How to Create Follow-ups That Get the Deal Done

In B2B sales, a successful product demo is just the starting point.

But what comes next? Often, it's a confusing mix of emails, different documents, and ongoing back-and-forths that lessen the punch of a well-conducted demo.

Imagine this: You've just given a fantastic presentation, showcasing your product's strengths. But before long, your prospect's inbox fills up, and the memory of your tailored demo fades amid a flood of messages.

It's a common hurdle. Numerous sales teams struggle to retain engagement after a demo. The problem isn’t so much the content but the method: email.

Emails can be limiting. They often don't offer an engaging and comprehensive post-demo experience, leaving both sellers and potential buyers unsatisfied.

Time for a change: Digital Sales Rooms offer a fresh approach to post-demo interactions. With Forward, you can escape the chaos of emails and step into a seamless, interactive, and personalised digital room.

Why post-demo follow-ups are so important

The time after a product demo is when businesses work to keep interest alive, clear up questions, and steer potential clients toward making informed choices.

Now, being good at this stage is crucial for finalizing deals. It's essential to not only keep the conversation going but also to build a relationship, ensuring potential clients feel understood and secure in their choices.

Why reps should re-think how to engage buyers post demo

Despite being the go-to tool for most businesses, emails might not always be the best choice for post-demo communication.

Here is a classic example of a post-demo recap email sent by a sales rep to a prospect:

Here's these emails just don’t work to move your del forward after a demo:

Inbox Overload: Everyone's dealing with overflowing inboxes. Even the most well-crafted follow-up email can easily be buried under heaps of other messages. This means your key insights and important details risk going unnoticed.
Lack of Personal Touch: While you can customise an email's content, the medium itself often feels impersonal. That rapport and connection you built during the live demo? It can quickly diminish when your follow-up is just another email among the dozens they receive daily.
Not engaging: Emails have their format restrictions. Sure, you can add attachments, images, and links, but the content feels static. There's no genuine interactive element, making it a less engaging medium, especially when you want to provide a rich post-demo experience.
Slow downs decisions: We've all experienced it: you send an email with a query and then wait...and wait. Sometimes, it can take hours or even days to get a response. This sluggish back-and-forth can dampen the enthusiasm and slow down the decision-making process.
Lack of Insight: Once you hit "send", the email's fate is largely out of your hands. Did they open it? How much time did they spend reading it? Were the attachments viewed? Emails offer limited analytics in this regard, leaving you in the dark about your prospect's true level of engagement.

Tips for Better Demo Follow-Ups

As you understand now, delivering a compelling product demo isn't the finish line—it’s the starting gate. All too often, after a powerful demo, the momentum slows down and deals drags until it eventually ends up in the Close Lost area of your CRM. So how to do better follow-ups you ask ?

Here are 8 strategies to ensure your post-demo follow-ups stand out and keep the deal moving.

Personalise Your Follow-Up: Avoid generic, one-size-fits-all presentations. Drawing from insights gained during the demo, tailor your follow-up to address the unique interests and concerns of each prospect. Platforms like Forward's allow for real-time collaboration, where solutions can be modified to resonate with the individual needs of each client.
Recap and Reinforce Main Points: Reiterate the main benefits of your product or service mentioned during the demo. This serves as a refresher and emphasises the value proposition, ensuring these key points stay top-of-mind for the prospect.
Engage with Multimedia: Offer an immersive experience by incorporating multimedia elements into your follow-up. Tools like videos, interactive charts, and dynamic presentations can breathe life into your product or service, making it more memorable. The key is to provide prospects with a multisensory experience that keeps them engaged and curious.
Offer relevant Resources: Extend value by sharing supplementary resources like whitepapers, case studies, or testimonials relevant to the prospect's industry or challenges. This not only positions you as a resourceful partner but also underscores your product's or service's credibility and effectiveness.
Measure and Analyse Engagement: Take advantage of platforms that provide insights into client engagement. Tools like Forward's Digital Sales Room allow sellers to gauge the level of prospect interaction with shared materials, enabling timely and informed responses. By understanding what resonates with a prospect, sales teams can tweak their approach for better success.
Prompt for Next Steps: Clearly outline the next steps to take the conversation forward, whether it's scheduling a follow-up call, a deeper dive into specific features, or setting up a meeting with higher-ups. This eliminates ambiguity and keeps the sales process moving seamlessly.
Stay Open to Questions and Feedback: Encourage prospects to share their concerns, questions, or feedback. Addressing these head-on demonstrates transparency and commitment, reinforcing the prospect's confidence in your solution and your team.
Shift from Emails to Interactive Digital Platforms: Emails often get lost in the shuffle, with key points buried under layers of text. Instead, leverage interactive platforms like Forward's Digital Sales Room. This tool offers a consolidated space, allowing clients to revisit demos, view product details, and engage in real-time discussions. Such a dynamic platform offers prospects an enriched experience, reigniting the excitement from the live demo.

Sample Follow-Up Email

While we emphasize a new approach, we're not suggesting you ditch emails. They're still useful. When paired with other tools like Digital Sales Rooms, a straightforward email can direct clients efficiently. Here's a suggestion:

"Hi there,Thank you for spending time with me today. I'm convinced that [Product name] has the potential to revolutionize operations at [Customer company name], especially considering [A, B, C benefits].To make things smoother for you, I've organized a dedicated area on Forward [insert link]. Within, you'll discover

Key takeaways from our chat
A refresher of the demo, featuring the video and slides
In-depth real-world examples

Feel free to share and revisit this space anytime.Questions on your mind? I'm here to clear them up. If not, you'll be hearing from me soon.Cheers,"

Your customers will appreciate the follow-up email and the clear action steps, especially if it’s their first time encountering a digital sales room like Forward.

