Demos and Proofs of Concept
The demo is where technical sales succeeds or fails — and where the most common, most fixable mistake happens. Given a chance to show the product, the enthusiastic builder gives the full tour: every feature, every capability, in order. The customer, who came with one specific problem, sees a wall of things that don't obviously address it, and disengages. A great demo does the opposite: it shows how the product solves this customer's problem, and almost nothing else. Getting demos and proofs of concept right is one of the highest-leverage skills in technical selling.
The demo is where technical sales succeeds or fails — and where the most common, fixable mistake happens: the enthusiastic builder gives the full feature tour, and the customer, who came with one problem, disengages. A great demo shows how the product solves *this customer's* problem, and almost nothing else. Demos and POCs are among the highest-leverage skills in technical selling.