Should an SDR be able to deliver a bare bones demo?

Howdy folks. I'm looking to settle an internal debate and would like your thoughts. As the title eludes to, there's a bit of internal debate as to whether an SDR be able to deliver a bare bones demo.


Some are in the camp of "No" and cite that most organizations hand-off the demo to an AE via a secondary call. The transition should be as seamless as possible, etc.


Others are in the camp of "Yes" due to them having active engagement with the prospect. It's hard enough to get someone's attention. Seize the moment, deliver a taste of what's possible, and then kick them over to AE for a more in-depth product dive, etc.


What say you?

Should an SDR be able to deliver a bare bones demo?

Attached poll
*Voting in this poll no longer yields commission.
🔎 Prospecting
💌 Cold Emailing
📣 Demos
25
commishcapo
Opinionated
5
Commercial Account Exec
I think every company should have a 5 minute “pocket demo” that SDR’s and reps can give on the fly
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
1
CSO
Good thinking. Thanks @commishcapo
Sunbunny31
Politicker
4
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
I'm like you, on the fence. I'm not a fan of jumping into a demo out of the gate; it's too easy to get into feature/functionality and I'm a long cycle rep. Plus there are clips and mini-demos on our website already.

That said, if done right, some nice eye candy on the screen doesn't hurt, and even if the BDR/SDR doesn't demo the product, the fact that they can, and that they've been in the solutlon and poked around a bit helps them be more confident on the phone. And that's why I chose "yes". I'd like them to be able to, but I don't think it's appropriate in every case.
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
1
CSO
Thanks! This is a great perspective.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
2
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
I'm living it. We're all on the fence. It works in some cases, backfires in others. It all depends on the situation.

It completely makes sense for SMB/MM, not so much for Enterprise. Ent companies don't necessarily need a 5-10 minute demo of something that's going to run them 6 figures and be configured for their end users. They're interested in how it's going to fit into their ecosystem and workstream, and a demo doesn't address those core interests.
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
1
CSO
Agreed. That's why I included the "Yes, but only if it's a simple and short sales cycle" option.

Thx for the thoughts.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
2
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
well, even for MM our sales cycle isn't THAT short. Short would be 3 mos.

Thanks for the question and the discussion!
alonzoharris
Politicker
1
Partner Manager
Couldn't have said it better myself ^
TennisandSales
Politicker
3
Head Of Sales
i think if you are in this spot where a bare bones demo is a thing, then AE's should be handling inbound leads.

why make the prospect chat with an SDR, even see a bit of the demo and then have to schedule more time with a different person?

just give them to the person that can do EVERYTHING.
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
1
CSO
Agreed with regards to inbound but most SDRs are not focused on inbound.
TennisandSales
Politicker
0
Head Of Sales
true. but then in outbound, they sdr reaches out, the prospect is interested, they connect them with an AE. i doubt the prospect wants a bare bones demo DURING a cold call
CuriousFox
WR Officer
3
🦊
Eh it totally depends. In my line of work I say no.
SaaSyBee
Politicker
3
Founder
Everyone at the company should be able to deliver a basic demo. Especially helps at trade shows.
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
2
CSO
NOW WE ARE TALKING! I'm all about this. It collectively up-levels the knowledge base across the org. Additionally helps everyone respect the customer's needs and more importantly crystalize how your org can address those needs via compelling solutions.
Diablo
Politicker
2
Sr. AE
For me it’s a yes or no both. Depends upon the client and the requirements. We recently started to implement this where prospect with $X amount potential can be served by a BDR that gives them an opportunity to learn more. Definitely, they get all the support they need.
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
1
CSO
Makes sense. That is why I was leaning towards it making sense when the opp is low to medium (SMB to MM).

The more complex the sale, the greater the value. Increased complexity should/would likely mean SDRs carry less of the load as part of that GTM motion.
jefe
Arsonist
2
🍁
I think an SDR should be capable of it as they should understand the product well enough, but I don't think they should actually conduct one. For a few reasons.

- Discovery is key to a good demo, and setting the process up for success
- They'll have to hand off to an AE, who will then show them the rest of it, or show them what they've already seen and then some
- The job of an SDR is to set as many qualified meetings as they can, and this will impact that

I'm sure there are some times where it would help or even be necessary, but as a general rule I'd say they shouldn't be doing them.
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
0
CSO
Fair point. What is the SDR encounters someone that immediately expects to see inside the product. You literally have the person engaged and they're asking for a demo.

