Here’s the thing about product demos: everyone needs them, but most teams have no idea where to start.

Should you record your screen? Hire a video production company? Build something custom? And once you figure that out, how do you make sure prospects actually watch the thing?

According to Gartner’s research on B2B sales transformation, by 2030, 70% of routine sales tasks will be automated. That means the quality of your product demo matters more than ever. It’s doing the heavy lifting while your sales team focuses on high-value conversations.

We’ve helped hundreds of companies build demo strategies that actually work. This guide covers everything we’ve learned about creating product demos in 2025, from choosing your tools to measuring what matters.

Before You Build Anything: Plan Your Demo

Look, we get it. You want to jump straight into building. But the demos that convert start with a plan.

What’s This Demo For?

Seriously, what are you trying to accomplish? Because a demo for sales is completely different from one for onboarding, which is different from one for support.

Sales demos need to show value fast. Your prospect is evaluating multiple solutions. You’ve got maybe 3-5 minutes to prove you’re worth a deeper conversation. Focus on business outcomes, not feature lists.

Onboarding demos assume someone already bought. They need step-by-step clarity. Show them how to get value quickly so they don’t churn in month two.

Product marketing demos are all about what’s new. Your existing customers already know the basics. Show them what changed and why it matters to them specifically.

Support demos solve one specific problem. They’re not trying to sell or onboard. They’re troubleshooting guides that happen to be interactive.

Figure out your goal first. Everything else follows from there.

Who’s Watching This?

Here’s a mistake we see constantly: companies create one “master demo” and send it to everyone.

That demo fails for executives (too detailed), end users (too high-level), and technical evaluators (not technical enough). You can’t be everything to everyone.

Instead, think about:

Who they are: A CFO cares about ROI. An end user cares about daily workflow. A technical evaluator wants to see under the hood. Build different demos for different personas.

What industry they’re in: A healthcare demo should show healthcare examples. An e-commerce demo should show e-commerce use cases. Generic examples make prospects work harder to see how you fit their world.

How technical they are: If they’ve never used a product like yours, start basic. If they’re power users of a competitor, you can move faster and go deeper.

Their role in the decision: Influencers need ammunition to sell you internally. Decision-makers need confidence you’ll deliver. Budget holders need ROI justification. One demo can’t serve all three.

The more specific you get about your audience, the more your demo resonates. As we covered in our guide to demo personalization, customized demos see completion rates up to 40% higher than generic versions.

Map Your Story

Every demo needs a narrative. Not “here’s our features” — an actual story.

The framework is simple: Problem → Solution → Value.

Start with a problem your prospect actually faces. Make it specific. “Managing customer data is hard” is generic. “Your sales team wastes 5 hours a week manually updating CRM records from different sources” is specific.

Show how your product solves that specific problem. Walk through the actual steps. But here’s the key: don’t try to show everything. Pick the 3-5 features that directly address the problem you opened with.

End with the value they get. What changes when they use your solution? How much time do they save? How much revenue do they protect? Quantify it when you can.

The demos that work tell a story prospects see themselves in. The ones that fail are just feature tours with no narrative thread.

Your Options for Creating Demos

You’ve got four main paths for creating product demos. Here’s what you need to know about each.

Screen Recording Tools (Loom, Vidyard)

This is where most teams start. Fire up Loom, record your screen, add some narration, done.

What’s good: You can create a demo in 20 minutes. It’s basically free. Updates take 20 more minutes. Zero learning curve.

What’s not: Nobody can interact with it. You can’t personalize it. You have no idea if prospects actually watched it. It’s passive content that you hope people sit through.

When it works: Simple products, internal training, one-off explanations, quick updates to customers.

Screen recordings work when you need something fast and your product is straightforward. But they’re not really “demos” — they’re narrated videos. Prospects watch them like YouTube content. No exploration, no engagement, no real sense of your product.

