The Problem With “Schedule a Demo” Forms

By removing barriers and providing valuable demos, sellers can better engage customers and increase their chances of making a sale. It’s time to prioritize user experience and adapt to the changing expectations of buyers in the tech industry.

Companies need to reconsider their approach to providing product demos. The outdated practice of placing demos behind a “schedule a demo” form only adds unnecessary friction to the buying journey, creates frustration, and will cause you to lose potential customers to your competitors.

Instead, sellers should focus on developing multiple introductory demos that address each prospect’s main motivations or problems. These demos should be short, insightful, and compelling, inspiring potential customers to want to learn more.

Demos Are Killing The Buying Experience

You’re probably tired of going to a website to review some new piece of tech only to find:

1. A lame, generic video overview of what the product does using silly actors, stock photos, and a few stock animations. Value? Zero. Irritation? 10.
2. You have to enter your name, email, company, number of employees, etc. so that you can ‘schedule a demo’.
3. Or, an irritating pop-up chatbot who keeps asking you, “May I help you?” And when you eventually type, “Yes, where can I see a quick demo.” The response? Go back to #2 .

Now imagine going through this or EVERY website during your ‘investigation’ phase of the buying cycle!

Further, imagine a (dystopian) future where you’ll receive drip campaign emails from every single one of these websites.

What Is The Point Of Gatekeeping Your Demo?

Why do companies gate keep their demos behind a ‘schedule a demo’ pop-up form?

A) So competitors can’t see it?

B) It’s so unique and special that it causes uncontrollable euphoria?

C) So you have to give up your email?

D) Techno-sadism is real?

You’ll Lose The Lead Before You Can Nurture It

As an old-school marketer, you might be thinking, “So we can get their email and nurture the lead.”

Fair enough…but, how many people just click off to another competitor who makes it easy for them to see a demo?

If you’re one of the companies or people who do this, consider creating a compelling ‘overview demo’ that would inspire prospects to want to see more and give you their email. Earn it!

Stop putting up barriers to explore. Making buyers give you their email just to see what’s behind the ‘tech curtain’ creates more friction during the buying journey.

And these buyers do not want to be part of your annoying email ‘drip’ campaign. Buyers today are well informed. If they are interested in a demo, they already want to buy and are likely weighing their options.

5 Reasons Why “Schedule A Demo” Forms Are Bad Practice

• It is important to understand that customers are often more knowledgeable and discerning than we might initially assume.
• Instead of requiring a lengthy and comprehensive demonstration, customers are typically interested in seeing if your product can promptly address their immediate problem or need.
• Customers prefer to avoid the hassle of scheduling and attending multiple demos with numerous companies.
• A significant percentage, ranging from 70% to 80%, of software features end up going unused by customers.
• It is crucial to recognize that customers have a wide range of options available to them, and as a result, your product or service may not possess the unique appeal or advantage you might believe.

Make It Easy To Buy From You

In today’s tech-savvy world, buyers expect quick and easy access to information.

By forcing them to schedule a demo upfront, companies risk losing potential customers to competitors who offer more accessible and transparent demo experiences.

Removing these forms and pop-up windows and providing valuable demos upfront can significantly improve the user experience and increase the chances of making a successful sale.

What To Do Instead

• Everyone buys for their own reason. Track the customer journey and understand their ‘single-issue’ motivation.
• Your company developed a product to solve or address multiple problems in the market. So, then develop multiple introductory demos that address each of the main reasons (or motivations) a prospect has that your product solves.
• Make your demos SIC; short, insightful, and compelling. How will you know if you have a SIC demo? By the number of full-demo requests you’ll receive! Plus, you’ve invested thousands if not millions into your product, so why not invest in a series of SIC problem-addressing demos?

Rethink Your Product Demos

Companies should rethink their approach to product demos and prioritize the customer’s needs.

Placing demos behind a “schedule a demo” pop-up and using generic videos or intrusive chatbots creates unnecessary friction in the buying journey. Instead, companies should develop multiple introductory demos that address each prospect’s motivations or problems.

These demos should be short, insightful, and compelling, inspiring potential customers to want to learn more. By removing barriers and providing valuable demos, companies can better engage customers and increase their chances of making a sale.

You can learn more about value-centric selling, creating compelling virtual sales presentations, and having better business conversations in Victor Antonio’s courses on Sales Gravy University.