Why Demo

If you were asked, what has been the biggest “game changer” for the Human Resources profession over the past 50 years, the answer would have to be technology. Improvements in HR technology has allowed personnel offices to move from paper pushers trying to keep their heads above mounds of benefits renewal forms, PTO request and paper applications, to seamless processing and managing HR tasks through a centralized HRIS.

The biggest areas HR technology has evolved for SMBs is the employee experience and the business owner’s access to HR data and actions. Employees can now complete their entire onboarding and benefit selection processes right from their mobile device. They can access all of their pay stubs, direct deposit information, request PTO and more, right from their mobile device. SMB owners have access to more data in one central location than ever before, making talent forecasting and strategic business decisions easier. To summarize Napoleon Dynamite’s brother Kip, we all love technology!

So if technology is such an important part of HR, why do sales reps not demonstrate how technology will make the life of a small business owner easier? Have you ever purchased a program or piece of technology without taking it for a test drive first? Why do we ask prospects to?

Demonstrating technology is one of the most important steps in a sales process for any HR Outsourcing company.

Why is demonstrating the technology important? According to the latest NAPEO research (April 2018), prospects that are most likely to outsource to a PEO/ASO are:

• Young Business Owners (25 – 34 years old)
• Young Businesses (less than 10 years)
• High Revenue ($10M+)

The research also surveyed prospects that went through a sales cycle with a PEO/ASO and made it to the proposal/documents signing stage, and walked away without signing. Those small businesses were asked about their concerns and why they walked away. The three top concerns were:

• Employee Experience – How much of a headache will it be for my employees to learn something new and impact of co-employment on the employee experience?
• Losing Control – Business owner will not have as much “say” about their business if they agree to outsource.
• Employment Changes – I will be forced to terminate some employees, i.e. payroll, benefits, etc.

All of these concerns are important to keep in mind during your sales process and below are a few suggested talking points during your demonstration with a prospective customer:

Audience/Topic	Key Message
Young Business Owners	Young business owners are more willing to outsource. According to a Forbes article, Millennials are the most primed to outsource areas of their business. Young business owners were raised in a technology world, they have never experienced life before the internet. Expect first-class technology. When you show the technology to young business owners, it will put their mind at ease and help them understand how it will make their life easier and more efficient.
Young Businesses	More willing to try new things. Because they are new businesses, they do not have an “old way” of doing things, so they are more willing to try a new approach.
Employee Experience	The technology plays big role in overall employee experience and the Employee Portal is modern, intuitive and easy to use. Employees will have more access to the things they want. Check out the new Employee Experience Video.
Losing Control	The business owners you’re targeting are used to being in charge. In many cases they were entrepreneurs who made sacrifices, persevered, and built their companies from nothing. And now they have the perception that you’re asking them to give up some of that control. HCM Portal gives you more control. Reporting allows leadership to dig deeper into their business, and allows them to make decisions based off of actual data.
Employment Changes	The HR technology that comes with your service does not eliminate the need for employees, it just streamlines their processes. Users will still need their HR, Benefits Directors to input information and run the system.

Related Content: 3 Ways for PEOs to Win More Business

Before You Demo

Understand Why

Always remember why you are demonstrating the technology. When PEO/ASO companies do not sell/demo technology, the SMB is only seeing half of the solution. Make sure the prospect understands the complete story. Showing the technology allows you to build credibility with prospects. It also differentiates you from your competitors. If the average sales rep does not show the technology, this gives you a great competitive advantage.

Know Your Audience

Make sure you are showing the demo at the right time and speaking to the right level. You don’t want to waste your time doing a demo with someone that is not a decision maker. Don’t be afraid to ask “who needs to be involved in making this decision?” When you have your answer, ensure they are a part of the demo. You also want to make sure it is the right time in the sales process. Best practice is to do a demo after the analysis call and before the proposal. This allows you the opportunity for another “touch”, but also gives you a chance to collect any documentation you may still be waiting on to present an accurate proposal.

Keep it Relevant

Finally, decide if you need the demo to be high level or a deep dive. A high level demo will suffice in most cases. But if you are working with a more complicated prospect, then they may require a deep dive into the platform. This is where it is important to know your own limitations. If you are not comfortable with a deep dive demo, find someone in your company who can do this for you.

Most importantly, be sure to create value throughout the demo. If you are creating value through the demo, the “close” will come more naturally, and the “sell” will not be as difficult.. Don’t forget the demo is a great opportunity to uncover more pain the client is experiencing, and show how your solution will ease that pain.

So get out there and demo! You will be rewarded in the end!