Professional Video Production

Some companies go all-in on production quality. Hire a video company, spend weeks scripting and filming, get something that looks amazing.

What’s good: It looks incredible. Perfect lighting, professional editing, consistent branding. Great for your website homepage or a conference keynote.

What’s not: It costs $10,000 to $50,000+. It takes weeks or months. When your product changes (which it will), you’re starting over. And it’s still just a video — no interactivity.

When it works: Major product launches, brand awareness campaigns, conference presentations, investor pitches.

Video production makes sense when you need maximum polish for a high-stakes moment. But for ongoing sales? The cost and inflexibility kill you.

Interactive Demo Platforms (Walnut, Storylane, Navattic, Supademo)

This is where demo creation gets interesting. These platforms let you build clickable, explorable demos that feel like using your actual product.

What’s good: Prospects can actually click around and explore. You can personalize demos for different companies or use cases. You get real analytics on what prospects engage with. Updates are simple. Your whole team can create demos without engineering help.

What’s not: Monthly subscription cost (usually $500-$2,000+/month depending on the platform). Some learning curve to get started. Initial setup takes more time than a quick screen recording.

When it works: B2B SaaS, complex products, sales teams that need personalization, companies that want engagement data.

For most B2B teams, this is the sweet spot. You get the engagement of a live demo with the scalability of recorded content. And you can actually track what’s working.

Building Custom In-House

Some companies decide to build their own demo environment.

What’s good: Total control. Exactly what you want. No vendor lock-in. Deep integration with your existing systems.

What’s not: Expensive to build. Requires ongoing engineering resources. Slow to update. Your engineers are building demo infrastructure instead of improving your actual product.

When it works: Massive scale, unique requirements no platform can meet, specific compliance needs, or a very technical product that needs custom handling.

Unless you’re an edge case, building custom rarely makes sense. The engineering time to build and maintain a demo platform typically exceeds the cost of subscribing to one. And platforms are constantly improving while your custom solution stays static unless you keep investing in it.

Our Take

For most B2B companies, interactive demo platforms are the move. They balance quality, flexibility, and cost better than the alternatives.

Screen recordings are fine for quick internal explanations, but they don’t work for sales. Video production is too slow and expensive for ongoing use. Custom development is overkill unless you have very specific needs.

Interactive platforms let you create engaging demos that actually move deals forward. That’s what matters.

How to Actually Create Your Demo (Step-by-Step)

Alright, you’ve picked your approach. Now here’s how to build something that actually works.

Step 1: Capture Your Product (15-20 minutes)

First, you need to capture your product. Most interactive platforms have tools for this (Walnut’s StoryCapture, for example).

Before you hit record:

Use a real scenario. Don’t just click through menus randomly. Follow an actual workflow someone would use. This makes your demo feel authentic.

Show key workflows, not every feature. You don’t need to demonstrate every button. Pick the 3-5 things that matter most for your story.

Record in HD. Blurry demos look cheap. Use 1920×1080 minimum.

Pro tip: capture slightly longer than you need. It’s easier to trim 20% than realize you missed something critical and need to record again.

Step 2: Edit and Enhance (30-45 minutes)

Raw recordings need work. This is where your demo goes from “captured” to “crafted.”

Add annotations and callouts. Highlight important buttons or fields. Add text explaining what’s happening. Guide attention where you want it.

Blur sensitive information. Even test data sometimes includes stuff you shouldn’t show. Blur usernames, account numbers, or anything confidential.

Add branding elements. Your logo, colors, and fonts should be consistent throughout. This is a professional asset representing your company.

Create hotspots for interactivity. If you’re using an interactive platform, add clickable elements that let prospects explore different paths. Let them choose their own adventure.

The editing phase is where good demos become great. Don’t rush it.

Step 3: Personalize for Your Audience (20-30 minutes)

Here’s where interactive demos pull away from videos: you can customize them for different prospects without rebuilding everything.

