Customer Reviews

Great Demo!: How To Create And Execute Stunning Software Demonstrations

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In Great Demo, Peter Cohan applies his own methodology for how to give a demo in how he writes a business book. Even though the book is nearly 300 pages, it gets directly to the main premise. Show your prospect the best part, the most valuable aspect, of your product right at the front of your demo. Cohan does this with the book as well by giving us the "punch line" on page 5, not page 205. Just after the Introduction, the author gives us the "answer" to effective software demonstrations - "Do The Last Thing First." Show them that part of the killer demo that's meant to knock their socks off; that part traditionally following the grand build up like a symphony musical. Just skip the prelude, build up and all that other stuff and show the customer what they really want to see. Then you have their attention to fill in the details because you've proven (hopefully) up front that you are relevant and worth their time. It is interesting to observe how many proven advertising schemes already have this grab `em-up-front tactic built in. This can be seen in some television and magazine ads, most trade show tables, and yes even SPAM. Great Demo addresses this human need for immediate resolution - why is this worth my time at all? - in the board room during demos.

With 250 more pages of regular content (not counting the Appendices, glossary, etc.) Great Demo has a lot more to say about knowing what the most relevant part of your system might be to show each individual client and how to deal with the inevitable questions, etc. But, the core of Great Demo is simple, memorable and effective. I have had the opportunity to give several demonstrations since reading Great Demo and I have found this up front approach really changes the dynamic with the prospect in a healthy way. I think it helps differentiate our company/products since competitors may not be leading off with their best foot forward so intentionally. There are also practical benefits since executive level prospects/audience members may be present only in the beginning of a demo but not the end. If the opposite is true you can always show the best stuff again (and may be asked to do so), but if that exec leaves the presentation early and you haven't shown your best stuff, they may never see it at all. Of course, the book is well aware of this and many other practical benefits. Cohan has a web site called DemoGurus so he has a good base of info in addition to his own extensive experience to build the Great Demo method upon.

Interestingly, the book develops as if it is following its own method by unfolding more and more answers about the method itself as the chapters progress (as if it were the product being demo'd). In the early going this can be a little slow to develop, but by the middle of the book, there is a wealth of knowledge being presented. The presentation of the entire book also has business appeal. The pages are short and most follow a checklist type format. This makes the content easy to locate and train/test others on.

In addition to the Do the Last Thing First tactic, Great Demo also emphasizes showing only those Specific Capabilities that are necessary to address the customer's problem. This second point is also extremely important, but unlike the Do the Last Thing First advice, it can be found in most contemporary software demo methods. Great Demo, like its rivals, is smart enough to know software products these days are just too deep or broad to show in their entirety, this would only frustrate the prospect. Great Demo is very good about combining up to date management insights with its own unique contributions. In fact, Great demo is partially based upon the best thinking from the field of personal performance such as Covey's 7 Habits, and Solution Selling from Bosworth. Bosworth's Solution Selling is recommended multiple times as an important supplement to Great Demo. These thought leaders inform Cohan's organization of the Great Demo method. A reading list at the end of the book has helpful comments on these books and others the author has found valuable.

As the chapters progress, practical topics such as preparing the sales setup, tech aspects of the demo and dealing with questions are discussed point by point. The preparation chapters (especially technical) receive a lot of pages and account for about a quarter of the book. Chapter 11 is about doing remote demos and is worth the price of the book because it clarifies some practical approaches to this increasingly common medium for demos. As many of us can attest by now, remote demos can be really tedious/ineffective. In a nutshell, you must make the remote demo interactive even though it seems like a poor medium for doing so. Chapter 11 tells you how to manage the remote demo so you can turn it into an advantage for everyone.

I've read/reviewed other books on giving software demos and I think the Great Demo method is the most up-to-date and down-on-the-street effective. If you want to differentiate your demos from the usual fare everyone is tired of, do it by making them Great Demos.

Despite stating his preference for substance over style (p. 169) Mr. Cohan lets his style overwhelm the content of his book. Great Demo! contains excellent advice and is very practical in their presentation, particularly for people who are starting in a field role and need a basic road map for their customer encounters.

As far as style, Mr. Cohan's tendency to tell long stories from his experiences in the field ("...I set up my computer, connected to a network connection, and adjusted the LCD projector" p. 146) makes this book too long. Additionally, The Author's tendency to capitalize! Random Nouns and obsessive use of Exclamation Marks! disrupt the flow of reading. Lastly, for a writer that claims that "Humans are visual creatures" (p. 86) the lack of any illustration or charts, except sample customer org charts, is curious. I can think of a graphic model showing the author's proposed methodology and the progress made through it, allowing the reader to visualize their own progress.

In the substance section, the book is a very solid interpretation of solution selling for technical sales engineers. It gives a good methodology for discovery as well as structure for creating demos and presentations that may help capture the audience and create interest and discussion.

I recommend the book to whoever is starting in a technical sales role or feels the need to ramp up their presentation or to those managers interested in closer integration of their sales force and technical field teams.

To Mr. Cohan I recommend hiring a qualified editor for his next book.

