B2B SaaS Product Demos: 5 tips to close more deals

If you are running growth for a B2B SaaS you are most likely taking part of demos - either at an 1. early stage running them yourself, or later on 2. building out the systems to have sales reps run them more efficiently, while feeding your growth machine with invaluable data points such as attribution, etc.

B2B SaaS sales is about building trust, both in (A) you as a sales rep (B) the company, and (C) the product you are selling. Check out Way of the Wolf by Jordan Belfort that talks more about this.

Depending on what stage your B2B SaaS is at in terms of traction, referrals, product maturity, etc. - that will mean different challenges in A-C to you.

Trust can be built by showing that you are informed, come prepared, are an expert in the area, or simply just a solid person to deal with.

Also, that you are transparent and genuinely care about finding the best solution for the prospect - even if it’s not yours.. #transparencysales

Building a growth machine is about finding patterns that can be put into a repeatable process to not have to re-invent the wheel every time.

This could be things like:

• How are we doing attribution

• How are we running demos

• How are we doing follow-ups

• How are we moving prospects to the next stage

So things that are part of the growth side of your typical sales playbook. To make sales scalable and efficient.

Here are 5 ways to close more demos and run efficient demos if you’re in B2B SaaS:

Attributing demos to the right meeting source - is key to be able to double down on the right growth channels, as well as to know which ones to drop.

An efficient way I have implemented attribution is by making the prospects to the work for me.

Example: Demo attribution for B2B SaaS through a HubSpot form

What?!

Yes, by simply adding a “post book a demo form” that the prospects fill in after booking a time on my calendar link - around 60% of demos are already attributed automatically before the demo takes place. Also, simply asking in the beginning of inbound demos, works quite well.

A cheat code in SaaS sales is to before (or after) a demo: add prospects on LinkedIn.

Add prospects on LinkedIn before demo

This helps a ton with your hit rate (from demo -> deal) as you organically pop up with value adding posts in the prospects LI feeds, post demo. Without having to write endless follow-ups that get lost in the inbox.

This is super charged if you are somewhat active as a creator posting on LinkedIn - or simply an occasional commenter.

Proper discovery is key to a successful B2B SaaS demo, in order to find what challenges the prospects might have, and how your product might help them solve it.

However, discovery takes time. If you are booking 20 min demos - moving discovery to prior the demo is key to be able to come prepared and focus on the value-adding parts where you can position yourself as expert, dive deeper in the demo, and propose a relevant solution during - not in a follow-up after.

Example: Pre-demo questions for B2B SaaS

I have done this by simply having a template email with 5 relevant questions - that moves discovery from the demo - and allows me to focus on moving the deal forward in the meeting. It’s important to highlight the fact that answering is optional - but will benefit them - as we want to be effective with their time.

Approximately 60-75% of my prospects fill this in before the demo - the rest often come much better prepared with a mental picture of what they need, and what questions they will get.

A lot of times, SaaS value offers will be better of presented visually. By using custom screenshots and examples - the prospect will envision what the product will look like and you will stand out from all of the rest.

This is especially powerful if you have a visual part of your value offer, for example, a new GTM tool aimed towards marketers.

B2B SaaS Sales: Generate custom visuals to stand out to prospects

And remember - you need to make it easy to produce the screenshots and examples, otherwise it won’t stick in your sales process. Rather than building everything from the ground up every time, script and use templates.

Well, that defining clear next steps leads to higher conversions - is not a shocker - but I’ve seen this lacking more times than it should.

This is both in terms of:

A) Ending the demo with a CTA - even if things did not go as planned. Share what the process typically looks like to get started. Make the prospect comfortable with the thought of exactly how they will get started.

B) Following-up with defined next steps - I put a CTA in all of my follow-up emails, where I in bold put “Next steps:“ where I repeat what I told them in the end of the demo. It should always be super clear how they get the agreement, sign the agreement, or get onboarded.

Example B2B SaaS Sales: Follow-up email with clearly defined next steps

Don’t leave anything up to chance or the prospect’s interpretation, having to ask you if they would want to move forward. That will be unnecessary friction in between you and a signed deal.

Remember, never end a demo without asking for referrals. Then that will mean x1 demo → gives you new ones. Prospects often know other people in similar industries and roles who are looking for solutions - and can thus do prospecting for you.

Try asking - you will be surprised by how many prospects refer you and curiously ask more questions about the company, etc.

Take your SaaS to the next level by using these 5 tips to nail your B2B SaaS demos. By making attribution easy and moving prospecting to prior the demo - you will get more insights to build your growth engine on. And, by adding prospects on LI, presenting visually, and painting the picture all the way to signed deal - you will stand out from the crowd and have more deals sign.