profile

Show, Don't Tell

🤫 Show, Don't Tell #36 - Your demos have main character energy


Read Time: 4.4 minutes

Welcome to our 36th edition of Show, Don't Tell. A newsletter to help you build REMARKABLE interactive demos...3 tips at a time.

This week we:

  1. Use that main-character energy
  2. Give you a pleasant place to wait around
  3. Put demos in a competitive landing page

Let's get after it...

Supported By:

We are Navattic fanatics.

We had the idea for this newsletter after hundreds of hours spent building Navattic demos for our past companies and current clients. We love making remarkable interactive demos, and want to share helpful tips and examples so you can too.

A huge thanks to Navattic for helping make this a reality. If you want to create a better experience for your buyers, go check them out.

They have a free plan you can start using today!

→ Try Navattic

Tip #1 - Write About Your Favorite Character

Quick story before we talk demos…

I went to Drive by Exit Five last week. During the speaking sessions, Harry Dry reminded me of something: stories have characters.

…and now back to demos.

WorkJam must have some good storytellers in the room. Their demo starts by saying "A Day in the Life of a Frontline Team Member," then immediately introduces the main character, Alex.

You should be doing this with all of your demos because:

  • We’re invested in Alex's day, not just learning about software
  • Every feature connects to a real moment in someone's workflow
  • It feels like a real story instead of a product tour

Since we’re talking about main character energy, shout out to L2L's dramatic Technician-Robert storyline from Edition #21.

→ Follow Alex through her day with WorkJam

Tip #2 - Make Load Times Feel Fun

Every demo has a slight delay when you click the CTA. That delay gets worse when you're redirecting a new page.

Caddi figured they’d take the awkwardness off of the wait for us. They created a landing page with a loading screen instead of waiting for the demo to load on a blank page.

It's a subtle touch, but it makes the delay feel like you took extra time and attention to create an experience that's pleasant.

What makes this loading approach work:

  • Turns dead time into a branded experience
  • Sets expectations that something good is on its way
  • Leaves an impression that carries over to product perception

This reminds me of Preservica's "Wait while we load your tour" message from Edition #12. Shout out to them and Caddi for going the extra mile.

→ Experience Caddi unique loading process

Tip #3 - Competitive Pages Need Demos Too

If you're doing a competitive landing page, don’t waste the entire page trying to convince people.

Since competitive page visitors are likely lower in the funnel anyway, it's a perfect place to put a demo. They’ll appreciate the visual because sometimes…people just need to see the goods.

We’re big fans of this approach because:

  • People can see the difference instead of reading claims
  • Shows confidence in your product versus the competition
  • Gives lower-funnel visitors something interactive to engage with

Most competitive pages are just feature comparison charts. Klue lets you actually experience why they're different.

→ See Klue's competitive demo in action

Sandboxes, Now Without the Suffering 😁

Are your reps and SEs wasting precious time preparing and resetting demo environments for every prospect call?

You need a Sandbox Demo.

I hear you saying "building a sandbox is so complicated" 😩

Dry those eyes my friend. With Navattic, building a sandbox is easier than ever!

With this new demo type, you just click around your app and Navattic will automatically create each anchor point for you.

And with Present mode, reps can present your sandbox during live calls to provide an interactive, personalized experience that keeps prospects engaged.

​→ See how easy it is to build a sandbox demo!

Don’t have time to build remarkable Navattic demos? We do.

DemoDash is an agency 100% focused on making interactive demos your top product marketing asset. We’ll map your story, build your tours, and help you measure the impact.

→ Learn more at demodash.agency

So that’s it. Our 36th edition of Show, Don’t Tell.

3 useful tips to help you build remarkable interactive demos.

Tune in next Tuesday for more advice from DemoDash.

P.S.

If you know anyone else who would love these tips, please consider sending them this edition so they can subscribe 🙏

Jason and Eric
Say hi on LinkedIn!

Show, Don't Tell

Learn how to create remarkable interactive demos that make your SaaS product easy to understand and buy. 3 practical tips and examples every Tuesday.

Share this page