Building trust through imperfect demos

“Let Me Get Back to You”  – why this builds trust in sales demos You're 32 minutes into your demo. Everything is going well.  The customer seems interested. Then they ask a question you didn’t expect. You pause. You could try to guess the answer. You could say something that sounds close. You could keep talking and hope it’s okay. But instead, you say: “That’s a good question. I’m not 100% sure. Let me check and get back to you.” And then, something strange happens. Not on their side—but inside your own head. And then the doubt creeps in. Will they think I’m not an expert? Did I just lose their trust? Will sales be disappointed? Let me share something I’ve learned from watching hundreds of demos. In complex demos, there is always something unexpected. And that moment—when you don’t know the answer—can feel uncomfortable. I hear this every time in training sessions. Even very experienced people say,  “I feel like I should know everything.” The truth is, you don’t have to. Let me share what happens when you lean into honesty instead of pressure. A few weeks ago, a team was giving a demo to a large bank. Everything was going well. Then one person asked: “Can your platform work with our pricing system from 2009?” The solution consultant looked calm and said: “That’s a very specific question. I want to make sure I give you the correct answer, so I’ll check with our integration team and send you a short update tomorrow morning. Is that okay?” The customer said: “Yes. Thank you. I really appreciate that you didn’t just guess.” They didn’t lose trust—they earned it. Because customers don’t expect you to know everything. They expect you to be honest. They are asking themselves: - Can I trust this person? - Will they be honest when it’s difficult? - Will they do what they say? When you say, “let me get back to you,” you are saying: I care about being accurate. I care about you. And that builds trust. If you find it hard to say “I don’t know,”  here are a few things to keep in mind: 1. Be clear and confident. Say: “I want to be sure I give you the right answer, not just a quick one.” 2. Give a time for follow-up. Say: “I’ll confirm this and send you an update tomorrow morning.” 3. Use the follow-up as a second chance. If your demos are full of answers, but you rarely follow up, you might be missing something important. You miss the opportunity to go back and say: “Here’s the answer to your question. And by the way—how was the demo received? Any concerns? Anything else you need to know?” That moment is more than a technical update. It’s a chance to restart the conversation, invite feedback, and show that you care—not just about being right, but about being helpful. The best demos are not perfect. They are honest. Calm. Human. So let me ask you: When was the last time “I don’t know, but I’ll find out” helped you build trust? Drop a comment if you’ve experienced this moment too. #salesdemos #productdemo #SAAS

In which of these 2 scenarios, will a sales rep sell more blenders? a) She nails the demo, flawlessly blending a smoothie in front of potential customers b) Same exact pitch, but when she pours the smoothie, she spills it all over the table Dr. Richard Wiseman conducted this exact study. More people bought the blender when she made an absolute mess. This phenomenon is called the "other shoe effect." The underlying principle: We instinctively know people aren’t perfect. So when someone appears too polished in high-stakes moments—job interviews, pitches, first dates—part of our brain asks: “What are they hiding? When does the other shoe drop?” The longer someone appears flawless, the more suspicious we get. This creates a dangerous cycle: • You try to appear perfect in the first impression • The other person's brain gets increasingly distracted wondering about your hidden flaws • When your imperfection finally shows (and it will), it hits much harder than if you'd acknowledged it upfront I learned this the hard way. When I first wrote Captivate, I tried to sound like an academic. My editor called it out: “This doesn’t sound like you.” So I rewrote the intro to be me, very me in a vulnerable way: “Hi, I’m Vanessa. I’m a recovering awkward person.” That vulnerability built instant trust. By dropping my shoe early, I built trust immediately and let readers know they were in good company. This is also how I introduce myself in conversations, and I have noticed everyone laughs and relaxes when I say it. There are a couple situations where you can actively use this effect: • Job interviews: After sharing your strengths, say "One area I’m still growing in is public speaking—which is why this role excites me." • Investor pitches: After a strong open, confess: "One challenge we’re still working through is [X], and here’s how we’re tackling it." • Team meetings: Proactively raise project risks, then offer a solution. Don’t let others discover it first. Rules to remember: • Choose authentic vulnerabilities, not fake ones • Drop your shoe AFTER establishing competence, not before • Pair vulnerability with accountability - show how you're addressing it Remember: The goal isn't to appear perfect. It's to appear trustworthy. And trustworthy people acknowledge their imperfections before others have to discover them.

