Revolutionize lead generation with Point of View Demos (POV Demos). By understanding customer wants, demonstrating innovation, and utilizing storytelling, POV Demos capture attention during investigation. Through evangelizing or differentiating approaches, vendors showcase unique perspectives and drive change. Unlock the power of your POV Demo to build a thriving sales pipeline.

Crafting a Compelling Point of View Demo: Engaging Potential Customers with POV Demonstrations

Product demonstrations can be very productive lead generation tools if used the right way. And yes, I'm talking about utilizing a Point of View Demo (POV Demo) outside a sales cycle, before one even starts. Why? Because this is the best way to capture the attention and mindshare of someone who is doing their own investigation.

Understanding Customer Wants: Aligning the Demo for Maximum Impact

Technical sales veterans generally believe that a product shouldn't be revealed without first understanding what a potential customer wants. When they have that understanding, they can align their POV Demo to that want. That should ensure the demo achieves its mission and moves the sales process forward. If they don't know the want, how can they possibly know what to show? And if they do show something, aren't they taking a huge risk that what they show will miss the mark, losing that potential customer?

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Potentially yes - but I believe the risk of showing nothing outweighs the risk of showing something. And it is very possible to show the right something.

The Risk of Showing Nothing: Why Something is Better than Nothing

Very often, potential customers don't have a specific or well-developed want to articulate. They are investigating to understand what's possible. They're looking for the next great idea. So there is no specific need to which to align a product demonstration. That doesn't mean a technology vendor has nothing to show them. It's just the opposite. Vendors exist to reveal the next great idea and demonstrate what is possible.

Unveiling Your Point of View: Demonstrating Innovation and Possibilities

Every technology vendor has a Point of View Demo on the market or category in which they operate. Either that category exists, and they've got a better approach to solving the problems associated with that category, or they've created the category themselves and need to tell the market about it. And this is what potential customers are most interested in - what you as a vendor represent; the innovation or next great idea you bring to the world. When those people are investigating and educating themselves, that's what they want to see. This is how a product demonstration becomes a powerful lead generation tool.

The Power of Storytelling: From Words to Interactive POV Demos

Marketing teams put a tremendous amount of effort into explaining a technology vendor's point of view in words and sometimes pictures on their website. Maybe they insert a screenshot or two to add some credibility. But what someone that comes to their website wants to see is how the product actually does it. They want the vendor to tell their story of why they built what they built and why it's awesome. That's the Point of View Demo.

Evangelizing vs. Differentiating: Showcasing Your POV Demo

There are two ways to frame this demo, based on the category the vendor is in and their place in the market. The first is the Evangelizing POV Demo. When a vendor is attempting to create a category or a new spin on an existing category, they need to evangelize to the market as to what that category is and why it's important in the first place. They then need to make a connection from this newly explained category to the market so that potential customers understand why they need it and what they'll get from it.

The Second Approach: Differentiating POV Demo

The second way to frame the vendor's Point of View Demo is the Differentiating POV Demo. This applies when the vendor is working in an established category, one in which the understanding of the category is basically the same across most of the target audience. The audience is also probably familiar with the top vendor in the space. Here the vendor needs to clearly demonstrate what they do that is different or better.

Convincing Potential Buyers: Overcoming the Resistance to Change

Because it's an established category, it's a good bet that every potential customer is struggling with the same set of major challenges AND already has some way of dealing with them. So the trick here for the vendor is to convince the potential buyer to CHANGE what they're already doing. In many ways, this is more difficult than evangelizing something new. And all the more reason to create a set of Differentiating POV demos, to create the cognitive dissonance needed to get a potential customer's attention.

Unlocking the Power of Your POV Demo: Building Excitement and Interest

I don't know any tech vendor that doesn't want to build a bigger sales pipeline and reach more potential buyers. But most vendors hide their greatest lead generation tool behind a "Request a Demo" button on their website. A button that most visitors who are doing their own investigation hesitate to push. Giving those same visitors your story in the context of your product through an interactive Point of View demo is a much better way to build excitement, interest, and ultimately grow the pipeline. That technology is here and now and easy to use. Don't miss the chance to capture another visitor.