Everything He Needed to Know About Sales, He Learned at Best Buy

Back speaker left, back speaker right, front speaker left. All the speakers when the jet flies overhead. Behind Enemy Lines was top-notch home-theater selling material. As a Best Buy salesperson, Will Fuentes had it memorized. To push Dolby’s 5.1 surround sound, he’d sometimes pop in Bohemian Rhapsody and ask his prospective customers to zero in on a single moment of the song—a single instrument. He would say, “You’re gonna experience something like you’ve never experienced before. For the first time, you’re gonna hear the clarity of the chimes as they’re being played on the right side when all of it comes down.”

On a slow day, Will did five of these demos. On a packed one, it was closer to 25. “But every time I did that demo, I was bringing the magic, because it was the first time that the customer was going to experience it.” And that was the crux of it: making sure to impart enthusiasm, care, and customer service with each demo.

Before he even started, Will would imagine what the demo experience would be like for him and his customer. He tested out his assumptions by asking them, “What did you feel when the jet rolled over?” or “What’s your favorite movie?” followed by “What do you think you’d feel watching that movie here?”

He carefully prompted a feeling and then—this was important—got them to articulate it, to “attach language to their emotions,” as he puts it.

BEST BUY TO BEST PRACTICES

This ritual isn’t so different from a question he might ask a prospect during a call today. “Hey, which employee of yours do you really like, but they’re just not great at their job?” Will already knows the answer to that question, but he’s going to ask the prospect to state it. And then he’s going to lead right into the solution that will fix the problem they’ve just articulated. “Getting their participation really matters.”

Will’s sales may have changed in scope, but he insists that the basics have stayed the same. First, it’s vital to him to involve his customers (“What are you most excited to see in this demo?”). He’ll always refer back to items that seem significant to his prospects, whether during a previous conversation or earlier in the same call. He bonds the features, benefits, and values he’s demo-ing to those items of significance, always soliciting feedback. How does this align with how you thought we were going to solve this problem? What aren’t you seeing here that you thought you would see that would help solve the problem?

Will’s opinion is that salesmanship, not the top of the sales funnel, is where most large companies’ problems lie. “I’m a firm believer that you can solve for both, but it’s actually easier to solve win rate than opportunity generation. Getting people interested in what you do is a lot harder than convincing someone you’re already speaking to that you’re the right solution.”

Listening is vital. Two mistakes Will often sees salespeople make are talking too much and failing to keep up the “wow.” To safeguard his demos from these pitfalls, he likes to overprepare. He’ll carefully study the people who will be attending his presentation. He’ll even rehearse a demo, gaming out exactly which qualitative, quantitative, and emotive elements he wants to include, and when and how he expects to enlist the prospect in the presentation. “When am I gonna bring them onto the stage?” For Will, every scene has a lesson. He needs to be crystal clear on what lessons he’s trying to impart.

Most importantly, he’ll watch his prospects—their vocal and physical reactions to various portions of the demo. What seems to concern them or capture their attention? Are they leaning forward? Does their face say yuck at any point? He’ll openly remark on his observations in order to learn what prompted a reaction and what, exactly, they’re feeling about the information they’re absorbing.

THE THREE TYPES OF DEMOS

According to Will, demos generally fall into one of three categories: the discovery call, or the “show-me demo,” which he thinks of as a movie preview and is generally there to assure prospects that the product is, in fact, legitimate.

A regular demo might last 15 to 25 minutes and can take place within the framework of a 40- to 45-minute meeting, which would include questions and answers, as well as conversations about next steps.

A deep-dive demo may occur when there are technical factors to be communicated. This meeting takes place toward the bottom of the sales funnel and might involve high-level executives as well as experts in relevant technology on either side of the table. But no matter the demo type, Will says, it’s important to remember that “you don’t need to show them everything. You need to solve their problem.” And don’t hesitate to be upfront. What else do you need to see that you haven’t seen yet in order to move forward? is a question Will asks frequently.

“What makes the most successful demo is the story.” He makes sure to ask questions, to listen to his clients’ needs, their stories. That’s true today, and it was true at Best Buy, “because I connected people’s lives to the technology that we were selling. It wasn’t a home theater; it was about them spending time together as a family and enjoying themselves and putting that story together for them in their mind’s eye and then giving them a taste of that story.”

What’s your kids’ favorite Pixar movie? he’d ask. He already knew the half dozen or so they were most likely to choose from (he had a demo ready to go for most of them). What kind of snacks do you like to eat? Imagine you’re sitting in these comfortable chairs with popcorn and Sno-Caps and watching The Little Mermaid with your kids. The story was the demo.

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

The Ultimate Guide to Sales Demos That Close Prospects from HubSpot

Looking to role play some discovery calls or demos? Let us know at mastery@maestrogroup.co.