When you’re thinking about buying a tool, you probably jump to ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. And so do your prospects.

Equipped with pros, cons, competitors, pricing, even risk and compliance assessments, it’s pretty easy for them to narrow down to their top two or three choices.

The real test is what they see in a demo.

Usually, they see a vanilla walkthrough, a standard set of features that may or may not apply to their specific use case.

That’s not very convincing, but most SEs don’t have time to think about rebuilding their demo strategy, let alone execute it.

Matt Finch saw this problem firsthand leading SE and enablement teams at companies like Mavenlink and Olo, and now he’s solving it with his new demo automation agency: Demo Atelier.

Below, we dig into the pain points Matt sees SEs dealing with, how Demo Atelier helps, and what it takes to turn your demo into a deal closer.

Watch the full interview with Matt here:

Compared to a few years ago, the selling environment has changed in three big ways:

1. Buyers have the upper hand

Buyers have a technical expert by their side (aka their LLM of choice) before they ever hit your website.

They don’t want to answer a bunch of questions, they want to be impressed by what your product can do.

But most SEs open with traditional discovery, slowing things way down.

“Buyers are so enabled by AI that it’s probably costing you deals to make them go through two, three, four calls,” Matt points out.

If the prospect pushes back – “just show me how this addresses [insert use case], please” – the SE tends to show the 17 features that could solve part of it, rather than the 1 or 2 that would create an aha moment.

It’s frustrating for everyone.

2. There’s pressure to do more with less

Unfortunately, cuts across the GTM board are real. Leaders are being forced to do more with less.

“There is no CRO in the tech world that isn’t being asked to increase their growth with the same amount, or sometimes even fewer, people,” Matt emphasizes.

In practice, that means more work on the average solutions engineer’s plate.

If marketing manages to get more leads, SEs have more demos to give. On top of that, they may have to absorb other people’s work.

For reference, our Demo Automation report found that 94% of SEs conduct repetitive demos at least sometimes and do 7+ demos a week.

That workload makes it really hard to create a white-glove, high-touch experience for every strategic account.

3. Not enough training

“From a training perspective, I’d say account executives get the majority of the investment in sales training and sales process,” Matt notes.

Despite their ever-growing workload, “SEs are expected to kind of ride along, even if the content has to do with prospecting or end-of-cycle negotiation.”

What they need is a set path they can follow that:

• Changes based on the ICP in front of them
• Helps them do discovery on the fly without aggravating the prospect
• Connects what they’re showing to a known pain point

Matt’s agency, Demo Atelier, helps B2B software companies win the demo.

He and his team build automated, personalized demo systems on Navattic, powered by what he calls the “Narrative Spine,” a storytelling framework that ensures every buyer gets self-serve and live demos built around their problem.

More specifically, they help with:

Outbound lead generation

Sending an email with yet another generic product video probably won’t spark a prospect’s interest.

The team at Demo Atelier builds hyperpersonalized agentic demos, customizing every step for each prospect.

“There’s an AI layer in the background doing all of that research and enrichment and tailoring that demo specifically to them,” Matt explains.

Inbound conversion

If someone lands inbound and fills out a form, they get a hyperpersonalized demo, too.

On the backend, Demo Atelier reviews what the person asked about, doubled down on, or skipped.

Using that data, they help SEs and sellers build a tight, compelling story for their live demo, then personalize and send follow-up demos through Launchpad.

“In this way, SEs and sellers are really only working on the higher-value opportunities that have already been pre-qualified, and they’re not wasting time building custom demos,” Matt points out.

The Narrative Spine helps SEs and sellers tell stories in a way prospects resonate with. This involves:

1. Hooking them in

Execs are bombarded with emails, Slacks, and LinkedIn DMs. What will make them pay attention to you?

You need something that earns you the next 60 minutes in the first 60 seconds.

“The goal is for the prospect to stand up and say, ‘Ok, I’ve got to listen to this person. They’re an expert in my business and in this product and solving this problem,’” says Matt.

2. Confirming that you understand their world

After some upfront ICP research, you repeat back their pain and ask additional questions to make sure what you’re about to show them in the demo is appropriate.

