One
of the biggest temptations we, as sales people, have is our desire
to take all of our knowledge and information about our product and
'spew' it out before our clients in a way that shows them how
brilliant our software package is and how much we know about it.
Unfortunately, what ends up happening is that we end up confusing
the physician and the office staff by showing too much.
This is a behavior that will invariably end up costing you sales.
In most cases, too much knowledge on a product for a salesperson is
actually a bad thing.
Self-Discipline. A sales person must have
self-discipline and temper his or her product knowledge. The
author of a number of sales books, Tom Hopkins, has said, "Develop
the winning edge; small differences in your performance can lead to
large differences in your results." One of the those "small
differences" you can make is to shorten your demo and to show your
prospects less. If you can show an office staff your system in
20 - 30 minutes, your clients will get the impression that your
system is easy-to-use and will make their jobs easier. Also,
many times "telling" is more powerful than "showing."
The Ideal Demo. It may seem like a
strange concept at first, but once you understand it, you will find
that there will be exceptional features in your
product that you will only briefly touch upon. Additionally, there
will be other unique
features you will not even discuss during the course of your
organized demo.
The two keys to a good software demonstration are determining what
the core features of your product are and then developing a good and
succinct flow around those core features.
The Core Features. Let's say, as a hypothetical example, that
you are preparing to demonstrate your vendor's Pediatric-Specific
EMR to a prospective client. You have identified that the core
features that make your software usable and somewhat unique include:
In this situation, these five bullet points would be your "core"
features and would be the backbone for your demo.
The
Flow. Discovering a way to show your EMR, that
easily flows between those individual "core" features, is a key
to helping a prospective client see the value in purchasing your
software, without getting confused or losing interest along the
way. With this core, you
may decide to develop a demo flow that follows a patient conceptually
through the office. This "flow" might go something like
this:
-
The patient is
checked into the EMR system
-
The appropriate documentation is then
entered through the Pick-Lists
-
The doctor then views the growth charts to monitor
the child's progress
-
After which, immunizations are easily tracked and
administered
-
Near the end of the visit, an e-Prescription is entered digitally
-
An allergy is automatically caught during this
process, preventing a potential lawsuit
-
The doctor checks the patient out
This is just one possible "flow" involving those core features.
Be Flexible. Though it is important to be
simple and succinct during a demo, it is also important to be
flexible enough that other unique features that are "hot
buttons" or "deal breakers" to the doctor and office staff can
be spotlighted during the course of your demonstration.
If you are adequately prepared with a standard 20 - 30 minute
demo, those "hot button" features can easily be plugged into the
appropriate places within the flow of your demo without causing
a distraction or adding a significant amount of time to the
overall presentation.
Your Challenge. Take some time and review
your existing demo for your healthcare software and/or hardware
package. Is your demo too long? What are the core
features for your product? How can you improve the flow of
your demo? What can you completely remove from your
product demo (and/or just briefly mention) that might currently
be confusing your prospects? Take some time and really
evaluate your current demo processes.
As you practice your existing demos and work to show a little
less - I can confidently tell you that the closing ratio for
your demos will increase dramatically.
From all of us at InvestMed we thank you for being an
InvestMed subscriber and wish you and yours a very happy and safe
2006.
-- Kevin Burdick,
InvestMedLLC.com
February 2006, TOP STORY:
Grassroots Marketing - Working with local Schools
December 2005, TOP STORY:
The Complete
InvestMed '05 - '06 Annual Software Comparison Matrix