Swap company logos. Show their logo instead of a generic one. This takes two minutes and makes a huge psychological difference.

Change example data. If you’re demoing to a healthcare company, show healthcare data. E-commerce company? E-commerce data. Match their world.

Adjust use case focus. Maybe you show different features first depending on the prospect’s role. An admin wants to see user management. An end user wants to see daily workflows.

Tailor messaging. Change titles, descriptions, and CTAs to match the specific prospect’s situation.

With platforms like Walnut’s AI Mode, a lot of this happens automatically. You set up rules once, and personalization applies dynamically. For other platforms, you might need to create separate versions manually.

Either way, personalization matters. According to research in our post on interactive demo ROI, personalized demos convert at rates 40%+ higher than generic versions.

Step 4: Add Interactive Elements (20-30 minutes)

If you’re using an interactive platform, this is where you make it actually interactive.

Clickable hotspots let prospects explore on their own. They can click buttons, fill in forms, and navigate just like in your real product.

Decision branches let prospects choose different paths. “Are you an admin or an end user?” Each choice leads to a different demo experience.

Form fills can capture information while prospects explore. Not aggressive lead gen forms, useful data like “What’s your biggest challenge?” that helps your sales team follow up better.

CTAs should appear at natural decision points. After showing value, “Book a call with our team” makes sense. Random CTAs halfway through feel forced.

Navigation should be intuitive. If your demo has multiple sections, make it easy to jump between them. Don’t force a linear path if your product isn’t linear.

The goal is to feel like using your product, not watching a presentation about your product. As we covered in our guide to interactive demos, interactivity is what separates demos that engage from ones that don’t.

Step 5: Integrate and Distribute (15-20 minutes)

Now you’ve got a great demo. People need to actually see it.

Embed in your website. Your pricing page, product page, and homepage are all candidates. Make it easy for prospects to see your product without talking to sales first.

Share via email. Sales teams can send custom links to prospects. Each link can be personalized for that specific prospect and tracked individually.

Add to sales sequences. Work your demo into your outreach cadence. Maybe day 3: “Here’s a 3-minute demo of how we solve [specific problem].”

Integrate with your CRM. Platforms like Walnut connect to Salesforce and HubSpot so demo views sync automatically. Your AE knows exactly which prospects engaged and what they looked at.

Track with analytics. Every view should be tracked. Completion rate, time spent, features explored, drop-off points — this data tells you what’s working and what’s not.

Total Time Investment

First demo: About 90-120 minutes end-to-end.

After you’ve built your first one and have templates set up: 30-40 minutes for a new demo.

That’s way faster than scheduling, preparing for, and delivering live demos to every single prospect. And it scales infinitely.

Demo Design Best Practices

Here’s what separates demos that convert from ones that don’t.

Keep It Ruthlessly Focused

Nobody wants to watch a 20-minute demo. Actually, nobody wants to watch a 10-minute demo either.

Your target: 3-5 minutes maximum. That’s enough to show value without losing attention.

Show 3-5 key features. Not 10. Not 20. Three to five. The ones that directly solve the problem you opened with. Everything else is a distraction.

One primary goal per demo. Don’t try to sell them on your product AND explain how to use it AND show advanced features. Pick one thing. Build separate demos for other goals.

As we covered in our research on demo length and engagement, completion rates drop dramatically after 5 minutes. Keep it tight.

Tell a Story, Not a Feature List

Bad demos: “Here’s feature A. Here’s feature B. Here’s feature C.”

Good demos: “Here’s the problem you’re facing. Here’s how we solve it. Here’s what changes for you.”

Start with the problem. Make it specific. Use language your prospects use. Show you understand their world.

Show the solution. Walk through how your product actually solves that problem. Real workflow, real steps, real outcome.

End with the value. What changes when they use your solution? Time saved? Revenue protected? Efficiency gained? Make it concrete.

