Top 3 Virtual Sales Tips for Remote Live Demos

If COVID taught us anything (we mean other than how to bake the perfect banana bread), it’s that virtual selling and remote live demos are here to stay. 

Because while in-person sales meetings certainly have their perks (especially when food is involved), virtual selling offers several long-term benefits, including greater efficiency, flexibility, and scalability.

However, mastering the art that is virtual selling is easier said than done. 

And for remote demos to pack a punch, they need to provide an engaging and true-to-life product experience.

But don’t worry. We’ve got your back. 

(Virtually, of course.)

We’ll guide you through the top three ways your remote team can deliver impactful virtual product demos that will leave your prospects wanting more.

What is situational fluency and why does it matter in remote B2B sales?

Before we jump right in, we want to establish a few things. 

Customer needs have dramatically changed in a post-pandemic world. But what does this mean for virtual sales?

Virtual selling offers several perks, especially considering how it helps overcome challenges like aligning schedules and arranging travel plans. 

And with virtual sales, meetings can occur when they are needed. Simple enough, right? 

Well, there’s more to it than that. Now more than ever, remote sales teams need to have situational fluency. 

Essentially, for a sales rep to have situational fluency, it means that they have the credibility, industry knowledge, selling skills, and the overall vibe that buyers expect.

But remember that today’s buyers are more informed than the buyers of yesteryear. They are more empowered in purchasing decisions because they have more access to information. 

The modern buyer doesn’t have time for amateur sellers — they only want to interact with remote sales teams who are well-versed in the business, opportunities, challenges, and situations they faces. 

Time is their most precious commodity. They want direct exchanges with specialists who can offer valuable insights, not generalists who try to capitalize on their charming personalities.

According to the book The Collaborative Sale by Keith Eades and Tim Sullivan, there are five critical components to situational fluency in virtual selling. 

Each plays a significant role for sellers who want to align with the needs and preferences of the modern buyer and sell more effectively.

Situational Knowledge

This is the awareness of a buyer’s circumstances and understanding the implications of their situations based on the seller’s experience or research. 

Mastering this requires knowing all the ins and outs, including thorough knowledge and understanding of the buyer’s industry, trends, key players, problems, challenges or opportunities, and desired results.

Capability Knowledge

Capability knowledge is the need for remote sales teams to focus less on the technical components of their product or service and more on how it is of value to prospects. 

How can these capabilities convert to desired results? How will this solution make life easier for the buyer and their team? 

These are the types of questions you need to ask yourself to understand the value your product could bring your prospect.

People Skills ‍

Prospects are just like us. And they want to be spoken to like a regular person. 

So, while it may be tempting to speak super formally while presenting to company executives, it is essential to remember that people respond better to, and ultimately buy, from other people — not robots. 

Buyers are also far more likely to do business with people they like. That’s why to start a remote live demo on the right note, sales representatives must have good interpersonal skills to appeal to buyers’ intellect and emotions.

Selling Skills ‍

We can’t stress the importance of this enough!

Use training and refresher exercises to brush up on remote sales tips and selling skills. 

These functions include stimulating buyer interest, qualifying leads, identifying buyer needs, diagnosing problems, presenting solutions, conveying value, negotiating, and closing the sale.

Collaborative Attitude ‍

This is the ability to work with buyers to create or enhance solutions. 

Because doing so helps demonstrate that sales reps can act with the buyer’s interests in mind.

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So, how can you make sure you’re ticking off these situational fluency boxes?

Well, virtual product demos are the best way, especially when paying attention to the core element of personalization.

What is a personalized virtual product demo?

Finally — we thought you’d never ask! 

A personalized product demo is a demo that includes not only the prospect’s personal details like their name, company logo, and brand colors, but also focuses on the features or aspects of the product that are most relevant to them. 

From the buyer’s perspective, experiencing a demo that was tailor-made for them is so much more meaningful and impactful than a general one-size-fits-all snoozefest.

Let’s go over how virtual sales teams can meet and exceed revenue targets and win hearts during their next remote live demo.

1. Your prospects aren’t robots

This may seem obvious, but it needs to be said. Over and over again. 

Sales pros must remember they deal with people, not robots. And this fact doesn’t change when it comes to virtual sales. 

You need to show prospects that  you care by letting them feel heard and are being sensitive to their needs.

By presenting the product or service in an engaging and personalized way , virtual sales teams can be more: 

1. Relevant: Focused on improving life for customers

2. Resilient: Believing in a cause bigger than themselves allows them to persist in the face of adversity

3. Revenue–generating: Building deep relationships based on impact and value

These ideals serve as a storytelling base, making your remote demo more riveting and relatable. 

We have no  doubt that your product or service is brimming with features and elements worth geeking out on, but hold that temptation. 

Your virtual product demo aims to make the buyers feel intrigued, not bombarded with facts, figures, and dreaded jargon. 

