Demo Tools and Tech Set-up for Remote Sales

Can you hear me? Can you hear me now? Does everyone see my screen? No? How about now? Hold on, let me try something else. Okay, is it working now?‍

Your tech set-up is more important than ever now that remote sales teams and working from home are becoming a norm. You don’t want to have to deal with the new stresses of working in a different environment on top of having technical issues every time you perform a demo.

In sales, there are some things you can control and other things you cannot. The demo tools you choose to use and how you set up the technical aspects of your demo, are measures you can take to optimize your demos for smooth sailing.

While all technology can be temperamental at times, there are steps you can take to avoid common mishaps and set yourself up for a perfectly executed product demo.

Why are your demo tools & tech set-up important?

That uncomfortable feeling you get when you are scrambling to fix a technical issue during your demo is not ideal. The reality is that your prospect’s opinion of you and your product can be negatively affected by technical issues.

According to a recent survey, seventy percent of respondents reported that technical hiccups during their presentation led to a loss of credibility with their audience.

But even if your prospects are completely empathetic to the situation, you still want your demo to go smoothly. The whole point is to showcase how awesome your product looks and how it solves their pain points. You want to engage your prospects without interruption.

How can you show your product with confidence when your audience can only hear every other word or the screen keeps freezing?

Let’s take a look at the software tools and tech setup tips to help you deliver a flawless demo.

Common demo mistakes

1. Weak internet connection: Always double-check your connection beforehand!
2. Computer microphone: It’s better to use a microphone or headset to enhance the experience.
3. General video conferencing tools: A demo is not a video chat. Does the tool you are using cater to product demos or general video conferencing?
4. Room setting: Make sure the room is quiet and test your lighting with the camera before the demo starts. You don’t want it too bright or too dark.
5. Forgetting to record: You’ll need the recording to gather the critical discussion points you need to follow up properly.

Choosing a meeting tool for sales product demos

There are meeting and screen-sharing software tools for all kinds of use cases. For sales professionals, you have several different options depending on your intended purpose. Some tools are designed for webinars, while others are great for onboarding or conducting demos.

The best way to determine if a tool is right for you is to research their main benefits and look at all of the options they offer. Most importantly, do they offer the key features for conducting engaging, problem-free product demos?

Demos require different functionality than your typical meeting. When you conduct a product demo, you want a solution that is simple and geared towards making your prospects’ experience comfortable and seamless.

The meeting tool must work for your prospect no matter their location, platform, skill level, or browser. You’ll want to showcase your product in a way that is interactive, enables prospects to participate, and allows you to record the meeting (not just the screen).

Here are some of the common challenges sales reps face with their online meeting tools and the features you should look for to help solve those issues:‍

How will your prospect access your demo?

Challenge: Prospects might join the presentation from their computer or a mobile device. They might even use different browsers.‍

Solution: Find an online meeting tool that will work with any browser on any device. Cloud-based tools ensure that your prospect doesn't have problems accessing the meeting based on their own tech set-up.

Will your prospects' tech security interfere with the demo?

Challenge: Prospects have firewalls and other security measures that don’t always allow downloads or browser extensions.

Solution: Your online meeting tool should work without downloads. Tools like Demodesk offer one-click invitations allowing anyone to instantly join a demo.

Will your prospect get an immersive experience with your product demo?

Challenge: Most demos are merely one-sided presentations. Letting your prospects interact and control the demo themselves creates a more enriching experience.

Solution: A collaborative browsing feature allows prospects to try your SaaS product for themselves during the demo.

How do you minimize desktop interruptions?

Challenge: Demo presentations often get interrupted by unplanned desktop notifications.

Solution: Virtual meeting rooms (instead of sharing your desktop) ensure your audience never sees your personal information or notifications.

How do you get the best resolution for your demo?

Challenge: You can’t anticipate which screen resolution your prospects will be using so you can present your product in the best format.

Solution: Automatic resolution adjustment is a feature that fits the demo to your audience’s screen size for an optimal experience.

Improve the experience with high-quality hardware

Would you rather watch Star Wars on your mobile phone or in a surround sound theater?

While an amazing product demo is mostly about delivering a solution that addresses your prospect’s pain points, there is also an experiential aspect of the demo that helps the sale.

In other words, you want exceptional audio and visual quality to enhance the presentation and deliver the best experience with the clearest message. You should double-check that your online meeting tool is rating highly for good-quality audio and visual.

To ensure your audience can hear you clearly, wireless microphones are recommended instead of your built-in computer microphone. If you are giving the demo by yourself, a headset is ideal because the background noises are eliminated almost completely. At Demodesk we are very happy using the Logitech office headsets.

Something as simple as using a headset goes a long way in creating an enjoyable experience for both your prospect and you.

Setting up your product demo in advance

If you are using an online meeting tool like Demodesk, you can define persona-specific playbooks for each step of the sales process and automatically select which one supports the stage of your sale. There is no need to upload materials for every demo, but rather, you can have various playbooks ready to go when you need them. However, if you are using another demo meeting tool make sure you always set aside time to upload your materials and prepare your tech set-up.

If you are using a general screen-sharing tool, you’ll need to take extra time to clean up your desktop, turn off your notifications and remove anything else that can potentially disrupt your demo. You don’t have to worry about these time-consuming tasks if you are using Demodesk.

Here’s a breakdown of a typical demo tech set up with and without Demodesk.

Typical screen-sharing software set-up

• Remove all distractions. Turn off your notifications so there are no interruptions. Use a new browser without add-ons and extensions to remove distractions from the screen.
• Open all the presentation materials, slides, apps, pages, etc. you will need to use during the demo and minimize in the background.
• Hide your notes. Open a text file or a notes app so you can record questions or comments that you’ll want to address during the meeting.
• Keep track of potential customer details. To track the progress of the sale and collect customer information, make sure your CRM system is up and ready so you can manually collect information as quickly as possible.

Demodesk set-up

• Relax knowing that notifications will not interrupt your call. Your virtual meeting room is separate from your desktop.
• Select one of your preset demo playbooks. The right content for every call and persona is already loaded and ready to go. Easily access your materials in the demo without leaving your browser.
• Keep it simple with in-meeting note-taking so no external applications are crowding your screen.
• Integrate your CRM software. By connecting your CRM software you will be able to automatically log notes, call details, and recordings into your CRM without leaving your demo.

Pulling It All Together & Take Control Of Your Product Demo

There is no such thing as a perfect tech set up for a demo. Nothing is infallible and anything can happen. But there are definitely steps that you can take to reduce your chances of having technical difficulties during your demo. It is also helpful to have supportive inside sales tips and tools to support leads through the sales funnel.

Do your research and select the software that has the right features specifically for remote sales product demos. If your tech set up is dialed in and ready to go, you can spend more time focusing on presenting the key features of your product that will wow your prospects and lead to a prosperous partnership.