data from demos, adjust to changes in the market, improve demos, and use resources effectively. We also explored how demos can help in product development and give companies an edge over competitors.
Ready to hear what they had to say? Let’s get started.
Harnessing the power of data-driven insights in demos
Adam Jay started off the discussion by stating that demo tools like Demostack are changing the game because they provide such valuable information. If you're a CRO, it's important to know what demo data matters most and how to use it to help the business.
The main goal, Javier added, is to see where sales reps spend the most time in their demos. What parts of the product do they focus on? Where do they get the most interest from potential customers?
In the past, teams used to listen to hours of recorded sales calls sped up to figure out what customers liked. But now, with tools like Demostack, CROs can identify these revenue drivers right away.
In Vince’s words: “The Holy Grail is getting to understanding what demos lead to winning business...is there a difference in how people are demoing, are there certain approaches, certain use cases, or certain verticals that are becoming more winnable?”
This insight is crucial for sellers who want to identify and double down on what’s actually working and avoid what’s falling flat.
Adapting your sales demos to changing market dynamics
What used to work in sales might not be as effective today as it was even a few years ago.
For instance, your sales process that didn't need the okay from top bosses might now require approval from a CEO or CFO. Also, a simple demo that used to be enough to close a sale might now need more detailed technical info now that prospects are coming in so much better informed. It's really important to recognize these changes, and demos are your window into these shifts.
CROs need to constantly ask themselves: Are their demos working better now than they used to? They need to consider more than just what they’re showing in demos, but also how they do the demo, how deep they go into details, and who's involved in the process.
In Rich’s words, “My job is to first understand, because it's such a broad product, so much surface area, what is it that's most important that's driving this evaluation or like causing you to take a look so that I can better customize what we're doing to what you're looking for, right? And so it's a little bit of help me help you.”
After all, doing a demo isn't just about listing off features in a set order. It's about the bigger picture – the questions you ask, how you arrange what you show, and how you make the demo an opportunity to learn more. These elements set the tone for the entire deal.
Tailoring your demos for maximum impact
When you do demos, you might usually focus on the main decision-maker, thinking they're the key to making a sale. But, you may be able to go faster if you target other stakeholders. Each sale and step in the process can be different, and so can the best audience for your demo.
In the sales world today, there are more people involved in deciding to buy something. This means you might need to do demos more than once, at different points in the sales process. You'll need to change these demos to fit different people's knowledge about the product.
For example, more and more, finance teams are part of almost every decision to buy. These professionals might not need to know all the technical details like a main buyer or decision-maker. But, they are interested in how the product will pay off (ROI) and what value it brings.
Demos that change based on who's watching and what they need to know give companies an edge. By doing this, you can address the different needs and concerns of everyone involved in the buying decision.
Embracing continuous discovery in your demos
Before, you might have spent a lot of time learning about a customer's needs in the discovery phase before showing them a customized solution. Nowadays, that long process might be dragging you down, explains Vince.
Now, right from the first call, people expect to learn about your product and see its price. You need to adjust your demos to meet these new expectations, especially in today's economy.
You'll find that buyers know a lot more. They might be pretty far along in deciding what to buy by the time you talk to them. Your job is to understand where they are and change your approach to fit.
Make sure to ask some probing questions, but be prepared to be flexible and show at least parts of the product sooner depending on your buyers' needs.
Learning about the customer should always keep going, even during the demo, but don’t stick to outdated methods to fit a template if it's going to frustrate your customers.
Utilizing demo intelligence for strategic product development
Sometimes, what a salesperson or boss thinks is the best part of a demo isn't actually what makes a customer decide to buy.
Rich gives an example. He brings up the example of a feature that may seem trivial to AEs at first. But, if the prospect spent 50 person-hours at $200/hour on that task last week, that feature might save them tens of thousands or even $100,000 in a month. Understanding how valuable a feature can be is a great way to plan what to focus on next.
Javier also clarifies that sales leaders need to make sure the data they get from their demos doesn't just stay with the sales team. In his own words, he says, “It's important that that data doesn't only live in the go-to-market organization but also makes its way to our partners that help us build the product.”
This kind of cross-collaboration ensures that when dev develops products, they’re listening to what clients and the market need. This leads to products that are more effective and relevant for users, which ultimately improves the sales process.
Optimizing your resource allocation using demo intelligence
When you're planning how to make the most sales with what you have, it's important to know if it's better to use a sales engineer for a demo or ask an AE to do it.
That’s where demos can help.
Look at how your demos are doing, emphasizes Rich. Think about how much time they take, how many meetings you have, and how much effort each one needs. This will help you make better choices about allocating your resources. For example, if you know certain demos are very valuable, you can assign more SEs. But, if another sector only brings in business occasionally, you don’t have to invest as much into it.
Final thoughts on demos as strategic revenue drivers
Demos can teach us a lot about how a business works and what key elements of a product or GTM strategy really drive revenue. For these 4 CROs, demos are more than just showing what a product does. They're about learning from demos to make better choices about your GTM strategy.
The key point is this: changing and coming up with new ideas based on what you learn from demos is super important. It's not just a bonus; it's what you need to do to stay ahead of the game.
