LOUIS NICHOLE MUSIC

(1) List all the steps the uninitiated must go through to understand how badly they need your device’s capabilities. Then figure out as simple an exercise as you can to demonstrate each capability. Make each exercise distinctive, and give it a name that’s easy to remember. Use as much color as possible.
(2) List every question and objection that you’re likely to encounter during a demonstration.
(3) Arrange the capability demonstration and the question/objection answering into a smooth-flowing sequence.
(4) Practice your new technique on anyone you can pull off the street. Check and re-check your lines: discard those that don’t work well, and add new ones that do. The successful client-participation demonstration is organized so that each step is simple and leads smoothly to the next, yet the prospect feels a constant challenge and a growing sense of excitement. Keep the pace fast. Brush over minor details. And encourage, encourage, encourage:
“Terrific. You’re catching on unusually fast.”“She’s a whiz on this machine, Mrs. Lopez.”
“You’re learning the keyboard in about half the time it took me, Mr. Leach.”
“It only seems tough because it’s new, but you’ll be delighted at how easy this machine is to operate when you know it.”
“You’re a quick learner, Miss Ellison—it must have taken me nine tries before I got that move down as well as you already have it.”
“No—reaHy-—-you’re doing great. Everybody has a bit of a problem here at first.”
“That’s right—keep moving. We’re just taking a fast overview now. Later we’ll smooth out every detail.”
“Everybody does that at first. Don’t worry about it. This is a rugged little machine we’ve got here.”
“Okay now—before you switch it on—I want you to promise to make lots of mistakes. If you don’t, I’m going to feel very dumb because I sure goofed up a lot the first time I sat down with this machine.”
Take the frustration and pressure out, put the fun and relaxation in, and you’ll be successful with client-participation demonstration. When you’re confident of your new technique, go out and happily involve two, three, or four times as many people in owning your product as you ever did before. Do that and two more benefits will automatically come your way:
(1) you’ll spend less time making each sale because you will have solved the problem of involving people in your offering,
(2) you’ll get more referrals because you will be developing greater rapport with your clients.
But what if you don’t have a product to demonstrate? Perhaps you sell
something that’s built to order, or a service. Can you still use this advanced
demonstration technique? And will it increase your sales?
You can, and it will. In fact, the more intangible your offering is, the more you need your clients actively participating in learning how it will benefit them—and the more you need your imagination working to make that happen.