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My best demo ever was 17 minutes long.

And I wasn’t racing through it. On the discovery call, we uncovered three major problems the buyer needed to solve. We went deep into knowing the impact those problems were having on their organization and what success would look like for them.

So when we got on the demo, I opened with one slide that recapped those three problems.

Then I asked, “What’s changed since we last talked?”

That one question surfaced new details I didn’t have before. And those details sharpened how I positioned everything that came after.

From there I only showed the parts of the product that solved those three things.

After each one, I stopped and asked questions like:

“Does this align with what you were saying you needed?”

“How can you see your team working with this day to day?”

They got it instantly.

Two weeks later, they signed.

From what I’ve seen, most buyers use maybe 10-20% of the software they pay for.

I write these newsletters in Notion. I use a small fraction of their capabilities.

Then I post them using beehiiv, again, only using a few areas of their platform consistently.

It’s probably the same for you.

So when you walk a buyer through the rest of your solution that doesn’t matter to them, one of two things happens.

→ They get bored and space out. They go along nodding but are never engaged.

Or worse,

→ When you share the pricing, they start doing math.

“We’d never use most of that. Why are we paying for all of it?”

Every feature you show that they don’t need is one more reason to push back on your price.

ICYMI: I made a similar point back in Issue #59 with a story about a plumber. If price pushback keeps showing up late in your deals, start there. (Go to issue #59)

I get the challenge, especially if you are a technical founder.

You built this thing that you are proud of and you are super jacked up to show every ounce of it when you have the opportunity.

But think of your product like a bridge. They don’t care about the bridge. They care about getting to the other side.

The other side is solving the clear problems you identified during discovery.

Anything that doesn’t get them there is noise.

And noise…

makes a demo longer, harder to follow, and easier to say no to.

Here’s how I’d encourage you to run your demos now.

→ Recap their problems at the start. Use their words, not yours.

→ Ask what’s changed since you last talked. Something always has. (If there are new people in the room, make sure you know what they care about too!)

→ Show only what solves those problems.

→ Check alignment after each one before you move on.

That last step is the one founders skip. Without it, you’re presenting to them. With it, they’re helping you build the case.

And if they bring up something you didn’t show, great. Now you know it matters to them and it goes on the list.

ICYMI: Issue #15 breaks down the full demo framework, and Issue #56 goes deeper on the “what’s changed” questions.

Nobody ever signed because the demo was long.

They sign because they saw their problem get solved and could picture their team using it.

Show the buyer what they care about and leave the rest for onboarding.

Before your next demo, write down the problems the buyer gave you on discovery.

Then go through your demo flow and cut anything that doesn’t solve one of them.

Make sure you time it. If it’s way over 30 minutes, keep cutting.

Then reply and tell me how long your demo was before and after. I read every email.

Need to get a quick W?

I offer one-time sessions to go deep into the specifics of whats happening today.

→ Set up a deal review audit: It’s deep-dive into active deals and how to get them over the finish line.

→ Get a sales call roasted: I review a real sales call and provide an in-depth, tactical overview for immediate improvement.

Want to build a repeatable sales foundation?

These help you build the skills and systems for the long-haul and a foundation to accelerate growth.

→ 90 Day Sales Accelerator: Hands-on coaching built around your pipeline and growth objectives.

→ Team Workshops: Live team training built around real friction points in your sales process.

→ Fractional Sales Leadership: Ongoing leadership for startups growing out of founder-led sales