How To Create a B2B Sales Demo Script
Sales demos are the easiest way to verbalize your value story and showcase your unique differentiation. The product might be the centerpiece of a sales demo but the presenter’s delivery is the difference-maker, competitors or not.
Don’t think of a demo script like an actor memorizing lines for a movie. The purpose of a demo script is to structure the overall flow your presentation so that your value story is simple, logical, and delivered with credibility and conviction.
In this post, we’ll explain how to create a sales demo script, cover some of the frequently asked questions, and provide a sample demo script.
What is a B2B Sales Demo Script?
A sales demo in B2B is the verbal value story you’ll articulate when presenting your product to prospects and current customers. The goal is to engage your audience and create an urgency to buy.
Preparation is critical regardless of how well you know your product. Questions and discussions can easily derail your demo if you’re not fully prepared to keep it on point and stay focused on the scenarios that are most important to the success of your buyers.
Remember, keep it simple: the easier it is to understand, the easier it is to buy.
Learn more: What Makes a Memorable Product Demo and Why Is It Important?
How to Create a Sales Demo Script
Follow these steps to create a winning sales demo script.
1. Research Your Target Customers and Their Industry
It’s not enough to just uncover customer problems and demonstrate features that solve them. Knowledge about the customer’s industry dynamics and how those dynamics are stressing and/or challenging the business from the top down is a critical part of your dialogue. Here’s why.
It’s all about perception. The more knowledgeable you are about the customer’s business from a big-picture perspective, the more convinced they’ll be that your product is superior.
The goal here is to articulate the value of your product in context of bigger issues that are strategic to the buyer’s business. Do it well and you’ll crush the demo 99% of the time!
2. Know Your Product Well Enough to Improvise
You already know your product well, but prepare to improvise in case your audience asks questions or presents scenarios that are out of the ordinary.
Here’s the key that will keep you on point when it comes to one-off questions or scenarios. Before you show any features, be sure to clarify what the customer is trying to accomplish, why that outcome is critical and the obstacles standing in the way.
It doesn’t mean you need to be prepared to speak on every feature or detail of your product. If you don’t know the answer, it’s OK. It gives you a good reason for a follow up call and discussion and can go a long way toward building a stronger rapport.
3. Create Scenarios
A great demo is a series of bite-size scenarios tied to specific job tasks. If possible, try to avoid “day in the life of” demos as they can labor on, get very detailed and hung up on implementation issues.
Create scenarios that demonstrate how your product makes people better at specific job tasks by eliminating the obstacles that prevent them from performing those tasks in the ideal manner. Remember, a great demo tells a convincing story about how successful the customer can be with your product.
4. Focus on Outcomes
If you’ve sat through more than a few demos, you know how they can get too detailed, too technical and too focused on tactical problems, features and benefits.
So keep it simple and focus on eliminating obstacles that prevent buyers from getting the outcomes they’re looking for!
Start every scenario with a specific job task, the ideal outcome and the biggest reasons customers struggle to get that outcome. It’s the perfect setup that puts credible context around whatever features you show. BONUS: this approach also keeps you the presenter, from showing too many features that make your product look overly complicated.
Once these prospects become customers, they’ll have plenty of time to learn about the nuances of the features and the flexibility your product offers.
5. Ask Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended questions peppered throughout the demo create more of a dialog versus a monolog. A big part of a successful sales demo is engaging your buyers and building rapport. If you do that well, they’ll sell themselves.
Unfortunately, 99% of demos are done via web meeting and that makes it more difficult because it’s harder to read your audience, especially when cameras are off. To compensate, take more pauses and have open-end questions at the ready to stimulate discussion. For example, “How does that compare with what you’re doing today?”
6. Wrap Up
The wrap-up is all about summarizing for your audience what you’ve already told them.
Start by reiterating the overall value theme — the reason your product has strategic value to their business, then summarize the job tasks your product will improve to support that value theme. Thank the client for their participation and ask if they have any additional questions.
Be sure to plan a follow-up conversation during the wrap-up and make sure that meeting has a very clear and valuable purpose. The last thing you want (and hate) is when prospects give you great feedback on the demo and then they go “radio silent.”
