Stop Trying to Drive Every Green: Why the Demo Isn't Progress

YOU CAN’T DRIVE THIS GREEN! ⛳️

This is the 7th hole at my club, Irish Creek. From the blue tees, it’s a 358-yard Par 4. I’ve never seen anyone drive this green. Maybe someone has. And I certainly have never seen anyone ace it.

For most of us, it’s going to take a few well-executed shots to get the ball in the hole. So why do so many companies think enterprise healthcare sales should work differently?

The Demo Is Not the Destination

“I just need to get to the demo to close this deal!” In fact, some companies look at the number of demos delivered as a valuable measure of pipeline progress. But getting to the demo isn't the same thing as getting closer to a decision.

That’s the equivalent of standing on this tee box and thinking you’re going to ace a Par 4. It might make for a great story if it happens.

But it’s not a strategy.

Lead the Buyer Through the Complexity

Enterprise healthcare buying is complex. There are multiple stakeholders, competing priorities, financial considerations, clinical considerations, operational impact, and often a buying process that your champion may not completely understand themselves.

Your job isn’t to skip all of that. Your job is to lead the buyer through it.

I talk about this throughout Health Tech Giant Slayer. Great companies don't simply build a sales process. They create a buying experience that helps the customer make a high-quality decision.

The Right Shots in the Right Sequence

That means playing the right shots in the right sequence:

• Find and develop the right key influencer who believes strongly enough in the problem to help move the organization.
• Deliver a compelling commercial message that teaches them something about the problem, why it matters deeply to their organization, and why your company is uniquely positioned to lead them to a better reality.
• Build the business case that translates your solution into measurable operational, financial, and strategic value.
• Then earn the right to demo and show how your solution delivers the value you’ve already established.

And there are usually a few more shots required before the ball finds the bottom of the cup. That’s golf. And quite frankly, that’s business.

The Hard Work Others Try to Skip

Is that harder than discovery, demo, propose?

Absolutely.

But predictable growth is built by companies willing to do the hard work that others try to skip. That’s what separates companies that build a real buying experience from those simply running a sales process.

So stop trying to drive every green.

Learn how to play the hole.