Intrigue buyers and focus on the features and functionalities that address their specific needs. Remember that whatever is perfect for one prospect may not necessarily work for the next — even if they are in similar industries. 

Create a vision in your pitch by addressing (and empathizing with) their challenges, helping them envision a world without those challenges, and showing how your product or service will help them reach that utopia. 

It’s also important to consider your differentiators during a remote live demo. Your selling proposition must be unique, desirable, and relevant to their needs because this will set you apart from the competition.

2. Incorporate psychological hacks

Don’t worry — we aren’t expecting you to ask your prospects about their childhood or what images they see when presented with inkblots. 

We’re talking about crafting your virtual product demo based on the type of person your prospect is.

There are usually four types of meeting participants, each of whom requires a unique presentation style to make things click:

The Wallflower‍

First up, we have the wallflower. 

The wallflower is reserved and may need prompting with questions or asking for their input to spark a conversation. 

Open dialogue and customized presentations are the best way to connect with them because they need to consistently feel included in the remote demo.

The Questioners‍

You probably guessed it. But just in case, the questioners are the ones that’ll throw questions at you left and right. 

If you know many questions will be asked, make sure you are ready to answer them confidently.

But if their questions are not adding value to the remote live demo or become too disruptive, it may be best to politely ask them to hold questions until the end.

The Combative‍

Get your game face on because these types of demo participants will be your toughest crowd. 

The best way to avoid getting flustered during a virtual product demo is to research beforehand and anticipate potential push-backs. This is especially important if you think the crowd will be difficult to please. 

It’s also a good idea to ask the audience members to hold questions and comments until the end of your remote demo.

The Multitasker ‍

Remember not to take this one personally cuz it’s getting more and more common to see some multitasking during demos. 

When presenting to people using their phones or laptops during the remote demo, you should start your presentation with a bold statement, humor, or question. This helps grab their attention and hook them in — you can keep this momentum going by making the demo interactive and relatable.

 

If all the meeting participants are brand new to you, and you find yourself gauging them for the first time while on the fly- you would quickly need to determine how to get them to nod their heads within the first five seconds. 

If they’re an easy-going crowd, you can engage your audience by pausing between sections to let them ask follow-up questions. Don’t forget to allow enough time for a Q&A at the end of the remote live demo. 

The main point to remember is that this needs to be more like a conversation, not a monologue. Trust is established by being more human and approachable in remote demo presentations. And the product or service becomes easier to remember because of the pleasant experience.

3. Personalize the remote live demo

In the old days, personalizing demos meant doing a series of “find” and “replace” to update names and a few words here and there. 

But this is not enough.

Now, personalized demos, especially for remote sales teams, are about providing an interactive experience that’s unique for each prospect. 

Demos need to be personalized to include your prospect’s company logo, brand colors, and other details. But they also need to be tailored to meet your prospect’s specific interests instead of boring them by presenting features that they have no interest in.

This is critical because personalizing the demo sends the message to your prospects that you took the time to make something just for them. It also shows that you did your homework and understand their unique needs.

Bonus: What not to do during your remote demo

Plot twist: We’ve got another bonus tip for you!

We’ve served many takeaways within the three ways for remote sales teams to deliver impactful virtual product demos. 

But before we wrap things up, we want to give you insights on what NOT to do. 

Check out the seven most common sales demo mistakes and how to avoid them, including remote sales tips on storytelling, customization, prospect profiles, and more. A post worth sharing with the rest of the team (if we don’t say so ourselves).

Using interactive demos to enhance your remote sales strategy

Whether you love it or hate it, it’s pretty safe to say remote sales is here to stay. 

And if there’s one thing we hope you take away from the article, it’s that delivering impactful remote live demos are the key to boosting virtual sales conversions. 

We get that this doesn’t sound like a walk in the park.

But if you use a demo platform (like Walnut), it’s easy to deliver engaging remote sale demos that can be personalized to show only the parts of your demo that are relevant for your specific prospect.

Bottom line: To kill the remote sales game, it’s all about about optimizing remote demo presentations in every way possible.

Virtual product demo FAQs

What is a software product demo?

A software product demo helps potential buyers understand the value and benefits of specific software. 

While software product demos used to be shown using a slide deck or a video, remote demo software platforms like Walnut allow remote sales teams to create personalized and interactive product experiences for each prospect.

What is a personalized remote demo?

A personalized remote demo is a virtual product demo created or customized for a specific prospect. 

This customer-centric demo gives the prospect an experience tailored to them and their needs.

Related reads:

1. What’s a Product Demo? The Full Guide for Sales Teams

2. Product Demos: The Different Options and Their Benefits

3. The Ultimate SaaS Product Demo Checklist

4. The Top 6 Live Product Demo Fails Of All Time

5. How to Create an Interactive Product Demo in 5 Steps

Ready to take your remote product demos to the next level? Book a meeting with us now by clicking that “Get Started” button on the top of the screen.