The business landscape is constantly evolving. Processes come and go. Fads rise and fall. Companies start and end. Each of these events has a subtle effect on the larger business world.
However, there come points in time when sweeping, and dramatic changes take place all at once. Such has been the case when it comes to digital sales during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Mckinsey & Company, nearly 90 percent of sales have shifted to a digital format at this point. From video conferencing to phone calls to other web sales models, nine out of every ten sales reps worldwide are plying their trade remotely.
This shift has drawn its fair share of skepticism. Even so, most forward-thinking individuals are looking for opportunities in the new long-distance sales environment. The possibilities include replacing traditional sales tools with remote-friendly alternatives.
One tool that’s found explosive growth during the last two years is demo platforms. The ability to showcase a product or service effectively is a critical part of most sales activities.
However, most digital demo options these days revolve around dull presentations that merely duplicate entire products onto the cloud. Another demo environment is probably the last thing the sales team needs, and it’s like forcing the old world onto the new one.
That’s where Walnut is making a difference.
Watch How Walnut is Rewriting the Demo Script
Walnut is an innovative brand in the sales tech space. The founders of the burgeoning startup were well aware of the shortcomings of most demoing software when they launched their company — especially when remote selling is the topic of discussion.
Videos are often used to demo products and services. Unfortunately, the videos have to be recorded beforehand and can lead to dull, canned presentations with no engaging factor.
Even when live stream is used, it tends to fall flat. Sales personnel use generic tools to share screens in a clumsy, haphazard manner that is prone to flake out halfway through a presentation.
None of these standard demoing tools are able to make an excellent first impression. On the contrary, the anti-user aspect of many demos can create an endless string of clarifications, excuses, and even apologies. This is hardly a recipe for sales success.
The tremendous amount of resources poured into current marketing budgets only exacerbates the issue. For example, most tech software companies put around 15% of their overall budget into their marketing. When this results in low-quality demos that turn off prospects, it can be a real issue.
After all, the goal is to use a demo to put your best foot forward. It should show off your USP, reveal unique features in real-time, and showcase any factors that differentiate you from your competitors.
That’s the vision that remains at the heart of everything that Walnut does.
“Walnut is shifting away from a boring demo environment to a platform that impacts your entire go-to-market,” Walnut CEO Yoav Vilner explains, “from showcasing your product on the homepage, letting prospects engage with it according to their use case, insights, and analytics for team leaders, and more.”
Walnut has already made a splashy entrance into a growing space in the business world, which Gartner refers to as the “demo/product experience space.” With a recent $15 million round of Series A funding, the company is off to the races as it works to equip salespeople with its groundbreaking new product.
How Does Walnut Work?
Several essential elements facilitate Walnut’s innovative take on the demo. These fundamental elements address certain areas which are necessary to prioritize when looking for a good demo platform.
A Secure Connection
For example, Walnut enables demos to operate within a cloud-based encapsulated environment. The process, in effect, reduces the potential for live stream crashing and mid-presentation disconnections.
It provides a safe, stable environment where a salesperson can focus all of their attention on a prospect — rather than doubling their work trying to figure out the IT rep aspects of the project.
Codeless Personalization
Walnut also removes the need for interdepartmental collaboration for something as small as a demo. While collaboration in the workplace is important, there are areas where it tends to be a hassle.
Involving IT in something as simple as a demo presentation qualifies as a hassle — and Walnut knows it. That’s why they offer a codeless editing tool. This tool equips all salespeople in your company to create personalized demos without dragging IT into the process.
Data and Analytics
Demo analytics often presents a wasted opportunity. Not for Walnut. The platform makes sure to capture user data whenever possible.
This information includes things like unique visitors, time spent on a demo, and screen completion rates. Together, this can be collected and analyzed to create powerful insights and find the best possible prospects.
Walnut Knows How to Put the Customer(s) First
All of the factors that make Walnut unique revolve around one thing: putting the customer first and including two different sets of customers.
On the one hand, Walnut satisfies the needs of its own customers, primarily salesmen and women and their associated businesses. The startup does this by offering a user-friendly product that answers the ongoing needs of a remote-first sales environment.
On the other hand, Walnut also enables its own customers to further answer their own clients’ needs through compelling, intuitive demos. These can clearly demonstrate how a product or service can answer a prospect’s problems, clearing the runway to turn them into a paying customer in the process.
The result of all of this is a tool that is genuinely able to help convert prospects into paying customers. In addition, it equips a company with the ability to showcase its strengths, even in a virtual environment.
From personalization to user experience, data to stability, Walnut is an immersive sales demo platform getting it right. The company is demonstrating that the world doesn’t need more demo environments. On the contrary, all that’s needed is a single tool that can adapt to the individual needs of each and every user.
Image Credit: Mikael Blomkvist; Pexels; Thank you!