“It’s something I call ‘poking the problem,’” Matt offers. “Resurfacing pains and getting those top of mind so that you can go on and solve it.”

3. Showing the stakes of standing still

What happens if they decide to do nothing?

Per Matt, “You need to quantify the cost of continuing to do what they’re doing right now to get them to act.”

4. Explaining what change looks like

This is where the demo comes in. You show them what’s possible.

“It’s detailing the shift. Lay out what you’re going to do as a joint team, as a partnership, to get them to a new place,” Matt urges.

5. Offering social proof

Knowing someone in your exact position got great results is a major confidence boost.

“Now is the time to tell stories about how other customers just like your prospect have solved this problem with your product and specifically what kind of metrics they were able to achieve,” Matt advises.

6. Proposing a next step

It sounds obvious, but you need a concrete, agreed-upon next step. Ideally, lock it in as you go, not scramble at the end.

“Pull up the calendar and say, ‘Should we meet tomorrow? Should we meet the next day? Should we meet next week?’

Whatever your next step is, get it tied down so you all know exactly what you’re going to be doing next,” Matt suggests.

It meets buyers where they are

A personalized, story-led demo early in the funnel lets prospects see how your product solves their specific problem right away.

Giving them the info they want without making them talk to a rep makes them that much more interested in what they could see in a live demo.

And that prompts more of them to click through to “contact sales.”

Per Matt, “I’ve always believed the demo is where deals are really won, and interactive demos let that story scale to every buyer, instead of living with your one gifted SE.”

It reduces manual work

Demo Atelier builds automated demos that qualify out tire-kickers, standardizes them for each segment of your ICP, and helps your team craft the narrative for live demos.

Without all that prep, SEs and sellers can fully focus on nailing demos for high-value accounts. And they don’t have to give the same vanilla demos over and over again.

As Matt puts it, “There will always be a place for the in-person demo that’s highly customized, ultra-specific to discovery.

Automated demos get qualified buyers further down the process ready to meet you at the right moment for you and the right moment for them.”

It gives SEs a framework

The Narrative Spine gives SEs a way to think through what they’re presenting and why, and shows them how to adapt if the conversation takes an unexpected turn.

After 25 years leading sales engineering and enablement teams, Matt’s got a few tips to share with folks navigating these changes in the selling landscape:

Know what you’re dealing with

“Buyers are turning up in the sales cycle where they’re automatically being put back two or three steps,” Matt says.

“Continuing on to do some qualification, some discovery, a whole pitch before the prospect sees the product is just going to frustrate them.”

Instead, you need to figure out how to jump straight into the final few elements they need to see.

But what are those elements? Hard to know if you’re expected to skip discovery.

Interactive and agentic demos track buyer behavior and clue SEs and reps into what the prospect cares about, what confuses them about your product, and what they need to hear and see to close the deal.

Show that you’re adopting AI (in a smart way)

“CROs are being pushed by the board and investors to make sure AI is at the front and center of all processes where possible,” Matt shares.

The key is to use AI products with true ROI. Things that increase conversion and save your team from doing low-value activities.

Automated demos knock both out at once:

• They pre-qualify opportunities and nudge prospects down-funnel by showing people exactly what they want to see and answering their most pressing questions.
• They free SEs from repetitive demos and gather the intel needed for a highly tailored live demo down the line.

Help your team tell better stories

“Ultimately, people buy from people,” Matt highlights. “If you’re making a six- or seven-figure investment, your job’s on the line if you pick the wrong vendor.”

To help prospects feel comfortable and secure in their decision, you need to spell out the reasoning for them so they can spell it out to their boss.

Knowing the product inside and out isn’t enough to run through this kind of process.

Solutions engineers especially need the soft skills to listen to prospects and connect what the end user is saying to what they can deliver.

Of all things, AI can help develop these soft skills.

“It can surface new storytelling frameworks, even do role-play, and help them actually rehearse and practice and get better at the human side,” Matt explains.

Ready to rebuild your demo strategy? Book a consult with Demo Atelier.