Software demos are often too long and they shouldn’t be. This great post from We Love Local Government hit a nerve. The post inspired us to set out some principles for how we demo.

Our goal is simply to make it easy for organisations to use the internet to connect people with decision making. We do this by providing awesome cost effective and easy to use platforms.

When we demo our platforms we want to reflect our principles: humanise stuff, be straightforward and make things easier to understand, be lean and efficient; always be helpful.

Our 5 point demo charter

  1. We establish what people need first. Sounds basic but this is easy to forget when we have a suite of shiny apps and we want to show off all of the features.
  2. Keep to an appropriate time. Our experience shows that an hour is right for most demos. Less than half an hour is not worthwhile and ‘too long’ is too long. However, if the client needs more then we are happy to give it.
  3. We want people to be able to summarize our apps to others. Those involved in the demo need to leave feeling confident in the product and have a clear idea of how it will work for them, not just for our current clients.
  4. We don’t want to show off all of the features at once. Although it may be interesting for the GIS expert in your team to, if you’re talking solely to a procurement specialist this may not be so relevant. It’s another feature to use at a later date but not during the demo.
  5. Listen actively. A demo is a conversation, and a way of helping clients shape their requirements. Would an alternative app or bespoke project meet their needs more effectively?

“Just because we could, doesn’t mean we should”. We want to be the antidote to complicated ICT procurement and software demos are a big part of that.

For more info on our apps or to book a demo get in touch with Ben or Rowena on 0845 680 0575.

“Welcome to our demo”
Our demo team