Opinions expressed by Digital Journal contributors are their own.
For SaaS sales teams, one of the most powerful tools in the arsenal is the product demo. This is especially true in an era when customers increasingly prefer “self-service” for making their software decisions, rather than relying fully on sales rep interactions.
B2B SaaS demos can be especially useful for persuading potential clients, often achieving a 10 to 30% conversion rate. The opportunity to actually show the value of software in action can be a powerful influencer in the decision-making process.
Of course, not all sales demos are created equal — and the industry is starting to undergo a variety of changes. I recently had the chance to speak with Yoav Vilner, CEO of Walnut, a company that helps SaaS brands create interactive, personalized product demos. As his insights reveal, there is still ample room for evolution in the way SaaS teams approach demos.
A Challenging Market
Sales reps currently face a challenging market, with tech sector layoffs often resulting in smaller teams with smaller budgets — as well as prospective clients who are often looking for the cheapest, rather than best options. While Vilner recognizes these as serious challenges, he also notes that the situation presents opportunities for sales reps with the right tools.
“I believe the right tech, when used correctly, can empower reps to minimize these challenges,” Vilner says. “With useful data that is integrated into their CRM systems, creative tools to stand out to their prospects and showcase their products, and even AI-powered automation tools, sales reps can cut through the noise to showcase their unique value to the right people.”
Empowering sales reps to become more efficient is of even greater importance as higher-level decision-makers become more involved in the SaaS buying process.
As Vilner explains, “Unlike in the past, VPs of revenue and finance are becoming increasingly common parts of the sales process. So when you’re pitching your product, you need to keep this in mind and be able to clearly articulate what will be the ROI and the overall value for the company.”
This higher level of involvement has made SaaS demos an even more crucial part of what is often a slow, drawn-out buying process — and it’s also why Vilner believes personalization is key for helping brands stand out.
The Power of Personalization
Many SaaS companies typically rely on one of two extremes for their sales demos. One is to show a pre-recorded video that walks a prospect through the software’s basic features. The user never gets to see exactly how their team specifically might use the software. The other option is to provide a free trial period that essentially throws the prospect into the software to do as much or as little as they like, without much guidance from the rep.
As Vilner notes, however, both of these approaches often underserve prospects by failing to focus the demo experience to their direct needs.
“I think interactive demos are actually the best of both worlds,” he says. “With self-service buying journeys, there is a lot of churn, because it is hard to let buyers really understand the value of the product without ever speaking to your company. Interactive demos let them try the product themselves, but then go through the sales process to truly dig deep into how this product can help them with their specific needs. So while there is definitely a trend of self service, for B2B companies, interactive demos are often a more effective solution.”
Of course, this naturally requires that sales reps come to understand the specific needs of their prospects so they can offer customized experiences that cater to their pain points.
“Because of all the noise and the constant bombardment on prospects by sales reps, there needs to be a huge focus on personalization and being able to approach a person as an individual and make it super clear from the outset that you understand who they are and can provide them with genuine value,” Vilner explains.
Achieving this level of personalization isn’t easy — but through intelligent tracking features, CRM integrations and a true focus on prospects’ pain points during the sales process, sales reps can better understand which features resonate the most so they can tailor the rest of the pitch accordingly. Notably, this is what customers want — 71% of consumers expect personalized interactions from the companies they interact with, and 76% even get frustrated when these don’t occur.
“You absolutely have to know who you are talking to and what their needs are,” Vilner says. “But if you’re using a platform like Walnut and have it embedded on your site, you can track how prospects actually engage with your product demo, so you can understand what areas of your product interest them. Then you aren’t pitching generic features — you’re able to talk to them immediately about what they want to talk about.”
With the help of such tech, even smaller sales teams can have the information they need to make more persuasive and compelling pitches to their prospects.
A Focused Future
Ultimately, Vilner sees both current market challenges and improving demo technology pushing the drive for increasingly focused customization of the SaaS sales demo.
As brands take steps to better understand prospect needs during the sales process, as well as their behaviors when actually engaging with a demo, they will be better equipped to provide a personalized presentation that delivers the most value — and is the most likely to win paying customers.
