As a result, I did as generic a demo as can be done. At the end of the meeting, the prospect handed the rep a stack of sample data for us to “prove” our claims. All fair.

I’m not even back in the office, and I’m told the call bombed and we’re out of the running. WTF? The rep wouldn’t cite details (of course), but I’ve got a suspicion it was the gum chewing and (mild) talking down to the prospect. I call it talking to your prospects like they were your plants/pets. Nice. So now the VP of Sales (my boss) thinks I blew the call.

So if this were really true, then why at the end of the meting did the prospect give up materials for us to return with, in a more customized demo (“show me my data in your software”)?

One of my sayings is: If a demo was able to kill a deal, then the deal was not qualified (properly).

This is one of those times (and I’ve got a whole chapter devoted to this phenomenon) where a Sales Engineer is vulnerable. We usually have no signing authority or staff, and as such can be the scapegoat for the failure of others.

Interesting circumstances, though, no?

pat
:)