Latest / Sales Leadership with Fexingo: Quota Carriers, Sales Managers, and Revenue Teams / How Sales Reps Can Handle a Prospect Who Keeps Asking for More Demos
Transcript
- Lucas: So you've done two demos, maybe three. The prospect keeps asking for another walkthrough — this time with a different stakeholder, or maybe they want to see a specific use case. You start to wonder: is this a genuine evaluation, or am I just the tour guide? Luna: Right. And the worst part is, you can't say no, because you don't want to seem pushy. But each demo lowers your leverage. Lucas: Exactly. I want to talk about what I call 'demo paralysis' — when the evaluation cycle becomes a self-perpetuating loop. I came across some research by Dr. Kerry Johnson, a sales psychologist, who looked at why buyers get stuck. He found that the more times a prospect sees a product without making a decision, the more their perception shifts from 'I need to solve a problem' to 'I need to make sure I don't pick the wrong vendor.' Luna: So the risk of choosing wrong starts to outweigh the pain of the problem itself. That's a framing shift. Lucas: Exactly. And that shift is dangerous because the prospect becomes more risk-averse with each demo. They're not trying to learn anymore — they're trying to avoid a mistake. So what do you do? I had a friend who sold a mid-market CRM platform — seven demos with the same prospect. Seven. And he closed it. Luna: Seven? How did he not lose his mind? Lucas: He told me that after the fourth demo, he realised the prospect wasn't asking questions about features anymore — they were asking 'what if' questions. What if this doesn't integrate? What if the data migration fails? That's a red flag. So on the fifth call, he didn't start the demo. He said, 'Before I show you anything else, I need to understand something: what's the cost of making the wrong decision here?' Luna: That's a gutsy move. Did the prospect answer? Lucas: They did. The CFO said it would cost roughly three months of lost productivity if they had to rip and replace. So my friend said, 'OK, so even if you pick the wrong vendor, you lose three months. But if you keep evaluating, you're losing time every week. What's the cost of not deciding?' And that reframed the conversation entirely. Luna: That's the framing effect we talked about in Episode 74, but applied in reverse. Instead of framing your product as the gain, you frame the delay as a loss. Lucas: Right. And once the buyer sees the cost of inaction, the next demo becomes less about features and more about a decision. My friend closed it on the seventh call — but only because he changed the agenda from 'let me show you more' to 'let me help you decide.' Luna: I think a lot of reps feel like they have to say yes to every demo request because they're afraid of losing the deal. But actually, you're losing leverage every time you add another demo without adding a commitment. Lucas: That's a great point. Let's talk about that — the idea of a quid pro quo. If a prospect asks for a sixth demo, you can say, 'I'd be happy to. But before we schedule it, let's agree on what the decision criteria will be. What are the three things you need to see to say yes?' Luna: And if they can't answer that, you know they're not serious. Or they don't have authority. Lucas: Exactly. I've also seen reps use a tactic called the 'decision timeline.' You draw a line from today to the ideal implementation date, and you work backward. You say, 'If you want to go live by October 1, you need to decide by August 15. That gives us four weeks for contracting and onboarding. So when would you like to have the final demo?' Luna: That forces the buyer to be specific. And it reveals whether they have real urgency or just curiosity. Lucas: Right. And if they say, 'Oh, we're not sure about the timeline yet,' you have a bigger problem than too many demos — you have a deal that's not real. So the question becomes: do you want to keep investing time, or do you want to qualify it out? Luna: I think a lot of reps would rather keep demoing than have a hard conversation. But the best ones know that the hard conversation is what actually moves the deal forward. Lucas: Absolutely. And look, I know it's uncomfortable. But let me give you a specific script I've seen work. The prospect asks for another demo. You say: 'I'm happy to set that up. But I want to be respectful of your time. Based on what we've covered so far, what's the one objection that's still standing?' Luna: That's clean. It forces them to articulate the actual blocker. And if they say 'I just want to see it again,' you know it's not an objection — it's hesitancy. Lucas: Exactly. And then you can address the hesitancy directly. 'It sounds like you're not fully confident yet. What would it take to get you to 100%?' That question alone can cut through three demos' worth of confusion. Luna: I want to add something practical here. A lot of times, the prospect keeps asking for demos because they're trying to build consensus internally. They're not the sole decision-maker, and they're using the demos as a way to get other stakeholders on board. Lucas: That's a really important insight. So the rep's job isn't just to demo — it's to help the champion sell internally. You can offer to host a call with their CFO or their head of engineering. But that should be a specific, scheduled call, not just another open-ended demo. Luna: Right. And you can say, 'Let's invite the CFO to the next call. I'll prepare a fifteen-minute summary of the ROI data. That way, you're not having to translate it yourself.' Lucas: That's gold. Because now you're not just showing features — you're giving your champion ammunition. And you're also getting direct access to the economic buyer. That's a much better use of a demo slot. Luna: And if the prospect says no to that — if they don't want to include other stakeholders — that's a red flag too. It might mean they don't have the authority, or they're not serious about buying. Lucas: Yeah. So let's wrap this into a framework. When a prospect asks for another demo, you have three moves. One: reframe the cost of delay. Two: ask for a decision timeline. Three: offer to include a stakeholder who can actually approve the deal. If none of those get a clear response, it's probably time to walk. Luna: That's a good checklist. And honestly, walking away is underrated. It frees you up to spend time on deals that will actually close. Lucas: A hundred percent. And look, if these conversations have moved your work forward in some small way, we'd love it if you considered supporting the show. A couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, if you've gotten something out of them. Luna: Yeah, it really does make a difference. And we keep the show ad-free because of that support. Lucas: Alright, so let's get practical. Here's a challenge for listeners: the next time a prospect asks for a demo after you've already shown the product twice, use one of those three moves. I'd love to hear how it goes. You can reach us on social — tag the show. Luna: And if you're a sales manager listening, consider role-playing this with your team. The demo paralysis is real, and having a playbook makes a huge difference. Lucas: Great idea. Alright, that's it for today. We'll be back with another episode soon. Thanks for listening.