Articles
Trade-Show Demonstrations - The "Menu Approach"
I both love and hate doing demonstrations at trade shows. They are wonderful because of the opportunity
to interact with so many customers. They are terrible when you consider how many of those customer
interactions, and demos, are unqualified and unproductive.
There are two frustrating scenarios that often occur at trade shows. The first is when a customer walks up
to a demo station and says, “Show me your product”. The second is when a colleague in your booth brings
a prospect by and says, “Show him/her our product”.
These are really the same situation! Here’s how you can improve the probability of success for both of
these scenarios:
Hold back. Don’t move the mouse, but hold it ready in your hand, as if you’ll start any moment. Instead of
beginning a demo, start asking questions.
When Your Prospect Is Willing To Share Information
Ask open-ended questions (an open-ended question is one that cannot be answered with a simple yes or
no answer) that lead your prospect to offer information on their situation, and their Critical Business Issues
(CBI’s) – the issues that are their major challenges – and underlying reasons that make these CBI’s hard
to address. For example, you might start by asking, “What is your objective at this conference?” This helps
your prospect recall why he or she is present and what they need to achieve while at the conference.
A reasonable answer provides you with useful information that may be directly relevant for both you and
your can help you decide what question to ask next
If you are successful, you may be able to uncover sufficient information to deliver a Great Demo – a demo
that matches the capabilities you show to the prospect’s needs.
If your prospect is unwilling to provide much information, then start with your most likely demo scenario,
based on your knowledge of the prospect’s most likely situation – but, here’s the twist: Verbally review this
situation for your prospect’s job title and then show the corresponding Illustration – then ask if this is what
your prospect is interested in seeing.
If the answer is yes, then continue with your demo, showing the Do It, the "Peel Back the Layers" (aka the
"Do It Again"), and Q & A, as time allows. If the answer is no, then try your second most likely Situation
scenario and Illustration, and test again.
There is no sense in running through a full demonstration if the prospect is not interested! Presenting two
or more Illustrations acts like a catalog or menu, increasing the likelihood that your prospect will see
something that does address a CBI. You’ll save yourself time, you’ll save your prospect’s time, and you’ll
increase the probably of a successful demo.
This method is also known as the "Menu Approach" and can be used for a range of Generic or otherwise
unqualified customer situations.
Copyright © 2005 The Second Derivative – All Rights Reserved.
I both love and hate doing demonstrations at trade shows. They are wonderful because of the opportunity
to interact with so many customers. They are terrible when you consider how many of those customer
interactions, and demos, are unqualified and unproductive.
There are two frustrating scenarios that often occur at trade shows. The first is when a customer walks up
to a demo station and says, “Show me your product”. The second is when a colleague in your booth brings
a prospect by and says, “Show him/her our product”.
These are really the same situation! Here’s how you can improve the probability of success for both of
these scenarios:
Hold back. Don’t move the mouse, but hold it ready in your hand, as if you’ll start any moment. Instead of
beginning a demo, start asking questions.
When Your Prospect Is Willing To Share Information
Ask open-ended questions (an open-ended question is one that cannot be answered with a simple yes or
no answer) that lead your prospect to offer information on their situation, and their Critical Business Issues
(CBI’s) – the issues that are their major challenges – and underlying reasons that make these CBI’s hard
to address. For example, you might start by asking, “What is your objective at this conference?” This helps
your prospect recall why he or she is present and what they need to achieve while at the conference.
A reasonable answer provides you with useful information that may be directly relevant for both you and
your can help you decide what question to ask next
If you are successful, you may be able to uncover sufficient information to deliver a Great Demo – a demo
that matches the capabilities you show to the prospect’s needs.
If your prospect is unwilling to provide much information, then start with your most likely demo scenario,
based on your knowledge of the prospect’s most likely situation – but, here’s the twist: Verbally review this
situation for your prospect’s job title and then show the corresponding Illustration – then ask if this is what
your prospect is interested in seeing.
If the answer is yes, then continue with your demo, showing the Do It, the "Peel Back the Layers" (aka the
"Do It Again"), and Q & A, as time allows. If the answer is no, then try your second most likely Situation
scenario and Illustration, and test again.
There is no sense in running through a full demonstration if the prospect is not interested! Presenting two
or more Illustrations acts like a catalog or menu, increasing the likelihood that your prospect will see
something that does address a CBI. You’ll save yourself time, you’ll save your prospect’s time, and you’ll
increase the probably of a successful demo.
This method is also known as the "Menu Approach" and can be used for a range of Generic or otherwise
unqualified customer situations.
Copyright © 2005 The Second Derivative – All Rights Reserved.
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