We've all seen them. We've all built them. Including me.
I’m talking about demos that are all text, all the way to the end. There's nothing wrong with it, I guess. But it doesn't pull you in either.
Elation is a great example of how a little bit of motion can go a long way for your demo engagement.
The intro screen kicks things off with a swooping animation with a splash of social proof.
Then they ease off.
And after a few more steps, just when your brain starts to coast…BOOM! A GIF drops into the tooltip.
That rhythm is the whole game. Motion, then stillness, then motion again. It works because:
Your brain naturally chases movement
The static steps let the content breathe
Returning to motion mid-demo re-engages anyone who's gone into autopilot
We've talked a lot about moments of delight. Everywhere from Kickup's running man in Edition #3, to Preservica's loading screen in Edition #12. But those are single touches. Elation shows you can build a whole attention strategy around motion, using it as a tool to pace the buyer through the entire experience.
There’s a tension that plays out in almost every demo program.
Demand gen wants conversion points. Buyers don't want to be ambushed.
So the result is usually a compromise that no one likes. It’s one CTA, at the very end, or a form at the beginning.
Crunchr found the middle ground, and it's exactly what we've been recommending to our own clients.
A few steps into their tour…wellllll before you get to the end…the demo pauses and presents three options side by side.
Continue the tour. Go back. Or, nestled right in the middle, is “book a demo.”
And then they do it again later in the demo. It’s the first time we’ve seen a second off-ramp, but we love it.
Why this works:
Nobody feels trapped by a form
Buyers who are ready to convert don't have to wait
Demand gen gets earlier conversion opportunities
Our advice is put your first off-ramp at the moment the buyer has seen enough to be interested. Not so early they haven't seen the value yet, and not so late they've already tuned out.
Some products are used at a desk AND out in the field. But most demos pretend only one of those exists.
Encircle wasn’t going to make that mistake. Right at the start of their demo, they ask you to choose.
“Do you want to experience this on desktop or mobile?”
The desktop version plays out like a standard interactive tour. The mobile version drops the entire demo inside a phone display.
It's a small decision point that does a lot of work. A buyer sitting at their desk gets the experience they expect. A buyer thinking about their team out in the field gets to see the product through that lens instead.
Instead of toggling between views or committing to one, they let the buyer decide which world they live in before the demo even starts.
If your product gets used in more than one context, your demo should reflect that. Just build two demos and connecting them at the start like Encircle did.
How often are you sharing interactive demos during your sales cycle?
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Here's a common misconception: if a prospect is active in your sales cycle, you should only show them the product on a live demo call.
However, the truth is actually the complete opposite.
In fact, Navattic's State of Demo Automation Report shows thatdeals with two to three automated demo touches had a 72% win rate compared to a 59% win rate on deals that had zero automated demo touches.
Instead of thinking that your interactive demo competes in some way with your live sales demo, think of it more as a value add and a way to get in front of buying committee members that never attend your live demo call.
By making it easier for people to explore your product on their own time and share demos across their company, you actually enable your champions to help sell your product.
All this data comes from Navattic's State of Demo Automation Report, where they analyzed 40k+ demos and surveyed 70+ SEs to discover how demo automation is impacting sales cycles, and what best practices make a real difference.
If you want more best practices like this and some pretty compelling stats to help you build a case for demo automation, check out the report below.
A live, FREE coaching session to help you build better interactive demos (and make them your top marketing asset.)
In these 45-minute coaching sessions, Eric and Jason answer your questions about demo strategy, distribution, sales enablement, and any other challenges you're facing with interactive demos.
The next session is Wednesday, Apr 22nd at 12PM ET.