Last week I had my worst demo call. I booked a demo on the vendor's website, but I got a seller who was sticking to a script too much. We needed to find a vendor as soon as possible. I did my research and gathered recommendations from our team on what they had used in the past. I bet more and more buyers follow the same process: - they do their own research - they talk to peers - they see who uses whom - they verify the feature set I shortlisted 5 vendors and requested a demo on their websites. I was the hot inbound lead who needed a solution fast and knew exactly what I wanted. I came prepared to all calls with a list of requirements. Yet, this seller proceeded to show me a 30-minute deck as an overview of the platform. I felt put into the "sales process." I asked a lot of technical questions but got vague answers. The seller simply had a job to do and wanted to do it — even though I was already past the point the seller was making. I was already sold on why I needed a solution. Here is how the conversation went for the vendor we decided to pick: BEFORE Before a demo call, they sent over a list of questions about our needs. I replied with some general requirements. They replied on how their product works. I found an interactive demo of the tool on their website and was even more excited about the call. DISCOVERY On the call itself, we talked a bit (rapport) and then jumped straight into the product to have my questions answered. I usually don't trust sellers saying "yes, we can do this" — so we spent the call inside the product. No deck. AFTER They sent over a proposal with the ballpark pricing we discussed (no surprises there!) and added us on Slack — I think more sellers should do this. It was such a cool experience because I could ask more technical questions faster. There are essentially 3 groups of buyers that are coming in inbound: 1. know what they want, know what competition has, and are ready to sign fast 2. know that they could need a solution like yours, maybe now or later 3. want education about the space The seller that we didn't buy from put me into group 3 — when I was clearly indicating that I'm in group 1. I bet their process works for group 3; it wasn't a bad deck or bad product. But, it was simply not as good as other vendors.
really good insights into your buyers are buying nowadays. all boils down to paying attention, actually listening and just giving people what they want.
This is why my first question is always "If I can ensure you leave this call feeling positive about our interaction, what does that look like for you?" and let you tell me exactly what you want and then guide the conversation from there, I'm there to give you all the information you need to make a confident decision one way or another, I hate following scripts and gatekeeping essential decision making info
I think a lot of sales training should be about frameworks for thinking and dealing with different types of scenarios. Instead, it's taught as a script that needs to be followed that doesn't account for the buyer's actual needs. That's how you end up with terrible sales cycles like this.
This has been a rampant problem for years. Companies more concerned about qualifying and protecting their time, than actually listening to the prospect.
Love the idea of integrating Slack! Seems like good way of them implementing a digital sales room into your conversation.
Thanks for sharing! 👏 Our processes are similar to the seller you chose. Personally, I have always been a strong advocate for simplifying the sales process. If they ask a specific question or request a quote, I simply answer the question and include an optional Calendly link. However, if there is no specific question (for example, they just need a branded game), I ask about the use-case or strategy (if any) and request to book a call. Once the deal is confirmed, I invite them to a Slack channel or WhatsApp group along with a technical expert.
What a great break-down of the modern buying journey. These sellers stand out when really listening and adapting to where the buyer is at within their process. It does not get any dumber than placing every prospect in 'group 3', thereby guaranteeing the loss of the ready-to-sign buyers in group 1. Sellers: know your audience, ditch the deck and meet them where they're a
Well, this is a great onboarding case actually, not only for sales. If we can tailor the experience for users, they will convert better, the whole PLG is about it. Thanks for sharing!
sign fast or sign in general?
Detangling Inbound @ Default
3d**football analogy incoming** As an AE, you are the quarterback in your deals and calls. As such, you have the ability to do a read-option at your discretion. That is, when you see something happening on the field, you have the ability to adjust your strategy in real-time and make a decision during the play based on the actions of a key defensive player - or, in this case, Stan, the prospect. It sounds like the rep you didn't buy from either didn't recognize that you were ready to move fast a thus couldn't adjust OR they maybe did recognize it, but didn't adjust for one reason or another. I know a lot of great sellers that sometimes need a reminder that they can 'break playbook' from time to time. In my experience, I've found that some teams/leaders will fail to give their reps the "permission" to act in this way which causes many well intentioned reps to stick to their 'playbook' in a way that's sometimes unproductive. What's interesting is, I'd bet that internally, the discussion about why this deal was lost is probably not mentioning any of this at all! Likely chalking it up to a competitor feature or missing integration or pricing etc...bummer!