Good founders know the importance of nailing their product demo.
Steve Barsh recommends setting the right goals for your demo, using cases to highlight core value, aligning the key benefits and differentiators from your pitch deck. A good demo emphasizes how your product solves a big and urgent problem.
Use cases help convey the value of your solution, focusing on your top 2-3 use cases, when demonstrating your product. Get specific when describing your use cases and avoid broad generalities. Each use case should follow a “day in the life of” format for the user or primary character. This format describes the user’s journey through “where before... and now by using our product...” statements.
Also, leaving the pronouns he/she/they and calling the users as actors in the play (doctor, nurse, architect, etc.). It shows you really understand the industry and who’s going to be interacting with your product. And will save investors from confusion.
Then you need to describe how, when and why your solution applies and which benefits you deliver. It’s important to note that “now by using our product...” statements end by tying the use case back to the product’s core benefits. Your demo should prioritize highlighting benefits over features. Examples of core benefit types include time savings, decreased cost, increased revenue, solving pain points, or adding capability.
The competition slide of your pitch deck should list the same benefits that your demo highlights in priority order.
Your demo is an opportunity to crystalize your key benefits and differentiators.
Drip in some traction when describing benefits. For example, if the use case highlights labor savings, make it a point to name 2-3 key customers who bought primarily for that benefit. This makes your story more believable and teases your more in-depth traction slide.
That is how to deliver the killer demo during your pitch to investors.