What to Include in Your Follow-Up After a Demo ?

After showcasing your product or service, it's vital to guide the conversation forward. Here's a practical guide on what to include in your post-demo follow-up:

Demo Recording: Offer a chance for your potential customer to revisit the demo whenever they wish. It reminds them of the features and benefits you've highlighted.
Demo Slides: Include the presentation slides from your demo. It's a handy reference for attendees and provides a snapshot for anyone who couldn't make it.
Case Studies: These are your success stories. If there was a point you touched upon briefly during the demo, dive deeper with a relevant case study. Use videos, pictures, and data to paint a complete picture.
Calendar and Contact Details: Ensure they know how to get in touch. Add tools or links where they can easily set a follow-up meeting or shoot over questions.
Additional Info: Depending on the demo's feedback or the sales process stage, you might wish to hold back or emphasize specific details. Maybe you hold off on discussing pricing or spotlight particular case studies based on their expressed interests.
Next Steps: Be clear about the path forward. Whether it's a scheduled check-in, a trial period, another detailed demo, or a special offer, outline the forthcoming steps so they know what to expect and when.

Organization is your friend here. Make everything accessible and easy to navigate.

How to do better Demo Follow-up with Forward

Navigating post-demo follow-ups used to feel a lot like trying to find a needle in a haystack – time-consuming and often hit-or-miss. The traditional approach, with its myriad of scattered emails and generic messages, left both salespeople and buyers feeling lost in the shuffle. Let's dive into how Forward transforms this cluttered process into a streamlined, efficient experience.

Centralised Content for Easy Access

In the past, the aftermath of a demo meant sending and receiving countless emails, making essential details easy to overlook. With Forward, the entire post-demo experience is consolidated into a single digital space. This means no more digging through emails or missing crucial attachments—everything is right at the buyer's fingertips, simplifying their decision-making process.

Tailored Experiences for Each Buyer

Generic follow-ups might cast a broad net, but they often lack the personal touch that can make all the difference. Forward allows for a tailored approach, customizing the digital room to resonate with each buyer's unique needs. This personalization showcases genuine care and understanding, strengthening the connection established during the demo.

A Cohesive Toolset for Seamless Engagement

Demos often spread across different platforms, from Zoom to PowerPoint to Miro, making it cumbersome to revisit or share details. Forward integrates these tools, offering a cohesive and organized space where every piece of the demo, from video replays to whiteboard discussions, is easily accessible.

Insightful Engagement Tracking

Sending follow-up emails used to feel like throwing messages into a void, with little insight into how they were received or engaged with. Forward changes the game, providing clear insights into buyer interactions. Whether they rewatch the demo video or spend time on a particular document, these cues can inform and refine future communication, ensuring more effective and targeted follow-ups.

Clear Next Steps with Mutual Action Plans

Previously, setting post-demo actions could feel ambiguous, often leaving both parties unsure of the next steps. Forward introduces mutual action plans, providing a clear roadmap for both sellers and buyers. Each step is transparent, ensuring everyone is aligned and aware of the upcoming milestones in the sales process.

Forward’s demo follow-up template

Demo follow-up is a key stage in the sales process because it not only bolsters the pitch you made in your demo, it shows off your customer service skills.

Setting up a Forward workspace can take as little time as it does to fire off a quick email. Our template speeds up the follow-up process, without leaving out any important steps.

Here's a glimpse:

How to use Forward Followup Template

Introducing Your Space

Begin with an overview, setting the stage for what's inside. This is a quick look-back at your demo, outlining the curated content that's been tailored just for them.

Share a recap

This is the most important part of your followup. Provide a focused summary of the key challenges of your client and how your product can address them. It's all about showing that you've listened and are ready to address their unique needs.

Map Out the Journey with a Mutual Action Plan

Think of this as a collaborative roadmap. It's where you and your client sketch out the steps ahead, setting clear expectations, milestones, and timelines. With Forward, this becomes a shared vision, keeping everyone aligned on the path forward.

Show your product in action with product demo Recordings

Dive into your product's details. Share the demo recording directly in your Forward workspace, reminding the client of its useful features.

A deeper dive with Demod Slides

Include your demo presentation here. It serves as a reminder for those present during the demo and as a reference for others who weren't.

Add Real-life Case Studies to sahre your successes

These provide detailed examples that weren't covered in your demo. With Forward, you can incorporate videos, images, stats, and slides to make your case studies stand out.

Easing Communication: Calendar and Contacts

Integrate tools like Calendly or Hubspot so clients can effortlessly schedule meetings when they need to.

Additional information

With Forward, your content isn’t static. As discussions evolve and deals progress, so can your content. Whether it's holding back on pricing or spotlighting specific case studies, it’s all about being relevant to their current needs.

And remember, one of Forward's charms is its organised nature. No more clutter or chaos. Just a clear, engaging space where you can foster connections and inch closer to that deal.

👉 Access the free demo follow-up template.

Start using Forward’s free template to do followup that close deals

Explore Forward's Digital Sales Room and see how it can transform your post-demo follow-up process. Sign up for a for 14 days trial and access Forward demo follow-up template for free.