Businesses today face a difficult task in trying to engage and capture an audience that is bombarded with information and options. This is why the formula for successfully closing a deal today is personalization and efficiency. These have now become non-negotiables when it comes to customer engagement. 

Demo automation tools are helping businesses reach their target audience and streamline their sales process. Interestingly, the growing importance of these elements is mirrored in the expanding market for demo automation tools, which is projected to reach $2.1 billion by 2026. Among the various options available, Consensus demo automation software is the longer-established offering. 

In this blog, we're going to delve into what sets Consensus apart, exploring its unique functionalities and how they can align with your business needs.

The evolution of demo automation tools

The journey of demo automation tools has been a remarkable one, marking a significant shift in how businesses present their products. From the early days of manual, time-consuming demonstrations to the sophisticated, streamlined processes we see today, demo automation has continuously evolved to meet the growing demands of a digital-first world.

This evolution has been driven by the need for efficiency, personalization, and scalability in sales and marketing strategies. Modern demo automation tools have risen to this challenge, offering solutions that save time and enhance the quality of interactions with potential customers.

What is Consensus demo automation tool?

Consensus software is a specialised platform designed to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of sales demonstrations. It stands out in B2B sales by offering a unique approach to demo automation, primarily focusing on video demos. This tool is tailored to assist presales and sales teams, highlighting the Consensus strength in engaging prospects effectively, especially in scenarios between meetings.

Which teams use Consensus and for what?

The Consensus platform is a versatile tool that finds its application across various teams within an organisation, each leveraging its capabilities to meet specific goals and objectives.

1. Sales Teams

Sales teams use Consensus to deliver personalised product demonstrations to prospects. By automating the demo process, they can focus more on closing deals and less on the logistics of demo preparation.

2. Marketing Teams

Marketing professionals utilise Consensus for creating compelling, customised demos that can be used in campaigns to attract and engage potential customers. This tool aids in generating qualified leads and improving conversion rates through targeted marketing strategies, showcasing Consensus marketing examples to attract and engage potential customers.

3. Channel Partners

For businesses that rely on channel partners, Consensus offers a rapid and efficient way to onboard and enable these partners. By providing automated, customisable demos, channel partners can quickly become familiar with the products they are selling, ensuring they are well-equipped to represent the brand effectively and drive sales.

4. Product Teams

Product teams use Consensus to create detailed demos that highlight the features and benefits of their products. This is particularly useful for complex products that require an in-depth explanation of functionalities.

What are the key features of Consensus?

Consensus is equipped with a suite of powerful features designed to revolutionise the way businesses engage with prospects through demos.

• Personalized Video Demos: Single, personalised, and advanced branching options for making consensus narrative much more engaging.
• DemoBoards™ and BuyerBoard™: Customised landing pages and analytics for individual customers.
• Comprehensive Demo Library: Organise, retrieve, and subscribe to demos efficiently.
• Screen Recorder and Demo Player: Capture and deliver digital demo experiences on any browser.
• SNAP Plugin and Merge Links: Simplify demo creation with instant recording and custom link automation.
• Content Mapping: Enhance demo relevance by pairing supporting content with video sections.
• Analytics and Tracking: Qualify leads, monitor video completion rates, and create decision-maker maps.
• Seamless Integration: Integrate effortlessly with popular sales and marketing tools.

How does Consensus work?

Getting started with Consensus software is a straightforward process. Here's a step-by-step guide on how users can sign up and start creating their first demo:

Signing Up:‍

• Visit the official website of Consensus
• Create an Account: Click on  "Sign In" in the top right corner.
• Free trial or freemium offering is not available. 

Adding Users:‍

• Access User Management: Once signed in, admins can go to the gear icon and select 'Manage Users & Access'.
• Manage Users: Here, you can add user licenses, assign different access levels, and disable users as needed.

Uploading Content:

• Prepare Your Content: record and gather the video content you want to use, such as existing videos, screen recordings, or webinars.
• Upload Videos: Navigate to the Demo Management section and use the Demo Wizard to upload your videos.

Building Demos:

• Use the Demo Wizard: Found in the Demo Management section, the Demo Wizard helps you combine videos into demos.

Choose Demo Type:

• Single Video Demos: Consists of one video.
• Standard Demos: Include multiple videos with branching logic.
• Snap Demos: Quick screen recordings made with the Snap browser extension.
• Add Documents: Attach related documents to any demo for additional context.

Sharing Demos via Distribution Options

• Personalized DemoBoard links.
• Embedding on your website.
• Social media channels.
• Email or integrations like Salesforce.
• Receive analytics on who viewed your demos and what parts they watched.

What are the benefits of using Consensus?

Let's explore how Consensus demo automation software can transform your sales and marketing efforts:

Shorten Sales Cycles: Imagine cutting your sales cycle in half. That's what Consensus can do. It educates and qualifies your buyers through interactive video demos, allowing your sales team to zero in on the hottest leads. 

