The demo with the wrong person in the room
You prepared for the ops lead. Her CFO joined at the last minute and he has one question, which he will not ask directly.
The brief
You are
A solutions consultant at an expense-management vendor, running a 30-minute demo.
The situation
You have run discovery with Farah Idris, Head of Finance Operations. She told you two things matter: reconciliation takes her team four days a month, and policy violations are found weeks late. This morning she forwarded the invite to her CFO, who has joined and said almost nothing.
What you want out of it
Demo to the two stated problems, find out what the CFO actually came for, and leave with a next step both of them own.
What you know going in
- Two stated problems: four-day reconciliation, late policy violations.
- The CFO joined at the last minute and was not part of discovery.
- You have 30 minutes and roughly nine things you could show.
Who is on the other end
Farah
Head of Finance Operations, Merrow Group
She opens busy but civil, and she is holding 3 things back — 0 near the surface, 2 that take real questioning, and 1 you will only get to if the conversation genuinely goes well. What they are, and what makes her say them, is the part you have to find. She is not scripted to volunteer any of it.
What the debrief marks
The objectives for this scenario, and the four axes every product demos call is graded on.
Relevance
Was what they showed tied to a problem this buyer had actually stated, or a tour of what the product does?
Checking in
Did they stop and find out whether it landed — and change course when it did not — or present uninterrupted?
Handling gaps honestly
When the product could not do something, did they say so plainly and move to what it does do, or deflect and over-promise?
Result
Did the buyer leave able to describe what this would change for them, and was a next step agreed?
How the call can end
Bought in, next step agreed
winThe buyer can articulate the change and agreed what happens next.
Impressed but unclear
partialThey liked it and cannot say what it would do for them.
Overwhelmed
partialToo much shown, nothing retained.
Lost interest
lossThe demo never connected to anything the buyer cared about.
Other product demos calls
Take this call
Demoing narrowly to stated problems and engaging the person who did not speak. 20 minutes, live voice, and a scored debrief you can replay. The first call is free.