The demo was incredible. Sleek dashboards. Seamless automation. Powerful features you didn’t know you needed.

Six months after purchase: half those features don’t work like the demo showed. The dashboards require data you don’t have. The automation took three months to configure.

You got demo’d.

Let me show you how to avoid this.

How Demos Deceive

Software demos are performance art. They’re designed by skilled people whose job is to make the product look good.

Pre-configured perfect data. The demo database has ideal customers, complete records, and perfect data quality. Your data won’t look like that.

Happy path only. They show features working perfectly. They don’t show error states, edge cases, or when things break.

Expert operators. The person giving the demo has done it thousands of times. They know every shortcut and avoid every pitfall.

Future features presented as current. “In the next release…” or features that exist technically but require extensive setup.

Cherry-picked integrations. They show the integrations that work well. Not the one you actually need that’s clunky or incomplete.

This isn’t dishonesty. It’s sales. Your job is to look past it.

Before the Demo

Define Your Requirements

Before any demo, write down:

• What problem are we solving?
• What are our must-have features?
• What are nice-to-haves?
• What does success look like?

Don’t let the demo expand your requirements. Features you didn’t need before the demo, you still don’t need.

Prepare Specific Scenarios

Create two or three scenarios from your actual business.

“We get a lead from the website. They need to be assigned to a sales rep based on region. The rep needs to see their previous interactions. If no response in 48 hours, it reassigns.”

Make the vendor walk through your scenarios, not their prepared ones.

Identify Your Edge Cases

Every business has quirks. The weird situation that comes up monthly. The exception your current tool handles poorly.

“Sometimes a customer has two accounts. How does that work?”

“Some of our deals have multiple stakeholders who need different views. Show me that.”

Edge cases break demos.

During the Demo

Take Control

Don’t let them drive the whole thing. Interrupt politely.

“This is interesting, but can you show me how we’d do [specific task]?”

“I see the report looks great. Can you show me building one from scratch?”

“What happens if the data is incomplete?”

The more you control, the more you see real behavior.

Ask to See Data Import

“Can you show me importing some sample data?”

Ideally, send sample data in advance and ask them to show it in the demo. This reveals:

• How hard is the import process?
• How does the system handle imperfect data?
• What cleaning is required?

Request Hands-On Time

“Can I drive for a few minutes?”

Actually clicking around yourself reveals hidden complexity. Where the demo operator flies through screens, you’ll fumble. That fumbling is useful information.

Watch for Slide Transitions

When they say “let me switch to another area” or move to slides instead of the live product, that’s often where the product gets weak. Ask to stay in the live environment.

Ask About What’s Not Shown

“What don’t customers like about this product?”

“What feature requests do you hear most often?”

“What would you say is the biggest limitation?”

Honest vendors will tell you. Evasive vendors are warning signs.

Questions That Reveal Truth

Setup and Implementation

• How long does typical implementation take for a company our size?
• What percentage of implementations require professional services?
• What’s the most common reason implementations stall?
• Can you share references for companies who implemented without consultants?

Daily Use

• Show me what a regular user sees on login
• How many clicks to do [common task]?
• What’s the mobile experience like?
• What reporting exists out of the box versus what requires configuration?

Support and Training

• What support is included at our pricing tier?
• What does training look like?
• What’s the average response time for support tickets?
• Is there a user community or knowledge base?

Real Costs

• What’s the true total first-year cost including implementation?
• What costs extra that we might assume is included?
• How does pricing work as we grow?
• What would we pay to leave?

After the Demo

Talk to Real Users

Ask for references. Then actually call them. Ask:

• How long did implementation really take?
• What surprised you after purchase?
• What would you do differently?
• Would you buy again?

Ask for references that are your size, in your industry if possible. The enterprise case study isn’t relevant if you’re a 30-person company.

Run a Real Trial

If a trial is available, use it. With your data. For real tasks.

Don’t just poke around. Actually try to accomplish something. Import contacts. Build a report. Configure a workflow.

The difference between trial experience and demo experience is revealing.

Check Review Sites

G2, Capterra, TrustRadius. Read reviews from companies your size. Look for patterns in complaints.

One person complaining about support is noise. Twenty people complaining about support is signal.

Sleep on It

Demos are designed to create urgency. “This pricing is only available until Friday.” “We have limited implementation slots.”

Ignore the pressure. A week won’t change anything material. The right decision matters more than the fast decision.

Red Flags

Warning signs during evaluation:

• Can’t provide references your size
• Unwilling to let you drive the demo
• Heavy reliance on slides over live product
• Answers are vague about implementation timeline
• Pressure to skip trial and sign quickly
• Dismissive about limitations or complaints
• Implementation always requires professional services
• Base price and “real” price are dramatically different

Green Flags

Signs of a good fit:

• Willing to show non-ideal scenarios
• Honest about what the product doesn’t do well
• Can provide several references your size
• Implementation looks realistic
• Pricing is straightforward
• Support model matches your needs
• Trial experience matches demo experience

The Bottom Line

Demos show potential. Reality often differs. Your job is to close the gap between demo promises and likely experience.

Prepare specific scenarios. Control the demo. Ask uncomfortable questions. Talk to real users. Try it yourself.

The hour you spend really evaluating saves months of regret after buying the wrong tool.