Practice, Practice, Practice Your Sales Demo Script and Flow
You don’t want your demo to come across as rehearsed or choreographed. Your audience will pick up on it immediately and it can hurt your credibility or make it look like you’re hiding something. Practice is the key to delivering a demo that comes across as relaxed, confident and conversational.
Try these best “practice” techniques.
Rehearse Your Script
Run through your sales demo script a few times by yourself to commit it to memory. You don’t need to memorize every word, just memorize the general flow of topics so you can flow from one to the next very naturally. This will help you stay on message.
Practice With Another Sales Rep or Sales Engineer
Practice giving the demo to a member of your team to nail down the pacing. Practicing with a teammate allows you to get brutally honest feedback so that you’ll know if anything in your demo script is confusing, unclear or uncomfortable for your audience.
If you don’t have a teammate to practice on, record yourself delivering your script and watch it to look for any areas that feel awkward or require a little more polish.
Time Your Demo
For a one-hour meeting, keep the actual demo portion no longer than 30 minutes. Keep in mind that there will ideally be a little bit of discussion after each scenario. This breaks up the meeting and keeps your audience engaged.
Remember, your sales demo should focus on how your product helps buyers execute their strategic priorities by eliminating key obstacles. Cut out anything that doesn’t support that message.
Frequently Asked Questions About B2B Sales Demos
How Should I Introduce Myself When Giving a Demo?
KEEP IT SHORT! There’s nothing worse than a presenter spending the first five minutes of the demo telling you all about themselves.
Be personable and friendly. Your audience will mirror your demeanor. State the role you have within your organization and any experience you have that’s relevant to the discussion at hand, e.g., your experience with companies similar to the client’s, if applicable. It helps build rapport and trust.
How Long Should My Sales Demo Last?
The combination of demo and discussion/questions should be no longer than 50 minutes in a one-hour meeting. You want to leave 10 minutes to discuss next steps, action items, follow-up etc.
Should I Always Stay On Script?
The 80/20 rule applies here. Stick to your sales demo script but be ready to pivot if the client has questions or objections not addressed in the demo.
Address the questions clearly and concisely, then circle back to your script. Try to return to the key points and scenarios in your demo so the client can fully envision using and succeeding with your product.
How Do I End a Sales Demo?
Start the wrap-up by reiterating the key scenarios you covered and why they’re the most critical as far as executing on the overall goals of the customer — the ultimate reason they are investing in a product like yours. Be sure to make it sound simple.
Then discuss appropriate next steps and timing.
Sample Sales Demo Script:
After the introductions, it’s a matter of following your script, but filling in the blanks with context and scenarios that are relevant to buyer’s situation.
For example, “The reason your organization is investing in a product like this is [client’s strategic objective here]. Is that correct?”
Client: Yes, that’s correct.
You: Great, thank you for confirming. In order to support that strategic goal, the areas you’ve identified for improvement are [client departments here, e.g., accounts payable], and the outcomes you’re looking for in [department] are…, correct?
To achieve those outcomes, we’re going to focus on [5] specific job tasks that if /changed improved, will result in those outcomes.
The core of the demo is here where you will describe scenarios/workflows/job tasks that correspond with your buyer’s desired outcomes, the issues they have with each and the product features that eliminate the issues.
Remember to keep the demo focused on job tasks, obstacles and outcomes. Ask open-ended questions during your presentation to keep it engaging.
You: So those are just a few scenarios that demonstrate how our product can get you to your desired outcomes. Before I wrap up, do you have any additional questions?
See above (How Do I End the Demo) to wrap things up. Then discuss nest steps, action items and a follow-up meeting if necessary.
Scripting your sales demo helps you prepare and deliver an incredible product demo. Just remember, your demo is the buyer’s version of your value story.
That’s a Wrap on Sales Demo Scripts
Scripting your sales demo helps you prepare an incredible product demo. Just remember to keep your sales demo simple and focused on your customer and their desired outcomes. These sales demo script tips will help you land your next client and many more to come.
To learn more about creating sales demos that convert prospects into customers, enroll in our Software Product Demo Training course. Product Management University can help you differentiate your solutions with a customer-outcome approach that results in more wins.
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