Plenty of us know how to hold a good conversation and translate those skills to a solid, somewhat engaging software demo when the time calls for it.
But, there are others who really knock it out of the park and leave the audience hanging on their every word. Whether that audience is on the other side of a webcast screen or in front of them in a conference hall, these thespians ensure that every part of their message is heard and filed away mentally in a lasting way. By moving their audience, they not only sell people on their solution but also their own, personal brand.
That standard should be the high benchmark for you and your sales team to follow. Done right, you can have all the charm of Leo in Titanic mixed with the infectious charisma of Wolf of Wall Street. And eventually, if you believe hard enough, you just might get that Oscar after 22 years of trying.
Why It Pays to Be a Movie Star in Your Software Demo
Some people may balk at the idea of Hollywood-style showmanship during a software sales demonstration, but adopting the demeanor of a leading lad or lady does more than put your audience in a familiar mode. There are very real skills associated with classic Hollywood acting methods, and it can benefit you in all areas of sales to know them.
One such method is known as the Meisner technique. It relies on exercises that allow actors to coordinate their behaviors in response to the context of the moment, as opposed to just “reading lines.” As you might imagine, practicing this technique can help you break away from stilted, canned-sounding software demo performances and instead deliver your presentation fluidly while engaging your audience in dynamic ways.
When you and your sales team are able to adopt these approaches to audience engagement, you will be better-equipped to look at your sales activities from a customer’s perspective and tailor your messaging to how they may react to certain scenarios. This level of awareness is not just a nice-to-have anymore, either, because as Entrepreneur says: “Today, the customer experience is more important than ever, and businesses that fail to think about the entire process may miss out on initial or repeat sales.”
Practice Makes Perfect
Another habit that salespeople can co-opt from actors is their dedication to continually improving their craft. No respected actor will consider themselves above taking more acting classes and learning new exercises. Instead, the best actors train and continue to train throughout their careers.
So, too, should sales staff. Because the sales process is always changing and customer expectations are changing along with it, constantly being exposed to new skills and re-mastering old ones is an integral part of modern sales enablement. Sales staff not only get a myriad of audience engagement tools as they study, but they can also gain new perspectives to evaluate their current tendencies and optimize them.
Movie Star Techniques You Can Try on Your Next Software Demo
There are many techniques you can try before your next software demo that don’t require enrolling in five figure acting courses.
Some that we recommend most often relate to improvisation. Improv techniques for sales help you come across as more relaxed and human while helping you weave an elaborate, captivating story.
Another technique that we often teach in our Demo2Win! & SalesTeam2Win! workshops is to break your software demo up into “movie scenes” in order to logically group your main messages and desired emotional effects together. You can see this technique in action and learn it first-hand by registering for a live workshop, or use our 2Win! Bridge software to start earning your sales performance Oscar, just like Leo did, except maybe without the whole Bison heart eating thing.
