How to Deliver B2B SaaS Demos: [47% Close Rate Guaranteed]

Rapport building is your first step towards customer success and gaining your prospect’s trust.

You should start your product demo with a broad, genuine smile and a simple: “Hello! Good to see you!”. You can push further by asking where they’re from or their interests.

The goal is to find common ground to connect with the prospect.

However, you’re not trying to invite them to brunch, so keep the pleasantries short.

You also need to confirm the time they’ve allocated for the meeting for better time management.

No one will buy your product out of pity.

They’ll only buy it if they’re super needy for its benefits. And they are! That’s why they booked this demo with you, although most prospects might try to hide this fact.

Therefore, you must project the image of a solution provider by controlling the room and setting the frame of the meeting.

Understanding the Return on Investment (ROI) of purchasing your solution for this business can give you a better perspective.

After getting the pleasantries out of the way, disclose your aim for the demo.

A simple statement that helps you set the frame is:

“Today, I’ll like to dive into the specifics of your business, hear the specific challenges keeping you from moving forward, and share more about our solution to see if we’re a fit for your specific needs. Sounds good?”

Did you notice how that statement gave an overview of what to expect throughout the demo?

It shows you’ll be unpacking so much value throughout the demo.

Remember, you’re helping them, not the other way around.

Gathering a prospect’s information helps you identify and solve their problems immediately.

Pro Tip: Never put your features above your prospect’s pain points.

Instead, you must gather enough information about the prospect.

Your solution is meant for a specific customer type, not everyone. So, you need to screen this prospect by asking multiple qualifying questions showing they fit your solution.

So, how do you gather information about your prospect?

Ask them about 5 or 7 questions describing the qualifying criteria for businesses to get value and positive ROI from your product.

These questions should reveal the qualifying criteria that define your SaaS offering. If you’re finding it difficult to come up with these questions, sign up for my SaaS Camp newsletter so I can share some more tips with you.


Pro Tip: If the prospect is not a fit for your solution, dump them fast!

I know that sounds counter-progressive, but it'll benefit you, and your prospect will thank you for it in the long run.

That’s why you need to ensure they commit and make a purchase right now by creating a sense of urgency.

A great way to hasten commitments is by appealing to emotions.

According to sales expert Geoffery James, prospects make buying decisions based on changes in their emotional state. Specifically, six emotions – fear, greed, envy, pride, altruism, and shame – influence all buying decisions.

To do this effectively, you must ask deeper questions like: “Why’s your business not at your desired level?”

This question helps them realise the dangers of remaining at their current level. It also shows them that they have an opportunity to improve with your offer right now.

Why should prospects trust you if you don’t know their goals? No reason, right?

So, you need to prove you know their goals. However, don’t assume if you’re unsure of these goals. Instead, ask them by saying:

“To be sure I understand you correctly, you’re unable to reach your goal A due to problems B, C, etc. Is that correct?”

This helps you understand their decision-making criteria.

It also fosters a deeper human connection, building trust to help you sell your SaaS product.

Responding well to objections convinces a prospect about your product.

This is crucial because 23% of prospects don’t purchase a product because they aren’t convinced it is right for them, as illustrated in the HubSpot report discussed earlier.

That’s why handling them early on during the demo is better.

After summarising their goals in a sentence, ask them for anything you haven’t covered in your earlier statement.

Getting that tiny extra detail gives you an edge when you finally show them your product in the next step.

Having clearly understood your prospect’s problem, you can now show how your product’s key features solve them.

This stage of the product demo may follow the format below:

• “You mentioned problem one earlier; Feature X of our product solves this problem like this.”

Repeat this format for as many problems as the prospect mentioned during the qualification process. The more complex your SaaS product is, the more elaborate you must be with the explanations.

Startup founders at SaaS Camp claim they get only positive responses at this stage because we’ve already helped them optimise their business to understand and solve the customer pain points. So, it’s always a smooth sail when they show their product. Join SaaS camp now for similar results.

If you’ve properly implemented all the strategies discussed at the earlier stages of the demo, you should get little or no objections.

Nonetheless, you might get some depending on your unique circumstances.

In the next section, we’ll discuss how to handle the most common objections raised by B2B SaaS prospects.

In the highly unlikely event that you get some objections after following the steps outlined in the previous section, don’t panic. There’s a high chance it’ll be one of the following.

Here are the best ways to handle them.

Your product will never be perfect.

So, when a prospect raises this objection, ask if that feature is a deal breaker or a nice-to-have.

The most asked features are nice-to-haves. However, for deal breakers, secure pre-payment for building the feature and agree on a delivery date for feature completion.

Now, you’ve set some expectations; You must ensure the feature is delivered on the agreed-upon date.

Pro Tip: Get paid upfront before building the feature to avoid wasted efforts if prospects back out or choose a different product.

When a decision maker asks to confirm with another person, it indicates lingering concerns about your value proposition

Here’s how to handle it:

Recap the demo, ensuring their full attention this time. Ensure you match their problems with your product’s key features.

Furthermore, ask about their potential frustrations and address them effectively. If hesitations persist, schedule a follow-up meeting with the prospect and the person they'd like to consult with.

Yet another indication that you could have delivered your demo better.

We can hold your hands through your SaaS demos at SaaS Camp if you’re finding it a bit daunting.

It’s never too expensive!

They’re not just seeing the ROI on the purchase. In fact, according to a report by G2, 87% of B2B buyers consider the ROI your solution provides within a year of purchase before purchasing.

Handle this objection by highlighting your SaaS product's cost savings, efficiency gains, and revenue growth potential with numbers. In addition, compare these costs to alternatives to reshape their perspective.

Pro Tip: Numbers demonstrate the value you offer

They wouldn’t be on this call if they were totally happy with their current solution.

So, utilise their frustrations as opportunities to sell your solution.

Here’s how:

Inquire about their current product and frustrations, although most prospects might keep them private.

DO NOT GET DEFENSIVE by saying your product is better than the competitor’s.

This shows weakness.

Instead, start by commenting on the product’s positive features.

Next, highlight some spots you feel that alternative is missing regarding this customer’s satisfaction.

Lastly, highlight why some of your customers migrated from such an alternative to your product.

A Gartner Digital Market report published by Yahoo shows that 49% of B2B SaaS buyers consider customer reviews when making purchase decisions.

So, don’t be nervous when you get this objection.

Rather, calmly handle it by either offering a trial or showing some proof from previous clients.

If you’ve had zero users, use social proof from your network or offer a significant first-deal discount. Conversely, recorded interviews with happy clients can be helpful if you’ve had customers.

The catch here is to lower the risk for the prospect. Be creative.