Ideally, a software demo moves the sales cycle forward. Your aim, as a demonstrator, is to convey to your audience just how user-friendly your product is, while at the same time showing how it adds value to their business. Delivering your demo poorly, however, often leads to the opposite: it kills sales.

To help you avoid giving such bad demos, I have compiled a short list I call the Seven Deadly Sins of Software Demos:

1. Disregarding Time

Demos that start or finish late are guaranteed to leave a bad impression with your prospect. They signal your audience that you don’t respect their time and most people will associate this with you not caring about their business. Make sure you plan accordingly: arrive early at your demo venue to leave enough time to setup your equipment and keep an eye on the clock to ensure a timely finish of your demo. Finishing your demo before the allotted time has an added bonus: you will be able to engage your audience in a discussion that will allow you to better understand what parts of your product really will help your customer.

2. Saving the Best for Last

Too often, otherwise successful product demonstrators want to build up the excitement for their product. They show less useful functionality first, believing they should end the demo on a high note. However, what happens in practice is they begin to bore their audience and by the time they get to the high point of their demo, they may have lost the audience either mentally, because they drifted off into dreamland, or, even worse, physically, because they left the meeting early. Get to the heart of the matter immediately; no later than 1 minute into the demo. Show your best feature first and you are guaranteed to get the attention of your audience.

3. Being ill-prepared

This one goes without saying: if you don’t know your product in and out, your credibility will take a hit. If your audience asks how your product handles a specific task, and you have to search for it, your product will not look as user friendly as it actually may be. Along similar lines, if you don’t know your prospect’s business issues, they will sense this and not trust you to be in a position to solve their problems. Make sure you know your product like the inside of your pocket and have done adequate research about your prospect’s specific needs to demonstrate your product with competence.

4. Death by PowerPoint

Slideshows can be cool and do have their place in business. But not in a demo. When a prospect agrees to meet with you for a product demonstration, that’s typically what they want to see. They want to see your product in action and how it solves their most pressing issues. Avoid a lengthy introductory presentation about your company’s history, its revenues, and your management team. This only distracts from the real message: how your product will solve your customers specific needs. Focus on showing how your software will alleviate your prospect’s pain points.

5. Difficult to Understand

A presentation that shows feature after feature, has too many key messages for the audience to remember, and uses buzzwords is confusing and difficult to understand. Highlight benefits instead of features. Limit the number of key messages and repeat them throughout your presentation. Use simple language without buzzwords. Tell stories and use metaphors to get your point across.

6. Using a screen that’s too small for your audience

Nothing loses interest more quickly than if your audience can’t see the screen clearly. Use a projector that shows your screen in an adequate size, so your audience sees everything on the screen clearly, without having to squint their eyes. Use magnification to enlarge those areas you’re currently demonstrating. If you are using a MacBook for your software demo, there is a very nice zoom feature: Hold down the Control key, then drag two fingers up your Mac’s trackpad.

7. Not getting any outside help during planning and preparation

As with anything in life, two or more brains are better than just one. Before you give your first demo in a real life environment, run through it with a peer, a family member, or contact me to get a third person’s honest feedback about the flow, messaging, and delivery style of your demo. Consider it a practice session with the aim to get valuable feedback that will make your demo even more effective. It can only increase the likelihood of your demo achieving what it is intended to do: move the sales cycle forward by demonstrating how your product solves your prospect’s issues in a user-friendly and natural way.

At the SXSW Interactive tech conference, Tim Ferriss was asked “What books should I read to learn how to get good at public speaking?” In his typical way to cut right through the chase, he didn’t recommend any specific book, but rather outlined what he does to prepare for speaking engagements:

Here are five things that build the basis for Ferriss’s talks:

1. He won’t focus on being a “public speaker”. He focuses on being a teacher from the stage.
2. He has no problem if some people dislike you or disagree with him, but he aims to not be misunderstood. Everything he says seems clear and concise.
3. He accepts that he gets nervous and stammers from time to time, drops F-bombs where needed, or generally feel like a nervous wreck. He knows that if he gives good actionable, clear advice, people will forgive it all.
4. He has fun and laughs at himself whenever possible. Beating the audience to the punch makes it much less fun for them to slam the presenter.
5. He has one 16-oz. Diet Coke 45 minutes prior to speaking and another about 20 minutes prior to speaking. He pees before getting on stage to not look like a squirmy kid at a spelling bee. Yes, Diet Coke will give you hairy palms and insomnia, but this caffeine dosing has proven perfect for him for taking the stage. Could be as much placebo effect as anything else.