If you're looking for a way to shake up your salesforce , shake loose their love of doing things the traditional way and eventually shake down your competition - look no further.

Demonstrating software is an art-form , at its best a careful balance and ballet between a salesperson and a sales consultant/engineer. All too often it turns into a long 2 hour monologue after a boring 30 slide powerpoint presentation introducing your company ('the corporate pitch'). Peter Cohan presents an alternative technique to the mind and butt-numbing methodology we've all had drilled into us in sales training. Its not so much finding the unique solution to your prospects business problem - but in how you present it and grab their attention.

As the leader of an 40+ size organization tasked with giving software demos I found this book to be exciting , invigorating and a catalyst for change. After the presentation of the big idea (Do the last thing first) the book slows down for a few chapters covering the basics, but then picks up again around a third of the way through and hits high gear around managing time, questions and expectations. There is also a great section on remote (web) demos and then some advanced chapters on style and appearance.

The content-free buzzword-compliant list of phrases should be pasted on the cover of every laptop.

15 to 30 k$, that's the typical cost of a technical B2B demonstration! (direct + opportunity costs)

So NO, you cannot leave the preparation and execution of demos to luck !

This practical and to-the-point book teaches you the winning principles:
* "Do the last thing first".
* Make sure your demo is pre-committed, customized, well-prepared and interactive.

Why do the last thing first?
Great demos use the same 'pyramid' structure as a good newspaper article or text:

1) Show the most compelling illustration. This is the end result the customer wants to see (cfr article title).

2) "do it": show how to get the result in a minimum number of steps (cfr the executive summary)

3) "do it again": show the different steps in more detail. Give anecdotes and references (cfr article body)

I highly recommended this book. If you want to learn even more on technical application sales, also check out Mastering Technical Sales: The Sales Engineer's Handbook (Artech House Technology Management Library)

An excellent "how to" book that could radically change the way you sell your ideas to people. Reading through it I was constantly visualizing the good, the bad and the plain ugly demos and presentations I have sat through or been part of over the past few years. Now if Peter's book could be used by fellow scientists to present their ideas to non-scientists in the same way, the world would be a better place or at least we would have more understanding and respect!!

this is a very good book on presenting software demonstrations. the author presents several ideas that are refreshingly different and practical. our team is working on implementing many of the suggestions into our demos, both face-to-face and remotely. easy read with good information.

Peter Cohan has made a significant contribution to sales education in his book Great Demo! This book will serve anyone in software sales as well as sales people from a variety of product backgrounds. The book walks you through exactly, (not theoretically) how to create an effective software sales demonstration, with detailed focus on customer needs, expected customer reactions, and how to correct the tactic when things go wrong.

The difference between this book and other books on the subject is that it covers so many details; you feel as if you're sitting in a sales presentation as you read the book - you can envision yourself exactly in the pictures he paints. As a sales person who has read more sales books than I care to name, this book was a breath of fresh (and invigorating) air.

Great Demo is such a well thought out presentation of sales information that I would recommend it for any sales force, software or otherwise. It could easily be turned into a 2 day sales workshop or integrated into existing training programs. It is rare to find a sales book that truly teaches something of real value on every single page. Five BIG stars.

Before I started my current role, this book was given to me by a neighbor. In my last six months, I have tried to follow Peter Cohan's principles since I consider this to be the best on the subject. it is easy to forget what the purpose of a demo is, unless you have a clear understanding of what you doing, what you are showing, and what impacts the viewer the most.

Cohan provides a clear strategy for how to approach a demo. From starting with the last thing first, there are many techniques to help you and/or a sales force grab the attention of the viewer. The other technique that we often forget, is to address your customer's needs. By showing them the functionality that can address any pain points or solutions to address any of their pressing needs, the demo becomes more targeted, and ultimately more worthwhile.

If you are charged with giving demo's, this is certainly a great place to make what you do, better.

"Great Demo" is not just a book. It is an essential strategy.

Last year we implemented this strategy at our January sales meeting, both by requiring everyone read the book and by hosting the author for a 2 day seminar...revenues were up significantly in 2005. Coincidence? I think not. It helped us transform our lackluster presentations and demonstrations into dynamic, meaningful sales events and has helped our sales and applications groups act as a cohesive team. Almost forgot...our customers thank us as well for not putting them to sleep anymore! It is a must read.

I was a very experienced consultant and pre-sales person that was an expert in my product line and could give a terrific demo every time to customers.

Simply put -- I was wrong, wrong, WRONG.

What I was presenting was the "standard" corporate demo that we were taught to give. I watched one of the standard demos after reading just a few chapters of the book and knew I had to make a significant change.

Toss out your old ideas, throw out your corporate overview slides and find out what the customer REALLY wants to see.

Peter's website has additional terrific tips and please ask your boss to have Peter come out to your sales/pre-sales/consulting teams for training. The 2 days reviewing and expanding on the ideas in this book were the most valuable training I have received ever in my professional life.

Do the last thing first, stop reading my review and buy this book. If your competitors are smart, they are already finalizing their online purchase now.