Smart Meter Dopey Demo

I witnessed a horror show.

After installation, the explanation of a so called “smart meter” by a utilities engineer to the new users.

It brought back old painful memories of seeing salespeople demo-ing software to prospects.

The 2018 mistakes were the self same as 1998.

The single biggest class of error still appears in the present.

Pointing to buttons on the screen, in the order they run from left to right, and explaining what they may, possibly, do.

Strangely, training how to use and selling the wonders of the screen ought be more similar actions than you first might think.

Just as you would want to hold someone fresh to the program’s hand through how they could complete a specific – and hopefully job-enriching – task, by taking them step-by-step through how their worklife is about to be given wings, then when selling, your demo is all about the impact too. Tip tip tap. Boom!

How do you do this now, my bedazzled prospect? What? It takes “weeks”, really…

The experience was shuddering. Surely the whole point of this gadget, is to let you save money from your bills.

In similar fashion to how any kit, or app if you prefer, is supposed to make your life better in some wizardry way.

So why not start with how it does so?

Who cares about, “…and you press this one to go into ‘settings’, and then tap here to run through until you reach the one you want…”? Seriously…

Wouldn’t something like, “how you looking to shave cash off your bill..?” followed by the two taps with which other people unleash such joy be a better deal all round?

There was no indication of how most people use it to get the most out of it. Nor whatever ‘value’ may magically be hidden within its capability.

I noticed how there wasn’t even guidance on how to switch the gadget back on if, just as was dangled as an option, it’d been left to run out of battery ‘in a cupboard’ out of sight. “The instruction book’s here” does not cut it.

Demo’ing is one of those skills which precious few salespeople master. There are products which only a true super-technical person should be allowed to present to a prospect. But even then, demo-ing must still be understood so as to shape a winning presentation.

And many a skill of the demo lends itself neatly onto how you ‘whiteboard’ or give a slideshow anyway.

Besides, when selling, the best demos are the ones in which you don’t end up pressing any buttons at all.

So, how does your demo show stack up on this scale?