How to Choose the Best Sales Demo Tool for Your Team

7
min read
September 8, 2023

What is a Sales Demo Tool?

A sales demo tool is software that allows sales professionals to demonstrate their product or service to potential customers. Sales demos can be beneficial in several situations, such as when trying to close a complicated deal or presenting to a customer unfamiliar with the product. It allows you to quickly create and deliver professional sales presentations, product demonstrations, and training materials anywhere in the funnel.

A sales demo tool can also capture customer feedback and market intelligence. Demo software is a suite of tools that can engage with customers throughout the entire sales process — from discovery to the demo environment and the live demonstration.

In many cases, a sales demo tool can help increase close rates and reduce the time needed to complete a sale. As a result, a sales demo tool can be a powerful asset for any sales professional when appropriately used. 

Let's look at what features you should look for in a sales demo tool, your top options, and tips on choosing which one is right for you.

Also check out: Complete Guide to Sales Demo

Features to Look for in a Sales Demo Software

Not all sales demo softwares are the same. So before picking one, there are a few things to consider, whether you're a first-time buyer or looking to transition to a new tool. 

Here are the 3 features you should look out for:

Next-Gen Engagement Features

If you want prospects to hear and understand your value proposition, your sales demo tool must be engaging.

If people can directly interact with your demo, they're more likely to become interested and remember information.

Collaboration Features

Enablement practices indicate that you should invite prospects to provide comments during your presentation. This demo approach is called "consultative selling."

Consultative selling is a sales concept that focuses on developing a relationship with your prospects by asking questions, listening to their needs, and tailoring your product or service to their specific needs. A consultative sales professional acquires a holistic and nuanced grasp of the buyer's needs before attempting to meet those needs with a personalized solution.

Techniques may include:

  • Screen sharing
  • Using a whiteboard
  • Built-in voice and video
  • Over-the-shoulder capabilities
  • Creating instant demos

Personalization

A sales demo should focus on the customer rather than the product. With the right sales demo tool, you can build a customized experience based on your customers' specific pain points and how your solution addresses them. Nothing in the demo should be generic because everyone's needs are different. 

Sales demo tools make customization simple. They enable you to recreate real-world scenarios quickly, construct new environments, and personalize your demo to your prospect's specific needs. 

Find out: How to build sales demo environment

Tips to Choose the Best Sales Demo Tool

Sales demos are an essential part of the selling process, but not all sales demo tools are created equal. Here are some tips to help you make the best decision possible in choosing one.

Know Your Needs

Before you start shopping for a sales demo tool, it’s important to know what you need. What features matter to you? What's your budget? By understanding your needs, you can narrow down your options and choose the best tool for your business.

For example, if you’re looking for an affordable and accessible tool, you might want a cloud-based solution. On the other hand, you might consider an on-premise solution if you need a tool with more advanced features.

Do Your Research

Once you know your needs, it’s time to start doing your research. Read online reviews, talk to other businesses in your industry, and get feedback from your sales team. By doing your research, you can be sure that you’re choosing a tool that will meet your needs and help you close more deals.

Engage in Product Demo Trial

Once you’ve narrowed down your options, it’s important to try out the sales demo tools that interest you. By trying out a tool before you make a purchase, you can be sure that you’re making the best decision for your business.

Get Input From Your Team

Before you make your final decision, get input from your sales team. They’re the ones who will be using the tool daily, so their feedback is invaluable.

Top 5 Sales Demo Tools in 2023

We’ve talked about features and how to choose the best sales demo tool for your business, but what are the best sales demo tools on the market? Here are our top 5 picks for 2022:

Mockaroo

Mockaroo is a cloud-based data generator that lets you create realistic data for your sales demos. With Mockaroo, you can generate data sets of any size and export them to CSV or JSON. Mockaroo is free for up to 1,000 rows of data, and paid plans start at $5/month for up to 100,000 rows of data.

This helps you create relevant sales scenarios for your demo without worrying about data privacy issues.


Mockaroo
Mockaroo

Figma Prototypes

Figma is a cloud-based design tool that lets you create high-fidelity prototypes for your sales demos. With Figma, you can quickly create clickable prototypes that look and feel real.

Within the prototype, you can click through different screens to see how your product would look and function in the real world.

This allows you to demo your product or service in the most realistic way possible, which can help you close more deals.

Figma is free for up to 3 Figma files, and paid plans start at $12/month with unlimited Figma files and unlimited version history.


Figma
Figma

Lucidchart

Using charts and diagrams in your sales demo can help you communicate complex concepts more clearly.

Lucidchart
Lucidchart

Lucidchart is a cloud-based diagramming tool that lets you create visual representations of your sales process. With Lucidchart, you can quickly create diagrams, flowcharts, wireframes, and more.

Lucidchart is free for up to 3 editable documents and 100 professional templates, and paid plans start at $7.95/month with unlimited documents and over 1,000 templates.

‎‎Google Slides

This may sound like an old-school sales demo tool, but presentation slides are still one of the best ways to create a sales deck.

Google Slides
Google Slides

‎With Google Slides, you can quickly create a professional-looking sales deck that you can use in your next meeting or presentation.

Google Slides is free with a Google account, and paid plans start at $4.20/month for a 30 GB storage cloud.

S‎torylane

We think Storylane is a pretty amazing sales demo tool. It's our product, but we might be the right fit for your needs.

Storylane
Storylane

‎We believe that demos should:

  • Tell a perfect story
  • Be unique to a persona

That means taking into account factors like industry, product, use case, and more.

One of the main features of Storylane is the interactive guides. Using advanced widgets, you can highlight specific features and benefits of your product and guide your prospects through a custom demo experience.

Storylane
Storylane

Another feature that sets Storylane apart is the ability to track the behavior of your prospects based on clicks and time spent on specific pages. This allows you to see what’s working and what’s not so that you can adjust your demo accordingly.

Storylane provides free, startup, growth & enterprise plans with unlimited demos - scales with your organization.  You can talk to them to find the right plan for your team

Step up your Sales demos with Storylane
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What’s the Best Sales Demo Software for Your Business?

There are a lot of great sales demo tools on the market, but choosing the right sales demo tool for your business is about finding the tool that works best for you and your team. The best sales demo tool is the one that helps you close more deals and reach your sales goals.

If you’re not sure which tool is right for you, we suggest trying out a free trial of each of the tools on our list. That way, you can see which one is the best fit for your needs.

"Previously, there was scope for error and we’ve gone from a process that could be time consuming and painful to a process that’s super quick."
—CHRIS LANCASTER, SUPPLY CHAIN PROJECT
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What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Stay ahead of the sandbox curve with a superior demo environment
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Capture more leads and close more deals with interactive demos Take a tour
"Previously, there was scope for error and we’ve gone from a process that could be time consuming and painful to a process that’s super quick."
—CHRIS LANCASTER, SUPPLY CHAIN PROJECT

"Previously, there was scope for error and we’ve gone from a process that could be time consuming and painful to a process that’s super quick."

—CHRIS LANCASTER, SUPPLY CHAIN PROJECT

Stay ahead of the sandbox curve with a superior demo environment
Try Storylane
Stay ahead of the sandbox curve with a superior demo environment
Get the Storylane Advantage
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Learn more about how Thrillark Procured over a 60% Increase in
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Capture more leads and close more deals with interactive demos.
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