Do you really say to the prospect that you need to introduce someone else into the mix so they can answer basic product questions?
VFG
Good Citizen
2
SDR
Many DM’s view conversations with BDR’s as useless for this reason. Most are airheads that make no serious effort to understand the product they are pitching and give useless or irrelevant information at best.

In order to explain something simply, you must understand it deeply. IMO, an org that says they plan on “developing you” into an AE but does not expect you to learn even the most basic product knowledge should be viewed with EXTREME skepticism.
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
2
CSO
I'm with you on this. If you are fortunate enough to get me on the phone, you better be able to speak to the nuances of your product/service. If not, I will not be taking another call from someone else who should have been the person that originally tried reaching me.
BourbonKing
Valued Contributor
2
VP of Sales
Demo on the first call, prior to conducting a thorough needs assessment? No thank you. If the sales cycle is that short and the product is that simple, you really don't need sales reps or SDR's...just put recorded demos on your website and make the buying process completely frictionless.
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
0
CSO
The question wasn't whether to launch into a demo or not.

It was whether an SDR should be equipped to offer a demo if the prospect asked to see it.

Agreed regarding the frictionless experience off on-demand demos.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
1
Sales Rep
With a simple product where little customization is need I would say so
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
1
CSO
Thx for the quick response.
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
1
Bravado's Resident Asshole
I think with simple opps, but not much more than that. Let them get their feet wet a little.
Pachacuti
Politicker
1
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
No. At most an SDR needs to be able to do a deep discovery but the demo should be a separate event.
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
0
CSO
Hmm. Even for a low cost and simple sale? ASP < $5k
Pachacuti
Politicker
1
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Yes, even for that. SDRs job is to smile and dial. Otherwise call the person an AE and move on.
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
0
CSO
What happens when the AE's don't see the value in booking deals < $5k. Yes, I realize this a loaded question...
Pachacuti
Politicker
0
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Then there is an organizational issue and it (probably) above your pay grade.

That said, imo if the AE doesn’t want it then I would say it’s open game.
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
0
CSO
:)
SalesBeast
Politicker
1
Ty
Should know product info. Leave the demo for an SE. At my company not even AE’s are technical enough to demos. If they want a demo fast contact an AE but have a reason as to why needing to see that fast.
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
0
CSO
Agreed on product info knowledge. In my mind, that's a necessity regardless of actually doing the demo. If you can't speak to the product's capabilities, what role are they providing?
SalesBeast
Politicker
0
Ty
How about this… in our company our SDRs- Send meetings with: no notes, sometimes wrong company name, with no needs, don’t know what we offer, and some people even think it’s an interview. Some meetings my SDR told me wrong product of interest. It’s a wreck.
To me that’s not a product issue that’s a training issue and just wanting BS meetings. I don’t need them to demo. I need them to do basics of an SDR.
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
1
CSO
Yeah, that sounds like a mess. As you said, totally a training issue that needs to be addressed. Keep on fighting the good fight.
SgtAE
WR Officer
1
AE
I don't run demo's but I definitely run slides on my discovery calls if the client requests and is asking the right questions. If you're selling into martech or non technical perhaps but otherwise leave that to the SA'S
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
0
CSO
Yeah, that makes sense. Ultimately this is about whether an SDR should be enabled/empowered to show the product and speak to it at a high level. Slides or actual site demo is more about the formatting.
punishedlad
Tycoon
1
🧙‍♂️
I think it's definitely useful to at least have the ability. If your sales rep ends up double booked, or has a meeting running over, it's a lot better to be able to dive in yourself and get things started than to just try and stall for time.
DIETZ
1
Founder
My answer is yes - SDRs should be capable of providing a demo in most situations. That said, the SDR should be trained in qualifying the demo - is the demo qualified, a teaser of sorts or a time waster. Empowering the SDR with demo skills can, if expectations are not managed well, lead to closing versus qualifying for a demo. Closing for a demo can lead to a sense of false accomplishment and, as such, it is a time waster.
Gasty
Notable Contributor
0
War Room Community Manager
time waster for the SDR? @DIETZ
BlueJays2591
Politicker
0
Federal Business Dev Director
It depends on what type of SDRs you have. My previous role paid BDRs 97k OTE, most hit accelerators and could make up to 240k (we had 2 BDRs do this), they all had experience and some had masters degrees. They came on knowing within 12 months they would be an AE making great money. They should be able to do a demo. Right out of college and 3 months in role, I wouldn't trust them to do that.
schwinn140
Valued Contributor
0
CSO
Agreed on all fronts. thx
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