With the basics out of the way, he drew a summary to explain his approach:

And here are his explanations of the paper summary above:

1. If the format is a 60-minute keynote, a typical format, then I automatically build in at least 20 minutes of audience Q&A, which I usually make 30 minutes. This reduces my presentation time to 30-35 minutes and allows me to tailor the presentation to the group (via answering their questions) instead of guessing what is most important to them and delivering as a pure monologue.
2. I assume my presentation will be in five parts: approximately 2-minute introduction, three 10-minute segments, and a 2-minute close. I use this “rule of thirds” for the three segments whether the presentation is 60 minutes or 10 minutes.
3. I then plan the content in this order:
   10-minute segments – For each segment, what is the main takeaway or usable action for the audience? This means I have three main points in this talk, no more. To flesh out to 10 minutes in length, I then use a PEP (point-example-point) format or, my preference, EPE (example-point-example) format. PEP means you illustrate the concept, then give an example or case study, then reiterate the concept and actionable next step. EPE means you give an example or case study, then explain the concept, then finish with another case study or example. I sketch out 2-3 EPE or PEP for each 10-minute segment, and all of this is done on 1/4 to 1/2 a piece of paper.
   Introduction – Now that I have a better idea of my content, I decide on the introduction, preferably starting with a story and then explaining that I’ll introduce three concepts that will help them do “X”, where “X” is whatever the overarching theme of the presentation is.
   Unless you are a comedian or have already tested jokes with audiences who don’t know you, do NOT use rehearsed jokes. If a joke falls flat in your intro, it will ruin the experience for you and your audience.
   
4. Now the harder work and the fun of discovery – rehearsal:
   The PEP/EPE is usually sketched out well in advance, and the rehearsal is done the night before the presentation. I rehearse the intro, segment 1, segment 2, and segment 3, all separately. I’ll repeat the two-minute intro — winging it — until I nail it. I use a kitchen timer on countdown, and each time I finish, I write down any one-liners or wording that I like. Note that I NEVER memorize a speech verbatim, but I do ensure that I have memorized the starting and closing 2-3 sentences for each portion (intro, segments) at this point.
5. How many times will I repeat each segment? Until I’m happy. I am a perfectionist, so for certain presentations, this could be up to 10 times.
6. Once I have these parts in order, I then wing the close (not before), and repeat like the other portions until I’m happy. For me, it’s not productive to work on the closing statements or questions until I have the rest of the content polished and ready to rock.
7. Now link them all together and do the whole thing until you nail it at least once. Expect you’ll forget about 10% of your memorized lines or anecdotes, and that’s OK, but review your notes each time to ensure you’re hitting the most important points. Once you’ve blazed through it well once, go to bed.One additional tip: I came to realize long ago that I can barely sleep the night before presentations; it doesn’t matter how many times I do them. So… expect that you won’t sleep and don’t let that add to the stress of the experience. Just get extra sleep the two nights before and plan on an all-nighter. If you get sleep, it’ll be a pleasant surprise instead of a source of panic.

There you have it! Quite simple and definitely way effective.

To read the full article, head over to Tim Ferriss’s blog.

This post is an excerpt from the book “Giving Memorable Product Demos”, written by Nathan Gold and yours truly. It is available on Amazon.com.

Even though your demo is well rehearsed and you are confident your message is well crafted and in logical order, many things can still go wrong during a demo.

Experienced demonstrators will have run
into some challenges before,
and therefore know how to work around them,
so they won’t become a show-stopper.

The secret is to always be prepared with a backup plan, just in case. You never know when you might need it.

Have you ever noticed that things that can go wrong will go wrong just at the wrong time? Like having the projector bulb explode in front of 200 people as soon as you are ready to begin. And, it’s your projector. Or, having your laptop go into sleep mode while you are explaining a feature of your product. And, when you bring it back, everything is frozen! Or, having your laptop fall onto the floor while you are waiting in the lobby. Of course, it was a total accident. But now the screen is cracked in three places and it won’t even start. What do you do now? What is your backup plan?

If your demo doesn’t have a solid backup plan,
it’s like driving a car without an emergency brake.

Although we rarely use the emergency brake for an emergency, we always know that there is a backup plan within reach. The same should be true for your product demos.

There are times when you only get one chance to give your demo. In fact, it’s most times. If you have a backup plan, you may be able to survive what could be a disaster for you, your team, and the audience should something go awry.

Everyone understands that sometimes things go wrong. Those same people will truly appreciate seeing how you recover when something unplanned happens or a failure occurs.

