The only way that the sales process can get implemented is through communication with the customer. Salespeople usually think of this dialogue as sitting in front of the customer and telling the story face-to-face. Being able to see and feel the impact of the conversation, good or bad, provides the best way to adjust tactics midstream if needed. But a complex sale can’t be conducted face-to-face through its entirety.

OPM defines a couple of distinctly different types of interactions: one-way and two-way. Two-way interactions are where both customer and salesperson are involved in conversation in real time. This happens in face-to-face or phone conversation. One-way interactions are just that–sending an email, letter, or fax is one-way. Sometimes, it is acknowledged with a reply, in which case it becomes two-way.

One-way interactions can also be important in the sales process. A customer’s time will always limit the number of face-to-face or phone conversations that are possible, so it is much easier to get material in front of the customer if the interaction is one-way.

Both one-way and two-way interactions can be of high-value to a salesperson, because they make up a key component of any strategic planning process. Top level strategy is always played out in conversation between customer and salesperson, and that conversation happens through interactions.

–Excerpt from OPM: Opportunity Portfolio Management, the upcoming book.

Giving a sales demo is hard work. Giving a really good sales demo is even harder, especially if you don’t know what makes a demo good. A great way to learn how to give good sales demos is to experience some from the buyer’s perspective.

I just sat through a demo that was given to me by a  sales rep from another company. We are looking for some 3rd party solutions and I have been reviewing different options extensively.

At the beginning of the call, the rep told me that he wanted the demo to be as much of an interactive demo as possible. But saying that doesn’t make it so.

The demo was an hour long. And it felt long, because it was clear that the salesperson was reading a script. He was simply following through a tour of all of his product’s features. When I had a question, I had to interrupt him. He would then give a quick answer and launch back into his script. Many of the features he showed me were not even features that I was interested in, and he would have known that if he had taken the time to ask. After all, I was not looking for a description of what their product can do, I needed to know if their product could solve the problems I was trying to solve.

One hour later, I still didn’t know if their product could help me. The salesperson had wasted an hour of his and my time, and I knew little more than I already knew from reading their website. He was no further along in his selling process because he hadn’t helped me further my buying process.

So, if you want to give good sales demos, just ask the customer what they want to see. Know your product inside and out so that you can answer their questions, but don’t just give them a tour. Understand the problems they are trying to solve and then show them how your product can solve those problems.

In OPM, we call these the Probing and Proving phases of the sales cycle. In your early interactions with a customer, most of your efforts should be in Probing them to understand what they are trying to accomplish. Only then can you Prove that your products can solve their problems. You can’t write a script for a good sales demo, because a good sales demo is a conversation with a real person who has a unique set of goals.

Although he didn’t intend it this way, Newton’s law on action and reaction works well when we try to unravel the sales process. The sales process is a reaction to the buying process.

The mantra of “the customer comes first,” leads to the conclusion that the deliberate steps defining the buying process should initiate responses from the salesperson that form the sales process. The OPM Sales Methodology works on the assumption that the sales process is a reaction to the buying process.

If the buyer is concerned, understand the concern and work to eliminate it. If the customer wants to know more, provide the information and explain it. If the customer wants proof, provide the evidence and references to back it up. If the customer wants a better deal, reconstruct the deal and prove that it is better.

Cause and effect, give and take, push and pull, action and reaction—whatever you want to call it, the salesperson has to be adaptable to every nuance of the customer’s process and any change in direction it may take.

–Excerpt from OPM: Opportunity Portfolio Management, the upcoming book.