{"id":792,"date":"2013-08-06T15:11:54","date_gmt":"2013-08-06T15:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/?p=792"},"modified":"2013-08-06T15:11:54","modified_gmt":"2013-08-06T15:11:54","slug":"six-steps-to-a-successful-small-business-product-demo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/six-steps-to-a-successful-small-business-product-demo\/","title":{"rendered":"Six steps to a successful small business product demo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"smb-tech-trends\"<\/a>Whoever wrote Murphy\u2019s Law \u2013 anything that can go wrong, will go wrong \u2013 must have been doing product demos. If your small business is employing video to showcase how your product works; you have the benefit of retakes until you get everything right.\u00a0 However, there are times when you need to do a live demo \u2013 at a trade show, in your small business office –\u00a0 possibly on a video conference<\/a> –\u00a0 or onsite at a customer or prospect\u2019s offices. Then you not only need to take steps to insure your product functions well; you also need to make sure your presentation is lively, compelling and clear in real time.<\/p>\n

Here are six things to keep in mind when you are planning a product demo:<\/p>\n

Know the product inside out: <\/strong>Knowing your product means more than being familiar with all of its features and functions.\u00a0 Anticipate what questions customers and prospects may have about your product and be prepared to answer them. Also research online what buyers are saying about similar products or yours if it\u2019s already available. Be prepared to address references to unfavorable online reviews or negative customer experiences.<\/p>\n

Understand customer needs:<\/strong> Know as much as possible about your audience \u2013 what are their needs and buying habits. Develop your presentation from the user\u2019s perspective in terms of how the product and specific features\/functions will answer a need, solve a problem or create an opportunity.<\/p>\n

\"product<\/a><\/b>Keep it concise: <\/strong>Have a written script and follow it. It will keep the presentation focused. Your script should be simple and include key points you\u2019ve identified through research that are \u2018need to know\u2019 for your audience. Avoid tech talk, jargon and hyperbole, such as terms like \u201cbest in class\u201d or \u201cindustry leading.\u201d<\/p>\n

Practice: <\/strong>Rehearse your script several times to make sure your presentation flows smoothly and is engaging and has a rhythm to it. Practice in front of several of your small business team members, get feedback and have them ask questions. \u00a0You should rehearse at least three times to make sure everything is right.<\/p>\n

Prepare supporting materials:<\/strong> If you have handouts or a slide presentation to accompany your presentation, finalize the materials a few days before your live demo.<\/p>\n

Trial run: <\/strong>If possible do a trial run at the site where you will be demonstrating the product to make sure all the equipment is working and to test the sound quality. This may be difficult if you are demonstrating a product at a customer\u2019s site but ask if you can.<\/p>\n

We can all learn from each other.\u00a0 Do you a have product demo worst experience<\/i> to share?<\/p>\n

Help us get out the vote for 2013 Small Business Influencer Award <\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Vote-2013-125x125-red<\/a>It\u2019s an honor to be among the nominees for the 2013 Small Business Influencer Awards.<\/a> Voting is underway and continues until September 9. You can vote daily until then.\u00a0 We appreciate your vote!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whoever wrote Murphy\u2019s Law \u2013 anything that can go wrong, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[510],"tags":[637,938,580],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}