Demo scripts

Demo Scripts

Overview

The demo is where deals are won or lost. A great demo doesn't show features — it tells the story of how the prospect's world changes after they buy. Every scene connects a feature to a pain point to a business outcome.

This skill produces three demo variants: the first demo (10 min, discovery- heavy), the technical deep-dive (45 min, for evaluation), and the executive overview (20 min, outcomes-focused).

When to Use

• "Write a demo script for our product"
• "Structure our product demo"
• "Build a demo flow for [persona]"
• "Create a technical deep-dive demo"
• "Write an executive demo overview"
• "Improve our demo conversion rate"

Authoritative Foundations

Force Management's Command of the Message structures the demo around the Value Messaging Framework: each feature shown maps to a Required Capability that the discovery conversation established as critical.

Challenger's Teach-Tailor-Take Control: the demo should teach the prospect something new about their problem, not just show your product. The best demos reframe how the buyer sees their current state.

Varun Anand (Clay) — Reverse Demo. For complex or PLG-hybrid products, flip the demo: the prospect shares screen and solves a real use case live while the rep guides with annotations. Clay used 100+ sessions to reach "a-ha" moments in minutes and improve conversion + product feedback. Load references/reverse-demo-varun.md for the 30-minute structure, pre-call checklist, and 2:1 prospect-control ratio. Pair with customer-marketing → community-selling-varun.md — end calls by onboarding prospects into Slack for peer support.

Peter Cohan — Great Demo! Reverse Demo (discovery variant). When displacing an incumbent, ask the prospect to demo their current system first to surface likes, pain, and unknown gaps — then map your demo to what they showed. Different motion from Clay's prospect-led product session; use in discovery-heavy enterprise deals (meeting-prep). Full playbook: references/peter-cohan-great-demo.md — Great Demo flow, Do Something/Do Again, discovery-before-demo ratio.

Step-by-Step Process

Phase 1: Demo Variant Selection

Variant	Length	Audience	Focus
First Demo	10-15 min	Mixed, discovery first	Pain → Solution → Proof → Next Step
Technical Deep-Dive	45-60 min	Technical stakeholders	Architecture, integration, security, scale
Executive Overview	20 min	C-suite, economic buyers	Business outcomes, ROI, strategic alignment

Phase 2: First Demo Structure

Template: templates/first-demo-script.md — scene-by-scene with talk tracks, screen actions, and interaction prompts.

Phase 3: Technical Deep-Dive

Template: templates/technical-demo-outline.md

Phase 4: Executive Overview

Template: templates/executive-demo-outline.md — outcomes, ROI, risk of wait. Business case numbers → deal-desk business-case template.

Phase 5: Reverse Demo (buyer-led)

Use when the product requires hands-on learning or PLG trial is available.

Step	Action
Pre-call	Email: bring one concrete use case (or co-design in first 5 min)
Handoff	Prospect shares screen; rep provides signup link + Zoom annotations
Session	Prospect drives; rep guides — target first win in ≤30 min
Close	Community/Slack invite before scheduling follow-up

Full playbook: references/reverse-demo-varun.md

Output Format

Demo script document with scene-by-scene breakdown, talk tracks, screen actions, and interaction prompts for each demo variant.

Quality Check

• Every feature shown maps to a discovered pain point
• Discovery recap opens every demo variant
• Talk tracks are conversational, not scripted-sounding
• Interaction points built in (not a monologue)
• Differentiator clearly articulated and provable
• Next steps defined with timeline

Common Pitfalls

1. Feature tour disguised as demo. Clicking through every menu item isn't a demo — it's a feature tour. Show workflows, not buttons.

2. Talking about what, not why. "Here's our dashboard" vs "Here's how you'll see your team's performance in real time — this view alone saved [customer] 5 hours per week." Always connect feature to outcome.

3. No discovery recap. Starting the demo without acknowledging what you learned in discovery tells the prospect you weren't listening.

4. Pitching to one persona in a room of five. The CTO and the VP Sales care about different things. Acknowledge all stakeholders.

5. No clear differentiator moment. If the prospect can't name one thing only you do after the demo, you failed to differentiate.

Execution Artifacts

• references/framework-notes.md
• templates/output-template.md
• scripts/check-output.py
• templates/first-demo-script.md — 10–15 min discovery-led demo
• templates/technical-demo-outline.md — SE deep-dive
• templates/executive-demo-outline.md — Economic buyer overview
• references/reverse-demo-varun.md — Varun Anand / Clay buyer-led demo playbook
• references/peter-cohan-great-demo.md — Great Demo! + incumbent reverse demo

Related Skills

• meeting-prep: Discovery that feeds into the demo
• objection-handling: Address objections that surface during demos
• pitch-deck-builder: The deck that supplements demos
• sales-enablement: Complete enablement package including demo scripts