However, having a backup plan is only one side of the coin.
The other side is you must practice your backup plan.
Don’t just have one.

As an example, unplug your laptop right in the middle of  a practice demo and see what happens. Even if you have a battery in the machine, you may find that your demo gets all messed up when the machine changes from A/C power to battery power. Unless you experiment with some possibilities beforehand, you may be caught off guard. If you cannot recover gracefully, you run the risk of losing the opportunity to give your demo and making the sale.

If you need some help creating a backup plan, start by asking yourself this question: “What are the worst things that can go wrong in my demo?” You should be able to easily come up with a list of answers.

Once you have this list, then answer this question, “What else can go wrong that will ruin my demo?” Make another list.

Using these two lists, map out several backup plans that address the most common or insurmountable possibilities. Most demos will need to have multiple backup plans because of the sheer number of things that can go wrong. Practice those backup plans as often as possible. The more you are prepared, the easier it will be for you to handle any situation that may present itself.

It’s true that no one can prepare for every situation that may arise. However, it is good to make sure that you prepare and practice a plan for the most likely and most devastating emergencies. You may find yourself in a situation where you can save the day by being able to recover and continue your demo to its successful conclusion. Being a hero is not such a bad thing for you once in a while, but even heroes have to practice.

Peter E. Cohan is the author of Great Demo!, one of the few books specifically written for product demonstrators. As of today, he is also the author of the first ever Christmas Story for product demonstrators:

‘Twas the Night Before The Big Demo
(with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore):

‘Twas the night ‘fore the demo and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, ‘cept my SC and his mouse;
I’d proposed a big licensing deal with great care
In hopes a big order soon would be there;

Management was restless and not in their beds
As visions of bonuses danced in their heads;
And my VP with his forecast and me with my own,
Had just started a long EOQ roam,

When out from my mobile there came a great ring-tone,
I sprang from my chair to answer my phone,
What could it be? Was it good news or no?
A last-minute order? A contract? PO?

Greetings, said my assistant, who spoke on the line,
It was someone to see me, offering help at this time!
Who could it be at this late eleventh-hour,
To make the deal sweet and avoid something sour?

Away to the door I flew in a flash,
And swept it open in my quest for fast cash,
When who to my wondering eyes should appear,
The DemoGuru! And standing so near!

He came in my office and, while dusting off snow,
Said, “I have some news that you’ll want to know.”

You will want to know too… So head over to Peter’s blog to read the rest of this entertaining story.

I’m quite a fan of the TED website and often find videos that are relevant to presenters and product demonstrators. Either because these videos are first class examples of great presentations, or they provide insight that is relevant to improving your own presentation skills.

In the video below, Tim Ferris, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, explains how, with a few adjustments and the right question on our mind, we can learn anything. Simply shifting our own beliefs about what’s possible can lead to drastic results. Tim demonstrates this with examples from his own life.

How is this relevant to a presenter? It’s simple: many people believe that great presenters are born that way and that they simply don’t have the gift of telling. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is not one person who is a “born communicator”. It’s all learned. Granted, some learned it at such a young age that it appears to be a natural skill, but it isn’t.

In the video, Tim Ferris explains how he has learned to swim at a rather late age, how he found ways to acquire languages in a relative short time, and how he has mastered ballroom dancing. Watch the video and get inspired. You can learn anything, even if it seems scary at first, like giving remarkable presentations or product demonstrations.

This past week I had the pleasure of meeting Carmine Gallo. Well, kind of… I attended a Sliderocket webinar, in which Carmine took a full hour to present the highlights of his book The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs and answer questions from the audience.

Although my local time was already past midnight, Carmine kept me alert and at the edge of my seat throughout his fast paced and informative talk. He not only teaches how to expertly pitch, present, and communicate the vision behind your brand…he does it himself in a masterful way.

Carmine started out with the premise that a person can have the greatest idea in the world, but if that person can’t convince enough other people, it doesn’t matter. This clearly resonated with me, and most likely with the majority of the other attendees. After all, knowing just how important presentation and communication skills are in this world is what led me to this event in the first place.

