5 ways sales demo cases enhance your product presentation

Whether you are in a highly competitive mass market, or a highly specialised niche, chances are there will be companies similar to yours vying for the same business.

As a result, it is highly likely that you won’t be the only potential supplier your target customer will be seeing. In turn, this means that any advantage you can gain – no matter how small – could prove crucial in the final decision making process.

In fact, these small advantages could be the difference between closing a substantial deal (and hitting your sales target), or losing out to a rival.

This is why you must at least consider the use of sales demo cases, and the ways in which they can improve the presentation of your samples.

Also commonly referred to as sample cases or presentation cases, they are in effect what the name suggests – a way to demo your products and samples during a sales meeting.

A sales demo case will usually take one of two forms.

Firstly, there is a wide range of moulded plastic cases. With integrated handles, catches and hinges, they are available in a surprisingly wide range of colours and sizes.

The alternative to this is a custom built option. These give you much control over the final appearance, and tend to appear more “premium” overall (making them ideal for luxury or high value goods).

Choosing between a stock or custom sample case is dependent on a number of factors, and will be different for every business, type of sample or target market.

Regardless of the outer presentation case that you choose, your case can (and should) be enhanced further with customised foam inserts. When created by a professional foam converter to work seamlessly with your case, they offer a range of benefits that can directly influence the success of your sales pitches.

You’ll never get a second chance to make a great first impression.

Whilst perhaps a cliché now, it is still as true as ever. In fact, one psychological study found evidence that people will generally make their mind up in a blink of an eye – approximately one tenth of a second!

Whilst the study by Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov focused on human faces (and interestingly found that judgements made in a 100 milliseconds timescale were the same as those made with no time limit), the same principal can easily be applied to your products and samples.

As a result, the visual impact – and first impression – of your samples can have a huge influence on the success of your meeting.

So which sounds better?

Carrying a selection of “loose” samples into a meeting, or even worse, having a number of samples simply thrown into a larger bag (no matter how expensive) and pulled out one by one as the need arises?

Or, the alternative of having your samples neatly organised in a foam insert that itself is housed within an attractive outer presentation case?

And which of these will help make your potential customers mind up within one tenth of a second?

Tied closely to the visual impact of your sales demo case is the branding opportunity it provides you with.

So whilst it would possibly be quite easy to make a very visually striking presentation case, using bold, contrasting colours of foam and a brightly hued exterior case, this has to be balanced against creating a consistent brand identity.

The ideal case will therefore successfully highlight your samples without overshadowing them, reflect the colours of your company’s branding, and be memorable.

Fortunately, this can be easily achieved with some careful planning, plus the sample case options available to your business.

The use of colours isn’t your only branding option, however. There are in fact a wide range of case branding options open to you.

Exterior cases can be printed, have labels attached, be varying colours and even have logos moulded into their body during manufacture.

There are also a wide range of options regarding foam colours, styles and the potential to use cutting-edge techniques – including laser engraving – to add logos and text to the foams’ surface.

So why is this important?

Besides the importance of making a great first impression, by conveying a consistent brand identity across not only your sample cases but also your company literature, business cards, PowerPoint presentation and even email signature, it will allow your target users too much more easily remember you, your company and your products.

And if they don’t remember you, there is no way they can buy from you.

So you have seen the benefits of consistent branding and a first impression. What else can sales demo cases do to influence the success of your sales meeting?

One of the most common problems for sales teams that do not use sample cases is that of samples being damaged during transit.

Even in the boot of your company car, if your samples are not cushioned and separated (they can often damage each other by colliding) they can become broken whilst on your travels.

And even if they are in one piece, transit damage can include cosmetic damage such as surface scuffs. What sort of first impression would that make when presenting a sample at a sales pitch?

Sample cases with foam inserts offer your products protection in a couple of important ways.

Firstly, and as alluded to above, samples can damage each other if they collide with each other in transit. A foam insert, with individual apertures for your sample products to sit in, will keep them both secure and separated.

Secondly, the foam acts as a “cushion” against forces such as impact and vibration (e.g. the case gets dropped, or is not secured correctly in your vehicle). Any shock is absorbed within the foam, preventing the damaging forces reaching your products.

Depending on the value of your samples, it is even possible to calculate the precise thickness and density of the foam to prevent specific damage occurring.

Protecting your samples like this not only saves you the expense and / or inconvenience of replacing what could potentially be expensive items (or rare if in prototype form), but also saves you the embarrassment of having to present a damaged product in an important meeting.

As much as we all like to pretend otherwise, your direct competition has certain strengths over you.

Of course, they also have weaknesses too, but if you are simply pitching your product as a “we can do that too” then you always risk the run the risk of comparison with your fiercest rivals. Sometimes you may win, sometimes you may lose.

What a well designed and manufactured sales demo case gives you is a point of difference from your competition, who may well be presenting products from their original packaging (or even just as individual items).

This instantly makes you more memorable.

As a result, if you are competing with other firms for a contract or sale, the impact of being the most memorable can be absolutely crucial in securing the business.

Make sure you aren’t the company that gets overlooked as you don’t stand out from the crowd.

Finally, sample presentation cases give you, your products and your company an air of professionalism.

This matters.

Many cite an unprofessional appearance or impression as being a major barrier to working with and buying from a company, and with good reason.

A professional company projects the likelihood of better customer service. Not missing deadlines. Supplying products that do what they are supposed to do, and do it well. A company that will care for their customers.

A sales demo case is one of the first steps in highlighting this professionalism.

Not only does the appearance help with this, but it also shows how much you care about the safety and protection of your products, as well as how much you want to impress your potential customers.

So besides providing a striking visual appearance and offering excellent branding potential, there are numerous other benefits of using presentation cases.

This could be as simple – but as profound – as making your business stand out from the competition.

It could help prevent the cost of damaged samples (both in terms of replacements but also hampered sales pitches), whilst also giving you, your sales team and your company the perception that you value what you do, and how you treat your customers.

Ultimately, they can give you the edge you need in those crucial sales pitches.

5 proven methods to improve sample presentation

Branded & printed sample cases – 9 clever ideas

The 5 key points when choosing salesman cases

Enhancing your cases with protective foam inserts

Stock vs custom sample cases

Key reasons you should be using sales demo cases

7 widely overlooked benefits of presentation cases