Sales & Presales Enablement

The best way to demo complex B2B products online is with interactive, self-guided experiences that allow buyers to explore specific features, use cases, and configurations on their own terms — rather than watching a fixed presentation.

B2B buying behavior has shifted massively: B2B buying journeys are increasingly nonlinear and digitally driven, with buyers doing most of their research before engaging sales . Similarly, 75% of B2B buyers prefer digital tools in partnership with sales during their purchase process, and they are significantly more likely to complete a high-quality deal when supplier-provided digital experiences are part of that journey .

Interactive demos work well online because they:

• Let buyers navigate the product at their own pace
• Tailor experiences to different roles and priorities
• Support early engagement across time zones and regions

Unlike static videos or PDFs, interactive formats give buyers context and control, which is crucial when selling complex solutions.

The “Pre-Contact” phase has accelerated. According to the 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report, the point of first contact has shifted from 69% of the journey down to 61%. This means buyers are reaching out earlier, but they are doing so with higher expectations of what they should already know.

• Self-Guided Discovery: Transition from “Gate-First” (forms) to “Product-First” (interactive models).
• The “Day One” Shortlist: 95% of buyers now purchase from a vendor that was on their shortlist on the very first day of their journey
• Virtual Briefing Centers (VBCs): These provide a persistent, 360-degree digital environment where buyers can explore complex solutions long before a physical trade show.
• AI-Driven Discovery: Procurement teams are now using LLMs like Gemini and ChatGPT as primary research tools to find suppliers who offer specific technical capabilities
• The Helpfulness Factor: According to Gartner, customers who find the information they receive from suppliers to be helpful are 2.8x more likely to experience a high degree of purchase ease.

While both are visual, the distinction in 2026 is defined by Agency. A video is a story told to the buyer; an interactive demo is a story told by the buyer.

• Product Video (Passive): Best for high-level awareness. While 91% of businesses still use video, it is a “one-way” medium that offers low retention.

• Interactive Demo (Active): Best for evaluation. These allow the buyer to “drive,” choosing which features to explore. Even as general content fatigue grows, 60% of business buyers now insist on some form of trial or interactive validation before committing to a purchase.

Why it matters: Users retain roughly 75% of information when they “learn by doing” (interactive) versus only 20% when they just watch (video).

The “Demo Request” button is no longer a destination; it is a mid-journey milestone. Because 61% of B2B buyers now prefer a “rep-free” experience for as long as possible, the demo must move “left” in your funnel.

1. Exploration (Awareness): Provide “Micro-Demos” (15–30 seconds) on your homepage to prove the product’s existence.
2. Validation (Consideration): This is the sweet spot for self-serve interactive demos. It allows the 13 internal stakeholders typically involved in a 2026 B2B deal to achieve consensus without 13 separate sales calls .
3. Selection (Decision): Reserve the Live Demo for deep-dive technical “stress tests” and relationship building.

Self-serve demos act as a qualification engine, ensuring that when a buyer finally speaks to sales, the conversation starts at a higher level of sophistication.

• Warm Starts: Sales reps use data from the Kaon platform to see which features a buyer explored, allowing them to skip the “intro pitch” and move straight to solving pain points.
• Accelerated Trust: In an era of AI-generated misinformation, buyers are skeptical. TrustRadius notes that buyers now trust “hands-on experience” over “vendor claims” by a massive margin.
• Stakeholder Alignment: Because buying groups have expanded to 13+ people, self-serve demos allow your champion to “show, not tell” your value to their CFO and IT leads internally.

No, they force-multiply them. In 2026, AI-powered demos like Demo360.ai act as an “Always-On Sales Copilot.”

• The Rep’s Wingman: During live calls, reps use the interactive demo to pivot instantly to “what-if” scenarios, showing 3D configurations on the fly.
• Post-Call Momentum: After the meeting, the AI-powered demo stays with the buyer to answer follow-up questions for other stakeholders.
• The Hybrid Strategy: Technology handles the 24/7 “Discovery,” while the human rep focuses on the high-stakes Trust Validation needed to close the deal.