Stories stick. Feature lists don’t.

Make It Interactive

If prospects can’t click and explore, you’re just making a video. That’s fine, but it’s not an interactive demo.

Let prospects click and explore. Don’t force a linear path. Let them discover on their own. Some prospects want to see feature X first. Others want feature Y. Give them the freedom.

Offer navigation choices. “Want to see the admin view or the user view?” Let them pick. “Interested in reporting or automation?” Their choice reveals what they care about.

Include calls-to-action. But make them contextual. After showing ROI, “See pricing” makes sense. After showing a feature, “Book a demo to see it live” works. Random CTAs feel pushy.

Track engagement. Use analytics to see what prospects actually click. The data tells you what resonates and what doesn’t.

Interactive demos give prospects control. That feeling of autonomy increases engagement and conversion.

Personalize When Possible

Generic demos are fine. Personalized demos are better.

Use prospect’s company name. Seeing their own logo in your demo creates an instant connection. It signals “this is for you” not “this is generic content we send everyone.”

Show relevant use case. If they’re in healthcare, show healthcare examples. If they’re in SaaS, show SaaS examples. Don’t make them translate.

Include industry-specific examples. Use terminology from their industry. Reference challenges specific to their market. Show you understand their context.

Reference their specific challenges. If they mentioned a problem in a discovery call, address that exact problem in the demo. This is where integration with your CRM and sales process pays off.

Personalization takes slightly more work. The conversion lift makes it worth it. Walnut’s data shows personalized demos convert 40%+ better than generic ones.

Optimize for Mobile

Here’s a stat that surprises people: about 40% of demos get viewed on mobile devices.

Your prospects are watching on their phone during their commute. Or on an iPad during a flight. Or on their phone in bed before they fall asleep. (Yes, really. People research solutions at weird times.)

If your demo doesn’t work well on mobile, you’re losing 40% of your audience.

Test on multiple devices. iPhone, Android, iPad, whatever. Don’t assume it works. Check.

Ensure touch-friendly navigation. Buttons need to be big enough to tap. Interactions need to work with touch, not just mouse clicks.

Keep text large and readable. What looks fine on your 27-inch monitor might be unreadable on a phone.

Simplify for smaller screens. You might need a slightly different flow for mobile. That’s fine. The demo that works great on desktop might need adjustment for mobile.

Mobile optimization isn’t optional anymore. It’s table stakes.

Templates and Examples by Use Case

Different goals need different demo structures. Here’s how to approach common scenarios.

Sales Demo Template

Goal: Move a prospect from “researching” to “talking to sales.”

Structure:

• Hook (15 seconds): The specific problem they’re trying to solve
• High-level solution (45 seconds): Your approach to solving it
• Key features (2-3 minutes): The 3-5 things that matter most
• Social proof (20 seconds): Quick stat or customer quote
• CTA (10 seconds): “Book a call” or “See pricing”

Total: 3-4 minutes

Product Tour Template

Goal: Help new users understand what’s possible.

Structure:

• Welcome (10 seconds): “Here’s what you’ll learn”
• Navigation overview (30 seconds): How to get around
• Core workflows (2 minutes): The 3 things they’ll do most often
• Next steps (20 seconds): Where to go for more help

Total: 3 minutes

Feature Launch Template

Goal: Get existing customers to try a new feature.

Structure:

• What’s new (15 seconds): The feature you’re launching
• Why it matters (30 seconds): The problem it solves
• How to use it (90 seconds): Quick walkthrough
• Benefit recap (15 seconds): What they gain
• CTA (10 seconds): “Try it now”

Total: 2.5 minutes

Onboarding Demo Template

Goal: Get new customers to first value fast.

