Conducting product demonstrations (whether in-person or virtually) is a common sales strategy, but not everyone does it right. Recently, a colleague shared this real-life example of what not to do:
An inside sales rep (my colleague's wife) was teamed up with an account executive to conduct an online demonstration for a new prospect. The account executive took the lead and the sales rep was supposed to actually demonstrate the product. Forty-five minutes after the presentation began, the sales rep was still waiting for her opportunity to explain the product, but the account executive would not stop talking about their company.
To add insult to injury, the demo had been scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on a Friday afternoon. At five o'clock, the prospect interrupted the sales rep and said, "I have a six o'clock appointment and have to go. Send me information." The demo was done.
Attempts to schedule a second appointment to actually demonstrate the product failed, and the account executive eventually gave up on the prospect.
