How to give demos and write proposals that win the deal.

By the time you demo, the prospect has told you what hurts. The demo’s job is to show, quickly and convincingly, that you fix it. The proposal’s job is to turn interest into a decision that survives internal scrutiny by people you may never meet. Both are often treated as presentations of the product. They should be presentations of the customer’s problem being solved.

Step 1: plan the demo from discovery notes

List the two or three problems the prospect described and map each to a part of the product. Everything else stays hidden. Prepare a demo account with realistic data in their sector, ideally using their terminology. Confirm who is attending and what each person cares about.

Step 2: run a tell-show-tell demo

1. Recap: “Last time you said X costs you Y. Is that still the priority?” Let them correct you.
2. For each problem: tell them what they will see, show it in under five minutes, then tell them what it means for them.
3. Check in often: “How does that compare with what you do now?”
4. Close the meeting: ask what they would need to see to move forward, and agree the next step and date.

Keep it to 30 minutes, leaving time for questions. If a feature is not built, say so; promising roadmap items to win a deal creates problems for product later.

Step 3: handle objections

Treat an objection as a question. Acknowledge it, ask what is behind it, answer with evidence, and check you have answered. Keep a shared list of common objections with your best answers and proof, such as security, integration, price, switching effort and “we will build it ourselves”.

Step 4: write a proposal that sells without you

A good proposal is short, often three to six pages, and covers:

• Their situation and goals, in their words from discovery.
• The proposed solution and what is included.
• Outcomes and how you will measure them, with timescales.
• Implementation plan: steps, who does what, go-live date.
• Investment: price, payment terms, contract length and whether prices include VAT. If you are VAT registered you must charge it; see GOV.UK on VAT.
• Proof: a relevant case study or reference.
• Next steps and a validity date.

Attach or link your terms. Contract terms are covered in the legal playbook.

Step 5: walk through it live

Never just email a proposal. Book a call to present it, answer questions and agree a decision date. Ask, “Is there anything in here that would stop you going ahead?” If other people must approve, offer to join their internal meeting or give your champion a one-page summary they can present.

For larger buyers, expect a security questionnaire, a data processing agreement under UK GDPR and supplier onboarding forms. Prepare standard answers and documents in advance so these steps take days, not weeks.

Worked example

Ledgerkite, a fictional Leeds tech startup selling practice software to accountancy firms, rebuilt its demo around three problems prospects raised most: chasing client documents, tracking deadlines and seeing staff capacity. It cut the demo from 50 minutes to 25, used a sample firm with realistic clients and ended by asking for a decision date. Its proposals shrank from a long feature document to four pages written around the firm’s goals, and partners began approving them without a second meeting.

Common mistakes

• Showing every feature because you are proud of them.
• Demoing with empty or obviously fake data.
• Sending a proposal before the buyer has agreed the problem and approach.
• Leaving the price and terms vague, which invites delay.

What to measure

• Demo-to-proposal and proposal-to-won conversion rates.
• Days from proposal sent to signature.
• Most frequent objections and loss reasons.