Structure:

• Welcome (15 seconds): “Let’s get you set up”
• Setup steps (2 minutes): The minimum viable setup
• First success (60 seconds): Complete one valuable task
• Where to go next (20 seconds): Resources for going deeper

Total: 3 minutes

Industry-Specific Examples

Your demo should feel native to the prospect’s industry. Here’s what that looks like in practice:

SaaS platform demo: Show team collaboration, integration with tools they already use, scalability as they grow.

Fintech product demo: Emphasize security, compliance, accuracy. Show real financial data (anonymized). Reference regulations they care about.

Healthcare solution demo: HIPAA compliance front and center. Show patient data handling. Reference healthcare-specific workflows.

E-commerce tool demo: Focus on conversion optimization, cart abandonment, customer lifecycle. Show real e-commerce scenarios.

The examples and language you use should match the prospect’s world. Don’t make them work to see how you fit.

Measuring Demo Performance

If you’re not tracking demo performance, you’re flying blind. Here’s what matters.

Key Metrics to Track

Demo completion rate: What percentage of people who start your demo actually finish it? Anything above 60% is solid. Above 70% is great.

Low completion rates mean something’s wrong. Too long? Boring? Not relevant? The data tells you where to dig in.

Time spent in demo: Are people spending the full 3 minutes? Or dropping off after 30 seconds?

Track average time and look at the distribution. If most people watch 15 seconds and bounce, your hook isn’t working. If they watch 90% and then leave, your CTA might be weak.

Feature interaction rate: Which parts of your demo do people actually engage with? Which sections get ignored?

This tells you what prospects care about. If everyone clicks on your pricing calculator but nobody touches your integrations showcase, you know where the interest is.

Drop-off points: Where exactly do people leave? Is there a specific moment where you lose them?

Maybe there’s a confusing section. Maybe you front-loaded too much detail. The drop-off data shows you where to fix things.

Demo-to-trial conversion: If your demo includes a CTA to start a trial, what’s the conversion rate?

This is your north star metric. Everything else is interesting, but this is what matters. If people watch your demo but don’t convert, something’s broken.

Demo-to-close rate: For sales-assisted deals, how many people who viewed a demo eventually closed?

Compare this to your overall close rate. If demo viewers close at higher rates, your demo is working. If they close at lower rates… Houston, we have a problem.

Track these metrics in your demo platform. Most good platforms (including Walnut) have built-in analytics dashboards. If you’re using a basic tool, you’ll need to instrument tracking yourself.

Optimization Tactics

Once you’ve got data, use it to improve.

A/B test different flows. Try different opening hooks. Test different feature orders. Change up your CTA. Let the data tell you what works.

Shorten low-engagement sections. If people skip over something, it’s not valuable. Cut it or make it optional.

Add interactivity to drop-off points. If you’re losing people at minute 2, maybe that section is too passive. Add a clickable element or decision branch to re-engage.

Personalize based on segments. Maybe enterprise prospects engage with different features than SMB prospects. Build slightly different demos for different segments.

Optimization is ongoing. Your first demo won’t be perfect. Use data to make it better every month.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

We’ve seen hundreds of companies build demos. Here are the mistakes that kill performance.

Mistake #1: Making It Too Long

If your demo is longer than 5 minutes, it’s too long. Full stop.

“But we have so much to show!” Great. Build multiple demos. Don’t cram everything into one marathon experience.

Attention spans are short. Respect them.

Mistake #2: Being Too Generic

Generic demos don’t convert. They’re fine. They’re acceptable. But they don’t move the needle.

The demos that convert feel personal. They use the prospect’s company name. They show relevant use cases. They address specific challenges.

Personalization doesn’t take much more effort, especially with modern tools. But the impact is massive.

Mistake #3: Showing Too Much Complexity

Your product might do 50 things. Your demo should show 3-5 of them.

Focus on the features that solve the core problem. Everything else is noise.

Complexity confuses. Confusion kills conversion. Keep it simple.

Mistake #4: Letting Demos Get Outdated

Your product changes. Your demos need to change too.