I don't trust people who've never failed publicly. They're either lying or hiding. And neither builds brands. Here's what I've learned after 18 years: The founders who win biggest? They've lost biggest too. → They've had launches that flopped → They've posted content that tanked → They've made promises they couldn't keep But they're still here. Still building. Still visible. Because they learned something most people don't: Failure in public is a feature, not a bug. It's how you build real trust. Think about it: Who do you actually believe? → The person with the perfect track record? → Or the one who shows you their scars? I'll take scars every time. Because scars mean you've been in the arena. Not watching from the stands. The market doesn't trust perfection. It trusts persistence. It trusts people who: → Own their mistakes → Share what they learned → Keep showing up anyway That's real authority. Not the polished version. The proven version. I've had: → Products that died → Partnerships that exploded → Strategies that completely missed And I talk about them. Not because I enjoy reliving failure. But because it's part of the story. The real story. The one people actually connect with. Your audience doesn't need another highlight reel. They need someone human. Someone who's been where they are. Someone who made it through. Perfect people can't help imperfect humans. But real people can. So stop hiding your failures. Start using them. They're not your weakness. They're your proof. Proof that you've actually done the thing. Not just talked about it. The market rewards reality. Even when reality includes failure. Especially then.

Perfection doesn’t build trust. Mistakes do. You don’t trust someone who’s always winning. You trust the person who stumbles and keeps going. Success is impressive, but struggle is relatable. Why perfect stories fall flat? - “I scaled my business to 7 figures in 6 months.” - “I closed 10 clients in 30 days.” - “Hard work always pays off.” Sounds impressive… but also fake. Your audience isn’t thinking "Wow, amazing!", they’re thinking, "Okay, but what aren’t you telling me?" Why your imperfections make you more relatable? Psychologists call this "the Pratfall effect". People trust you MORE when they see your imperfections. Think about: - Your favorite movie protagonist. They struggle, make bad decisions, and learn. - Your closest friends. You like them BECAUSE of their quirks, not despite them. - The LinkedIn posts you actually engage with. They share real lessons, not just wins. How can you turn your failure into engaging content? Instead of posting polished success stories, use this framework: ✅ Be Specific. “I bombed a sales call” is good. “I panicked, mumbled my price, and the client ghosted me” is better. ✅ Share the Emotion. What did it feel like? Embarrassing? Frustrating? That’s what makes it human. ✅ End with an Insight. What did you learn? What would you do differently? Give the audience something to take away. The best stories aren’t about success, they’re about struggle. People don’t follow “experts.” They follow flawed heroes. Perfection = Distance. Imperfection = Connection. P.S: What’s one mistake you made that taught you something valuable? Share it below.

The most honest feedback I got from a prospect: 'Your demo looks great, but so did the last three platforms we implemented.' This hit hard. We could build the most technically sound platform, but if it doesn't work the way people actually work, it's just expensive shelf-ware. So we changed our approach. Instead of perfect demos, we show real environments that mirror our prospects' actual challenges - messy data, complex integrations, and honest limitations. Because trust isn't built in sanitised demos - it's built in production, where systems break, integrations fail, and real threats emerge - especially in cybersecurity.

The Demo Deception What nobody tells you about perfect AI demonstrations is that perfection itself is the red flag. Real AI systems have edges, limitations, and operational boundaries. When the demo shows none of these, I'm immediately suspicious. The most misleading AI presentations share telltale patterns. Outputs appear without errors or hesitations. Every prompt gets an immaculate response. The test environment looks pristinely curated with no messy data or edge cases. The presenter controls exactly what questions get asked and which features get demonstrated. In reality, AI systems struggle with ambiguity. They misinterpret context. They hallucinate facts. They have knowledge cutoff dates. They perform inconsistently across different types of inputs. These aren't flaws so much as the current state of the technology. When these natural limitations are invisible during a demonstration, you're likely seeing a carefully orchestrated performance rather than authentic capability. What you should ask for instead: - Show me how it handles an unexpected query. - What are its known failure modes? - Can I try some inputs myself? - What percentage of outputs need human review? The vendor's comfort with these questions tells you everything about their integrity. I've learned to trust demonstrations that include failure cases more than those showing only successes. The vendors who transparently discuss limitations understand their technology better than those selling digital perfection. They're building for real-world implementation, not just to secure your signature. Remember, when evaluating AI, what you're NOT shown matters more than what you see. The systems that acknowledge their human element will always outperform the ones pretending to be 100% technology. AI is 10% Technology - 90% People.