Don't rely on your champion to perfectly relay your value proposition. Provide them with shareable async content like demos or executive summaries. This makes it easy for them to multi-thread on your behalf, reach decision-makers you haven't met, and build internal consensus faster.

The moment a group demo concludes, text or call your internal champion for an immediate, raw reaction. Ask how they thought it went, who might be a detractor, and where you need to go deeper. This captures their unfiltered thoughts before they solidify internally, giving you a critical information advantage.

An enthusiastic champion often rushes to pitch a solution internally, only to be shut down. Slow them down using 'commercial coaching'—sharing stories of how similar deals failed. This helps them understand the importance of first aligning the buying group on the problem.

The most effective demo directly connects the 3-5 biggest problems uncovered in discovery to 3-5 specific features that solve them. Avoid a feature dump of "cool" but irrelevant functions. Show only what matters to their pain, making the solution feel tailored and impactful.

Treat meetings with various stakeholders (CTO, CFO, COO) as practice sessions. Telling the same story multiple times allows you to observe what resonates, identify weak points, and refine the message before a high-stakes presentation.

Starting the sales process with a large group demo is ineffective for discovery and identifying the real champion. Instead, schedule the group demo but insist on a preliminary one-on-one call with the requester. Use this private call to understand their individual 'pull' and goals first.

The 'Pimp My Ride' demo framework forces reps to only show features relevant to discovery. For each feature, the rep explicitly says, 'You told me you had problem X, so we built feature Y to solve it.' This ensures the demo is highly personalized and constantly reinforces that you've listened to the prospect's needs.

Start every demo with two slides: one confirming the prospect's priorities ('What I Learned') and a second outlining the demo's agenda ('Demo Flow'). This ensures alignment and gives you control over the conversation, preventing unexpected detours.

Combining the demo and discovery call forces a generic presentation. By separating them, you use the discovery to listen (80% prospect talk time) and then customize the demo to the specific problems you unearthed, proving you heard them and their unique needs.