Nothing screams “we don’t have our act together” like a demo showing a UI that doesn’t exist anymore or features you deprecated six months ago.

Set a calendar reminder to review your demos quarterly. Update them when your product changes significantly.

Tools like Walnut’s EditsAI make bulk updates easy. For other platforms, you might need to manually rebuild. Either way, do it.

Mistake #5: Not Using Analytics

If you’re not tracking who views your demos, how long they watch, and what they engage with, you’re missing the entire point of modern demos.

That data tells you what’s working and what’s not. It tells your sales team who’s actually interested. It tells product marketing which features resonate.

Use it.

Mistake #6: Forgetting the CTA

What do you want prospects to do after watching your demo?

Book a call? Start a trial? See pricing? Talk to sales?

Make it obvious. Make it easy. Don’t assume they’ll figure it out.

A demo without a clear CTA is a missed opportunity.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to create a product demo?

Your first demo takes about 90-120 minutes end-to-end if you’re using an interactive platform. This includes capturing your product (15-20 minutes), editing and enhancing (30-45 minutes), adding personalization (20-30 minutes), creating interactive elements (20-30 minutes), and setting up distribution (15-20 minutes).

Once you’ve built your first demo and have templates set up, subsequent demos take 30-40 minutes. Screen recordings are faster (20-30 minutes) but less effective. Video production takes weeks and costs significantly more.

What tool should I use to create product demos?

For most B2B SaaS companies, interactive demo platforms offer the best balance of quality, flexibility, and ROI. If speed is your priority, Supademo is fastest. If you need personalization at scale, Walnut’s AI Mode handles that automatically. For technical products with developer involvement, Navattic provides granular control. For sales-focused workflows, Storylane integrates well with CRM systems.

Screen recording tools like Loom work for quick internal explanations but don’t provide interactivity or engagement data. Video production is too slow and expensive for most ongoing sales use cases. Custom development rarely makes sense unless you have unique requirements that existing platforms can’t meet.

How often should I update my product demos?

Review your demos quarterly at minimum. Update them immediately when you make significant product changes, redesign your UI, or launch major new features.

Outdated demos damage credibility. If prospects see a demo that doesn’t match your current product, they’ll question whether you have your act together. Tools like Walnut’s EditsAI make bulk updates easier, but even manual updates are worth the effort.

Set calendar reminders to review your demo library every three months. Check for outdated screenshots, deprecated features, or UI elements that have changed.

Should demos be interactive or video?

Interactive demos typically outperform videos for B2B sales. Videos are passive — prospects watch them like YouTube content. Interactive demos let prospects click, explore, and discover on their own, which creates higher engagement and better conversion rates.

That said, videos work fine for certain use cases: internal training, quick updates to existing customers, or one-off explanations where you need something in 20 minutes. For sales demos that need to move prospects toward a decision, interactive wins.

The engagement data from interactive demos is also valuable. You can see exactly which features prospects explored, how long they spent in different sections, and where they dropped off. Videos don’t give you that insight.

How do I measure demo success?

Track these key metrics: completion rate (what percentage finish your demo), time spent (how long they engage), feature interaction rate (which sections they explore), drop-off points (where they leave), and conversion rates (demo viewers who start trials or book calls).

Aim for 60%+ completion rates. Above 70% is excellent. For time spent, you want most viewers watching at least 70% of your demo content. Track which features get the most interaction to understand what resonates.

Most importantly, compare conversion rates for prospects who viewed demos versus those who didn’t. If demo viewers convert at higher rates, your demo is working. If not, something needs to change.

Can I use one demo for all prospects?

You can, but you shouldn’t. Generic demos are fine. Personalized demos are significantly better.

Different personas care about different things. An executive needs to see ROI and business impact. An end user needs to understand daily workflow. A technical evaluator wants to see integrations and security.

Different industries have different contexts. Healthcare prospects need to see HIPAA compliance. E-commerce companies want to see conversion optimization. SaaS teams care about scalability.