Empower Your Channel Partners: Consensus isn't just for your internal team. It arms your channel partners with on-brand, compelling demo content. This ensures that your message stays consistent and powerful, no matter who's delivering it, keeping your partners on top of their game.

Increased Leads capture: With Consensus, your interactive videos do more than just inform; they're a lead-generating powerhouse. By embedding lead generation CTAs, you can capture up to four times more leads than standard landing pages. That's a game-changer in any lead generation strategy.

Give Time Back to Your Presales: Presales often find themselves bogged down with repetitive demo tasks. Consensus changes this by automating these processes, effectively giving back over 300 extra selling days a year to your team. This newfound time can be spent on more strategic, value-driven activities.

Gain Insight into Customer Preferences: Consensus tracks how viewers interact with your demos, providing a window into their preferences and interests. This insight is invaluable, helping you tailor your messaging and strategy to hit the right notes with each account.

Which tools does Consensus integrate with?

Consensus offers a range of integrations to enhance its functionality, making it a more powerful asset in sales and marketing strategies. Here's a detailed look:

CRM Integrations:

• Salesforce: Consensus salesforce integration allows users to build opportunities, measure the sales funnel, and analyse data within the CRM environment.
• Microsoft Outlook: This integration enables users to quickly share demo links from their demo library via email.
• Gmail: Similar to Outlook, the Gmail integration allows for the efficient sharing of demo links directly from the user's email.

Sales Engagement Tools:

• Outreach: Users can share demo links within sequences or email templates in Outreach, streamlining the sales engagement process.
• Cadence: This integration allows for the insertion of demos into cadences, templates, and snippets, enhancing sales communication.

Marketing Automation:

• Eloqua: By integrating with Eloqua, Consensus pushes demo qualified leads and tracks performance, aiding in effective marketing automation.

Other Integrations:

• Zapier: The Zapier integration connects Consensus to over 6000+ apps, enabling extensive workflow automation possibilities.
• Paperpile: This unique integration allows users to discover literature in Consensus and import references directly to Paperpile.
• Unpaywall: Users can access open-access full-text PDFs through the Unpaywall integration, enhancing research and information gathering.

What are the top 5 Consensus alternatives?

While Consensus is unique in some terms of demo automation, there are several Consensus alternatives worth considering. Here are the top 5 alternatives, each with its unique features and capabilities:

1. Demoboost

Demoboost stands out with its focus on interactive, guided, and live demos, offering a more engaging and customizable experience compared to Consensus. Demoboost demos are clones of the product letting the viewer touch and feel rather than just see the product. Demoboost integrates seamlessly with most Sales and MerTech platforms, providing advanced analytics and insights. Demoboost supports internal and client collaboration. Last but not least, Demoboost offers demo building and perfecting services as part of their license making it a competitive Consensus alternative for businesses seeking an interactive and analytical approach to demo automation. Read more here: Consensus vs Demoboost.

2. Saleo

Saleo is a very different solution to Consensus. Saleo specialises in live demos while Consensus typically focuses on selling between the meetings. Saleo offers an overlay over the live environment, providing a more authentic and hands-on experience than Consensus's video-based approach. Saleo’s demos are not sharable and don’t provide analytics, which makes them a very different offering from Consensus. Saleo is a great alternative for businesses looking for a more live demo solution. Read more here: Saleo vs Consensus.

3. Navattic

Navattic excels in providing interactive, non-linear product demos without the need for coding, contrasting with Consensus’s video demo format. This platform is particularly beneficial for marketing teams looking to create engaging, self-guided product tours, offering a more dynamic and user-driven demo experience. Read more here: Navattic vs Consensus.

4. Reprise

Reprise focuses on high customization for enterprise-level demo creation, targeting teams with advanced demo creation skills. This makes it a suitable alternative for larger organisations or teams that require detailed, customizable demos, as opposed to Consensus’s more standardised video demos. Read more here: Reprise vs Consensus.

5. Walnut

Walnut offers a codeless platform for creating interactive demos, emphasising ease of use and customization without the need for technical skills. This positions Walnut as an alternative for teams seeking a user-friendly platform to create and manage demos at scale, in contrast to Consensus’s focus on video-based demos. Read more here: Walnut vs Consensus.

Consensus Pricing

Consensus adopts a subscription-based SaaS (Software as a Service) pricing model. It offers a flexible pricing model tailored to the specific needs and scale of your organisation. Here's an overview of how their pricing is structured:

• Starting Price: The base pricing for Consensus begins at $12,000 per year.
• Role and License-Based: The final cost depends on the number of user roles and licenses purchased. 
• Typical Sales Team: For a standard sales team, the annual pricing can go around $25,000.
• Large Enterprises: For enterprises requiring extensive usage and integrations, the cost can exceed $100,000 per year.

As you add more licenses and roles, the pricing adjusts accordingly.

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