"Selling is essentially a transference of feeling. In order to transfer a feeling, you've got to have that feeling." - Zig Ziglar
Backstory: I thought a demo was won on the call. It's won before it.
Mistake #4: I jumped from one sales call to another.
I showed up for demos unprepared.
I used to do generic demos.
Generic account, generic products, generic rules.
I hated sales, I did not like demos, I used to suck at them!
I closed less than 20% of the calls...
It was a job I had to do, not that I wanted.
At a conference I ended up at the same table with the sales guy from our direct competitor.
They were preparing for weeks for one large enterprise demo.
Weeks?
I was preparing for zero to 5 minutes :))
Here's what I missed:
Prep isn't homework. It's how you get into the right state before the call.
And prep is proof:
Visualize the solution working for them, on their store, with their products → proof you are convinced
Understand how it will work, step by step, until you can explain their problem better than they can → proof you are the expert
Understand their business, so "does this work for us?" is answered before they ask it → proof it works for them
Sales is 80% mental / 20% mechanics.
Prep is the 80% / 20% is the delivery.
Solution: I built a prep process that took us less than 30 minutes.
Before the call: a short questionnaire sent to the customer automatically
Our homework: a one-pager with 15–20 checkmarks from public data: their tech stack, their carriers, their shipping and return policies
The demo: their logo, their products, their use cases, already loaded
If we could not spend weeks, at least we could spend 30 minutes.
Then we optimized it and got it under 15 minutes.
In some cases, I even shopped their physical stores and returned products online, just to mess with their system and find the weak points.
Same rule at a conference:
I researched 80 companies I wanted to meet and sent each one a 3–4 minute video, sharing my screen on their own website, showing exactly how we'd help them.
It took me over 2 weeks.
Most sales guys going to conferences prep for 2 hours max.
I ended up having one-on-one meetings with Luxottica, Bed Bath & Beyond, Tractor Supply, DSW, and Lululemon.
The results:
Close rate went from 20% to 80%
Custom demo environments became follow-up assets
We delivered value right away, on the first call
We stood out against competitors who showed up with generic demos
We created a memorable experience packed with value, not a sales call people hated to attend
So before your next call, spend 30 minutes.
Identify:
What do they use today?
What's their process?
Shop their website (if ecommerce)
Book a demo with them (if software)
Book a consultation call (if service)
Secret Sauce: Sales calls are won before the call.
Prepare until you have conviction, certainty and clarity on how it will drive results for the client.
Then transfer that state to the client.
Best,
Virgil
PS: Mistake #5: I loved to freestyle.