Create 3-5 core demos for your major segments rather than one “master demo” that tries to be everything. The conversion lift from personalization is worth the extra effort.

How long should a product demo be?

Three to five minutes maximum. Anything longer loses attention.

Focus on 3-5 key features that directly solve the core problem. Don’t try to show everything your product does. Build separate demos for different use cases rather than cramming everything into one long experience.

Research shows completion rates drop significantly after 5 minutes. If you’re regularly hitting 6, 7, or 8+ minutes, you’re losing prospects. Cut ruthlessly. Keep only what drives your core message.

Do I need different demos for different stages of the buyer journey?

Yes. Different stages need different content.

Early-stage prospects need high-level demos that establish value and differentiation. They’re still figuring out if they even need a solution like yours. Show business impact, not feature details.

Mid-stage prospects evaluating vendors need demos that show how you specifically solve their problems. More detail, more customization, more proof points.

Late-stage prospects need demos that address specific concerns and objections. Maybe they need to see your security features in depth. Maybe they need to understand your implementation process.

One demo can’t serve all three stages effectively. Build a library of demos for different moments in the buyer journey.

Should I gate my demos behind a form?

It depends on your sales motion and deal size.

For high-touch enterprise sales, gating makes sense. You want to know who’s interested so your sales team can follow up. The friction of a form is worth it for qualified leads.

For product-led growth or lower-touch sales, ungated demos often perform better. Let prospects explore freely. Capture lightweight information (like email) at natural moments rather than forcing a form upfront.

Test both approaches and track conversion. Some companies find ungated demos generate more top-of-funnel activity but lower-quality leads. Others find forms reduce volume but increase quality. Your mileage may vary.

Can demos replace live product demonstrations?

Not entirely, but they dramatically reduce how many live demos you need.

Demos handle qualification and early-stage education. Prospects can explore on their own time, understand your value proposition, and self-qualify before ever talking to sales.

Live demos are still valuable for complex products, custom solutions, or late-stage conversations where prospects have specific questions. But instead of doing live demos for every lead, you’re doing them for qualified, educated prospects who are genuinely ready to buy.

This is more efficient for your sales team and better for prospects who don’t want to sit through a 60-minute call before they even know if you’re relevant.

What should I include in a sales demo versus an onboarding demo?

Sales demos focus on value and differentiation. Show why someone should buy. Highlight business outcomes, competitive advantages, and ROI. Keep it high-level and business-focused. Three to five minutes. End with a CTA to book a call or start a trial.

Onboarding demos assume someone already bought. Focus on getting them to value quickly. Show step-by-step setup, walk through core workflows, and make them successful fast. More detail, more tactical, more “how-to” than “why.” Five to seven minutes is fine here because they’re already customers.

Different goals, different content, different structure.

How technical should my demo be?

Match your audience. If you’re demoing to developers or technical evaluators, show the technical details they care about. API documentation, integration options, data models, security architecture.

If you’re demoing to business users or executives, skip the technical depth. They don’t care about your tech stack. Show business value and user experience.

Create multiple versions for different audiences rather than trying to find a middle ground that satisfies nobody. A demo for a CTO should look completely different from one for a VP of Sales.

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Ready to Create Demos That Actually Convert?

Creating product demos isn’t hard. Creating demos that move deals forward takes more thought.

The companies that win with demos share a few traits: they’re ruthlessly focused, they personalize when possible, they track what matters, and they continuously optimize based on data.

If you’re still doing live demos for every single prospect, you’re working too hard. If you’re still using basic screen recordings, you’re leaving conversion on the table.

Interactive demos that let prospects explore on their own time, personalized to their specific situation, tracked so you know what’s working — that’s where B2B sales is headed.

Want to see what a personalized, interactive demo looks like? Check out Walnut’s demo environment or talk to our team about building a demo strategy that actually drives pipeline.