The art of presales has evolved far beyond product walkthroughs. Today, it is about crafting a compelling narrative, one that connects business pain to product value in a way that builds trust and drives deal momentum. Recently, presales experts from Saleo and Movable Ink shared their strategies for elevating the demo experience through powerful storytelling.
What’s the most common mistake presales teams make during demos?
The most frequent mistake is focusing too heavily on features rather than the prospect’s pain or goals. While it’s natural to want to showcase the power of the software, this approach often misses the mark. Prospects are rarely interested in a generic feature tour. They want to understand how the solution helps them specifically. Effective demos are story-led and center around the prospect’s challenges. Generic, feature-led demos often leave prospects feeling disengaged and fail to help them connect the dots between their challenges and the software’s features.
How can presales and sales work better together during demos?
The best demos result from strong collaboration between presales and sales. Collaboration is built through effective communication and knowing your sales team. Before the call, even a brief sync can ensure alignment on key details like the account history, business challenges, and success metrics. This preparation allows the presales team to build a narrative that resonates.
During the demo itself, sales plays a crucial role by reading the room, picking up on stakeholder engagement, managing time, and guiding the conversation to ensure it stays on track. The best sales people ask open ended questions and help move the demo if the prospects seem disengaged. This partnership helps turn demos into dynamic, strategic conversations rather than static presentations.
How do you build an effective demo story?
One approach is framing the demo using a “pain to resolution” structure, similar to the storytelling arc used in film and literature. The prospect becomes the hero of the story, with the solution guiding them through their current struggles to a better future. This helps create an emotional connection and makes the value proposition more tangible. Starting with their problem and establishing its impact, then showing how the product solves it keeps the narrative engaging and memorable.
What are some specific story elements that support a strong demo narrative?
Most people already do a good job crafting the middle of the demo narrative, but often forget the introduction and the conclusion. You have to remember to introduce yourself to establish credibility, why should they believe you. You also want to make sure you frame the problem to be solved and establish the impact it’s currently having.
Finally, you need a strong conclusion. Close the circle on the discussion, stating succinctly how the problem is solved with the technology. Then invite questions and discussion to make sure you’ve answered all of their questions and showed them what they needed to see.
How do you tailor a demo story to different personas?
Tailoring the narrative requires understanding both the industry you’re speaking to and the role of the audience. Use terminology they’re familiar with, align the demo to their specific goals, and share relatable examples. Ask open ended questions throughout the discussion to ensure that the demo is landing and to keep the audience engaged. Steer clear of “Does this make sense?” and try more meaningful questions like “Can you envision this in your program?”
In the case of surprise additions to the demo audience, the key is to pause, ask questions around their roles and goals, and adapt the demo narrative accordingly. Live discovery questions like “What does your typical day look like?” or “What’s your biggest challenge?” can help quickly reframe the demo to speak to new stakeholders. You can also pivot to inviting a future meeting to better address the specific needs of the new stakeholders.
How should demo strategies change for expansion opportunities?
Demos for existing customers should build on the foundation of what the customer already knows and values about the product. Collaboration with customer success teams is vital in identifying pain points and opportunities.The demo narrative should highlight current successes and then bridge to growth areas. Presales teams can position the expansion as a natural, strategic next step by identifying what’s already working and revealing opportunities for growth, like untapped features or new use cases.
What are the most effective demo follow-up strategies?
Strong follow-up is often what separates a good demo from a winning one. After the call, presales professionals should take the lead in reinforcing the key takeaways. This could be a short video recap or a bullet-point summary of how the product addresses specific pain points. Asking prospects questions like “What stood out to you?” or “What would hold you back from moving forward?” can surface insights and objections. Timely, thoughtful follow-up keeps the momentum going and strengthens buyer confidence.
Another important piece is the post-demo huddle with the sales rep while the information is fresh. Make sure all the important prospect questions were answered in the demo and align on next steps.
Final thoughts: What makes a demo truly great?
Great demos are conversational, not performative. They’re grounded in care for the prospect, fueled by curiosity, and structured around a clear narrative. Presales teams who listen actively, adapt in real time, and tell compelling stories position themselves as trusted advisors. When the prospect walks away feeling heard, understood, and excited, that’s when you know the demo hit the mark.
Want more?
Watch the full discussion on “Mastering Demo Narratives: for Presales, by Presales.”
Read more about how Movable Ink cut their demo prep time in half and scaled sales demos.
