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Demo During Discovery: A Dangerous Mistake – Lessons From Gap Sell Keenan Episode #56

A Sales Growth Company
March 15, 2023

Pushing a demo during discovery is dangerous. As sales professionals we get excited about the products we sell. We want to show people how great they are, that’s a natural feeling. But if you push too early, you’re going to lose your prospect quick. Remember, this is about them, not you.

 

You know those people that as soon as you meet them they want to tell you about how great they are? About how successful they are, how big their house is, what great school their kid got into, what great vacation they just went on? How many of those people do you enjoy spending time with? For me, that number is 0. It comes of as selfish, braggy, and gross. You run the same risk with clients when you push a demo too early.

The most interesting people in a social setting are the ones that can talk to anyone, and those people are typically great at asking questions to get to know you. That’s the person we want to be. That’s why when we’re doing a discovery we need to make it all about the client, their world, and their problems. If you’re doing a demo during discovery, you need to stop and stop now. Here’s why:

 

Premature Presentation of Solutions

Your objective during a discovery call is to understand your customer, their needs, and their problems. You need to gather as much information as possible in order to provide them with a recommended solution that meets their specific needs. By doing a demo too early (i.e. a demo during discovery) you risk presenting misaligned solutions. This can result in a mismatch between their needs and you solution and a lost sale.

 

Lack of Personalization

Each and every one of your customers is unique. They will have different business problems, different impacts, and different root causes. Your recommended solution needs to be catered to these unique problems. Performing a demo during discovery puts you at risk of presenting a cookie-cutter solution that doesn’t address their specific needs. You’re being product-centric. If you’re providing solutions that are not relevant to the customer – it’s very likely they’re not going to see you as valuable or that you understand them at all.

 

Jumping into a demo too quickly can be too much for some buyers. They may be so early in the buying process that they don’t fully understand what they’re trying to solve. You may lose a buyer quick if you start feature dumping. If it get’s confusing or boring for the buyer because it isn’t relevant to them or what they’re trying to accomplish…poof, they’re gone.

 

In this episode of Gap Sell Keenan, Gabriel realizes why a demo during discovery is a bad idea and Keenan commends him for it. Check it out below, plus more highlights are called out beneath the video.

 

Key Learning Moments:

Never ever do a demo right out of the gate – 8:45

Be very careful with self-diagnosing questions – 11:46

There is no script in Gap Selling – 14:18

The importance of the PIC – 15:48

What problem do YOU solve – 19:19

Ask questions to uncover the potential problems, don’t tell – 21:40

Don’t get happy feet! – 23:37

Put yourself into your buyer’s shoes – 28:25

Gap Selling and Doctor Comparison – 34:19

 

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