The main points Carmine made about the Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs:

First: Jobs Creates a Story

• He maps out each presentation first.
  Before Steve Jobs even start his presentation software, he plans his presentation first with pen and paper. He wants to have a story to tell before he creates the first slide. He visualizes the entire presentation first: the story, the look and feel, the flow of your information, and the main messages.
• He creates an antagonist.
  In every classic story, the hero fights a villain. Steve Jobs uses this formula and positions Apple as the protagonist in all his stories. When creating his presentations, Jobs thinks of Apple’s products as the hero that is here to save the world. Every story Steve Jobs creates has a villain, which doesn’t necessarily have to be a competitor. It can be a problem in need of a solution. What’s important to him is to have an identifiable enemy.
• He sticks to the rule of three.
  Three is the magic number. Each of Steve Jobs’ presentation is divided into three points. When he introduces new products, he focuses on three features. There is a reason for this: scientists have found that people cannot keep more than three or four chunks of information in their short term memory easily. If you give people too much information, they won’t remember a thing. Jobs knows this and focuses on the three key points he want the audience to remember.
• He creates Twitter-friendly headlines.
  • iPod: 1000 songs in your pocket.
  • iPhone 3G: It’s twice as fast at half the price.
  • MacBook Air: The world’s thinnest notebook.
• He sell dreams, not products.
  Jobs knows that customers don’t care about Apple, or its products. They care about themselves. They care about their dreams and their hopes. Steve Jobs doesn’t sell computers. He sells tools to unleash your creative potential. Jobs is driven by a desire to create experiences and to change the world. This desire leads to passion and emotion that will attract and motivate other people.

Second: Jobs Delivers an Experience

• He keeps things very simple
  “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Steve Jobs
  Jobs doesn’t use any bullet points on his slides. He knows that bullet points are not all that effective. He rather shows one powerful slide for each of his points than grouping them together on just a single slide. He uses his slides a simple (but powerful) backdrops to support one message each.
• Picture Superiority
  Steve Jobs uses extremely powerful visual slides with just one word or short headline. He uses the slides as a backdrop to support his words — and not the other way around. He only uses high resolution photography, not clipart. Jobs understands that ideas are better remembered when they are presented with an image and his slides are a reflection of that knowledge.
• He dresses up numbers
  Jobs gives meaning to numbers by putting them into a context we can all understand. Instead of talking of Giga Bytes when he discusses storage capacity, he talks about the number of songs a device can hold. He always breaks down numbers to make them more visual.
• He makes his own metaphors
  Steve Jobs creates his own analogies and metaphors to put his information into a context that people understand:
  • “Using Keynote is like having a professional graphics department create your slides.”
  • “AppleTV is like a DVD for the 21st Century.”
  • “Genius Mixes is like having a professional DJ mix songs in your iTunes library that go well together.”
• He reveals a holy smokes moment
  Steve Jobs does this like nobody else! Like the writer of a great novel, he never reveals the entire plot on the first page. Rather, he creates moments that leaves everyone in the audience in awe. When he introduced the MacBook Air, for example, he unveiled the product by pulling it out of an envelope to demonstrate just how thin this new computer really was. It’s moments like these that everybody remembers.

Third: Jobs Refines and Rehearses

• He masters stage presence
  63% of the impression that you leave is based on non content related factors, like body language, gestures, and verbal delivery. Jobs uses his body and face to deliver his story:
  • Eye Contact
    Even when Jobs is demonstrating a product, he only pays brief attention to the navigation of it, and then immediately returns to eye contact with his audience.
  • Open Posture
    Jobs very rarely stands behind a podium. There is nothing between him and the audience to create a more intimate setting, even in large venues.
  • Hand Gestures
    Scientists have found that complex thinkers use complex gestures. Jobs seems to know that this increases the audience’s confidence in the speaker and uses big, clearly identifiable gestures.
• He practices, practices, and practices…
  Steve Jobs rehearses over many hours, days, and weeks. He expects excellence from himself and those around him. He takes nothing for granted. Every slide he uses is written like a piece of poetry…and he carefully practices to deliver it as such.

After a close to one hour presentation, Carmine summed up the presentation with the following words:

“Have fun and genuinely enjoy your presentations!”

Great advice, because your own enjoyment in your presentation will come across as passion and enthusiasm. And those are the type of emotions that will lead your audience to action.

Thanks again, Carmine and Sliderocket!

As a presenter, I’m always looking for some items that can make presentation more memorable. Here is an item I just found that could come in handy as a prop during your presentations: Bucky Balls.

Watch the video below to see the amazing magnetic toy you can’t put down:

Bucky Balls are available at Amazon.com.

Here is a funny take on mind mapping by Lunchbreath, who admits to having a love-hate relationship with mind mapping:

Check out Lunchbreath’s Photo Stream on Flickr for more of his amazing work.

