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2. Personality Mapping
Personality Mapping
Respond to their questions with your own clarification questions. Draw out their real questions and you can avoid all types of problems during the demonstration.
They’re change-oriented.
They’re often students of industry experts.
They’re very open in interviews.
If you’ve established credibility, they’ll ask you for your “opinion.”
Panacea –These people can usually be identified very early in the interview because they’re highly critical of their existing system and express unrealistic expectations for the new software. Contrary to what you might think, they’re extremely dangerous! They say things like, “Our software is terrible. For example, our bill-paying system sucks! I read an article that said our software should handle our bill-paying procedures without any of my involvement.” We all know a statement like that is very unrealistic. Panacea-types think the new software is going to solve all their problems.
With these folks it’s important you rein in their expectations and bring them gently back to earth.
Be patient and ask many open-ended questions. Once you locate their soft spot, you have an advantage. When you address their need in the demonstration, you’ll enlist the doomsayer into your camp and everyone around him who has been trying for years to make him smile.
To answer this question, you need to examine the prospect’s business process flows or job functions and determine which of your features best apply to these process flows.
We should identify clean workflows across the three pillars.
When it’s important to convince your customer you know their business processes exactly
When you’re having difficulty understanding their business
If you’re new to the company/industry in training
a) Meet Minimum (MM) b) Meet Minimum Plus (M+) c) Exceed Existing (E) d) Drastically Exceed Existing (E+) e) Doesn’t Matter (DM)
A system for selecting which features to show in a product demonstration. MM, MM+, E, E+, DM
“Andy, I know what you must be thinking. You have 101 things to get done with your regular job, so the last thing you want is to lead me by the hand for the next couple hours. Since I have the names of the all the individuals I need to meet with, all I really need is for you to get me started with the first person on the list. They can direct me to the next person when we’re done. I think this will allow me to make efficient use of your, and quite frankly, your staff’s time. I’m sure I’ll have some questions over the course of my interviews, so I’ll check in with you regularly throughout the
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“level playing field”
Combating the level-playing field response when seeking additional Discovery in an RFP.
“Bob, that’s all well and good, but none of the other vendors were allowed to perform a Discovery prior to their demonstrations. It simply wouldn’t be fair if I allowed you this luxury but not them.” I’d come back with, “Jim, you’re right. It wouldn’t be fair if I had privileged information and the competitors did not. Here’s what I’m willing to do. After I’ve completed my interviews, I’ll write a report of my findings and e-mail it to you. From there, you can forward it to my competitors. In this way, we will all have the same information.” (Of course, you’ll probably leave a few key details
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get face-to-face during an RFP
On the other hand, you can set a great trap by dropping the name of one of their hated competitors who is running your competitor’s software!
Assume the prospect has narrowed their selection to three vendors. Consider the following:
Tip: In a three-company evaluation, present 1st, or 3rd... not 2nd.
If I’m demonstrating to a group in a very structured environment, and that selection team does not work well together (as evidenced by many conflicting opinions in Discovery), I prefer to go last.
Tip: In a three-company evaluation, present 1st, or 3rd... not 2nd.
If I’m working with a group that works well together and I’m able to set the agenda, I prefer going first.
Tip: In a three-company evaluation, present 1st, or 3rd... not 2nd.
Discussing current events prior to and during the demonstration is invaluable. Rather than unrelated small talk,
On web demonstrations, always send out the appointment reminder for 15 minutes prior to your actual start time, and make sure the web meeting and phone connection are up and running 15 minutes before the start to encourage people to connect early.
Tip: When setting a meeting, send an invite 15 minutes prior with "Hey guys, I'm going to jump on a bit early. Welcome to join early as well if you're schedule allows it.
Breaks need to be clearly defined, precise and strictly adhered to.
Make them an odd, precise time, rather than ten or 15 minute increments.
Prior to the break, tell them what feature or capability you’re going to cover when they get back from break.
Schedule your web demos for 90 minutes or less.
They want to know how long you’ve been with your company, what your qualifications are for giving this demonstration, your experience level and a little bit of personal information about you. In the first two minutes they want to size you up; determine if they like and respect you.
“Good morning! My name is Bob Riefstahl, and I’m the Regional Sales Representative responsible for serving you during your evaluation. I’ll be conducting the majority of the demonstration. I’m joined today by my colleague Bill Anderson who is a salessupport representative. Bill will introduce himself shortly. I’ve been with FutureF four years. For three of those four years, I’ve been a member of the Chairmen’s Club for excellence in sales and service. Prior to FutureF, I worked in your industry as a general manager of a manufacturing plant. I’m married and the father of two boys and live in
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Tip: Personal Thesis
If you’ve been with your company less than five years, it’s especially important to tell them about your previous job.
Prospects like to know a little about the fabric of the person presenting to them.
Honored is a powerful word. Use it, but don’t abuse it. Most people take this word very seriously, especially if they served in the military.
Now that you’ve introduced yourself, it’s time to turn the ball over to your teammates
It’s now your prospect’s turn. You’ve already set the stage for the structure of the introduction.
their title, primary responsibility and what they hope to learn during the demonstration.
Prior to the demonstration, diagram the room and seating arrangement. As each person identifies himself or herself, jot down their first name only, title and interests.
Tip: Jot down a diagram of room w/ name, title, interest.
prospects. If you’re using the same agenda repeatedly, it indicates you’re not focusing on the individual needs of your prospects.
