The sales demo case and the selling process

The sales demo case and the selling process

Consider the plight of the modern salesperson; someone who has to demonstrate a technical and complex product as part of the selling process.   In some situations this product has several components, and is fragile.    The sales person has to travel to many different cities to call on perspective clients.

A typical sales call might go like this:

The salespersons start out in the morning with a drive to the airport, or maybe he or she takes a cab.  So in addition to personal items, the product demo case needs to be transported.  So the first thing that happens is the case is thrown into the trunk of a cab or the back seat of a car.  In some cases the salesperson parks at a “park and ride” lot to save money, where again, the product case along with other travel items is loaded onto a shuttle bus and unloaded at the drop off point.

WP_20140204_005In many cases the product case is checked in as baggage and is now at the mercy of baggage handlers (gulp!).   Anyone who does air travel knows the type of handling that can be expected as the product demo case is thrown onto a conveyor and dumped into the cargo compartment of the passenger jet.   When the flight arrives the case is unloaded and slides onto the baggage claim carrousel.

After picking up the demo case at the baggage claim, the salesperson hails a cab, where the cab driver loads the case into the trunk.   It turns out that it is raining at the destination city, so the case is getting wet.

The cab drops the salesperson off at the destination company and is escorted to a conference room full of interested spectators anxious to see what this great product can do.  At this point, this case has been jostled, dropped, sprayed with water and flipped over several times during the transport. The selling process now begins and the vital role of the sales demo kit comes into play:

  • As the sales person comes into the conference room, the prospective buyers notice the professional looking, branded and attractive sales demo case. They can’t help but be impressed by the durable yet highly attractive appearance.
  • When the product (which has several pieces) is removed from the case, it is easily set up because the pieces were organized in the case, allowing the sales person to easily unload and set up while discussing the merits of the product.
  • Once removed and set up, the product works perfectly and it looks spotless because the case did great job of protecting the product during a very rough journey.
  • The product was clean and dry despite being transported through heavy rain.
  • The sales demo case also included pockets for visual or audio/visual selling aids such as sell sheets, brochures, or perhaps a CD or flash drive.
  • Because the sales demo case was designed with ergonomics in mind, the sales person was fresh in appearance and had plenty of energy for the presentation.

The sales presentation was a huge success!  Everyone was impressed by the product and the presentation.

Now imagine what would have happened if any of the following would have occurred:

  • The case itself was badly tattered, looked unprofessional.
  • The components were all jumbled within the case, forcing the sales person to take several minutes to “untangle” and reposition, while awkwardly trying to keep everyone interested.
  • One or more of the parts were damaged or marred.
  • The inside of the case was soaking wet, the brochures were unreadable.
  • The salesperson was tired and “frazzled” because of the stress and strain of lugging an awkward case to the final destination.

The odds of a successful presentation would have decreased dramatically; perhaps the best the salesperson could have hoped for was a polite invitation to return again for a more fruitful demonstration.

Packnet will design and fabricate a custom sales demo case that protects the product, keeps it clean and organized while in transport, is ergonomically friendly and looks highly professional.   Having a great sales demo case can make the difference between a super sales presentation and a disaster.  Click here for more info on our sales demo cases.

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