When I was browsing through Slideshare today, I found this gem. It’s simply too good not to share, because it offers some real solid advice on how to make your PowerPoint slides work for you instead of against you.

Alexei Kapterev gives some solid and practical advice:

• Present to make meaning:

  Without providing the necessary meaning about the subject, why it matters to you, and why it should matter to your audience, your presentation will be kept at a level too abstract to really attract attention. You will make your presentations real when you put your content in the appropriate context through stories and real life examples. That’s when people can relate; that’s when people will give you their full attention.

• Significance leads to Passion attracts Attention leads to Action.

  When you present with meaning, you are presenting with enthusiasm and give significance to your topic. Such passion automatically  will get you attention, which in turn will lead to action in your audience. It becomes easier to guide them to the action you would like them to take.

• Give only 3 to 4 reasons supporting your point.

  It doesn’t really matter, how you structure your presentation, as long as you keep in mind that 3 to 4 discussion points are the most your audience will realistically remember.  A structure that always works is a Memorable Opening and Closing with 3 to 4 arguments in between. Each of these arguments should be supported by 2 to 3 details. This is an easy and practical format to scale your presentation without losing focus of your 3 or 4 main points.

• Less text, more imagery, wild imagery.

  When you design your slides, forget about the words initially. What kind of image could you use to symbolize your message? Just one image that’s powerful enough to convey enough meaning even without words. Then find that image and think of just one word that describes the point you are making. Then put that word on the slide. Just that one word. Less is more.

• Rehearse to get feedback.

  You will never get it right the first time. Rehearse your presentation early and often. If at all possible, rehearse in front of your colleagues, friends, and family to get valuable feedback that will make your presentation all that better.

• Simple Design Rules:

  • One point per slide
  • Few matching colors
  • Very few fonts
  • Photos, not clipart

Whenever you are introducing a new product or idea, you are proposing change. Change, however, is often met with skepticism.

You have to invoke strong mental images in your audience to which they can relate to in a good way, or otherwise your proposed change may not be perceived as positive change at all. Facts and figures may only get you so far here… But once an audience sees your message in a context that translates into a sensory experience, it will literally make sense. As a result, you are bound to get the necessary emotional response that will lead to action.

“People don’t really buy
your product, solution, or idea,
they buy the stories that are attached to it.”

Michael Margolis, author of Believe Me

So storytelling is important and stories can be useful in all aspects of communication, not just presentations and product demonstrations.

How to become a better storyteller in your presentations?

• Actively Listen to Good Stories
  You will find them everywhere… Great stories are what makes the world go around and they are found in large scale as well as on a very small scale. The key is to become a good storylistener. A listener who has a good ear for the words and ways in which a story is delivered. What is the plot? How are the characters described? How is the story chunked and sequenced? Those are all aspects that will make a difference in how a story is being received. Start to tune into those finer details in other people’s stories and your own storytelling will automatically improve.
• Hang Out with Storytellers
  The world wide web is a fabulous place for people of like minds to gather. Drop in to some of the places that cater specifically to storytellers. Places like the International Storytelling Center, the National Storytelling Network, and the Society for Storytelling are great places to find inspiration and information to make you a better storyteller.
• Join a local theater group
  Great storytellers often have a theatrical way in which they deliver their stories. I’m not proposing you should present your next product demonstration in the ways of Othello. What joining a theater group will give you is a greater appreciation for the elements of your voice (volume, intonation, pitch, modulation) as well as the knowledge and skills to better use these elements.

Where to find your stories?

• If you are in a large company, ask your co-workers to tell you the stories they know that relate to your business or industry. If you have access to the founder of the company, even better – ask him or her what made them so passionate to end up starting their company. Look out for those stories that people tell with passion, laughter, and enthusiasm.
• If you are the founder of your own company, take a trip down memory lane. What were the stories that led to the company in the first place? I’m convinced there are many neglected stories worth telling in there…
• Ask your customers and prospects about their issues. What are some of the stories around your field of activity that they are passionate about?
• Look at any area of your business and then chunk up and chunk down. What do you see when you look at the bigger picture? What do you find in the details? Taking different perspectives will often lead you to discover some interesting facts just waiting to be told as a story.

The power of stories doesn’t end with the presentation or product demonstration. There is room for great stories at every step of the sales cycle. I worked for a few companies that provided high quality products that came with an appropriate price tag. As a result, I often had to deal with discussions about the price of our products. I never did it in a direct way. I rather told a story:

What stories are working well for you? Can you find even more to add real life context to your demos and presentations? I bet you can.