If you’re leading a B2B go-to-market (GTM) team, you probably spend half your day in meetings—demos, discovery calls, onboarding, the works. You might be wondering if there’s anything out there better suited to sales than the usual suspects (Zoom, Teams, Google Meet). There’s a lot of hype about specialized tools—Demodesk is one of the buzziest. But is it actually better, or just another shiny thing? Let’s cut through the noise.
Who This Is For
If you’re a sales or revenue leader (or the person who sets up tools for them), this guide is for you. I’ll break down how Demodesk stacks up against traditional meeting tools, what to care about, and what to ignore. No fluff, just what actually moves the needle.
The Usual Meeting Tools: What You Get (and Don’t)
Let’s start with the basics: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. You know them. Your prospects know them. They’re reliable, most people have them installed, and they “just work”—most of the time.
What they do well: - Universal access: Everyone can join, no weird downloads, no logins (usually). - Stable video/audio: Calls rarely drop. Screen sharing is solid. - Calendar integration: Easy to schedule, reschedule, and send invites. - Recording and transcription: Getting better all the time. - Familiarity: No one needs a walkthrough to join a Zoom.
Where they’re lacking for sales/GTM: - No sales context: These tools weren’t built for sales. They don’t track deal stages, log activity, or nudge reps to follow a playbook. - Manual note-taking: You’re stuck copy/pasting notes, or hoping someone remembers to update Salesforce. - Clunky handoffs: If you need to bring in a solutions engineer or manager, it’s another link, another calendar invite. - No automation: Follow-up emails, call summaries, and CRM updates are still on you.
Bottom line: Traditional tools are great for internal meetings or quick catch-ups. For sales calls, you’ll hit a ceiling fast—especially as your team grows.
What’s Different About Demodesk?
Demodesk is a meeting platform built specifically for sales and customer-facing teams. It pitches itself as more than just another Zoom competitor. The promise: automate the admin work, standardize your sales process, and (allegedly) close more deals.
Here’s how it’s supposed to work:
What Demodesk brings to the table: - Guided selling: Load up dynamic playbooks, slides, and battlecards inside the meeting—so reps don’t have to fumble with tabs. - CRM integration: Log meetings, notes, next steps, and recordings directly to Salesforce or HubSpot. No more double entry. - Automated scheduling: Prospects book meetings, get reminders, and see your availability—no back-and-forth emails. - Co-browsing: Instead of just screen sharing, both you and the prospect can click and interact on the same page or demo environment. - Instant content: Pull up decks, pricing sheets, or product tours without leaving the meeting. - Analytics: Track talk time, engagement, and playbook usage. See who’s following the script—and who’s winging it.
But let’s be real: - It’s not magic. If your sales process is broken, Demodesk won’t fix it. - There’s a learning curve. Reps used to “just share my screen on Zoom” might grumble at first. - It’s another tool. You’re still paying for Zoom/Teams for everything else, unless you go all-in.
Comparing Demodesk vs. Traditional Tools: What Matters
Let’s break it down by what actually impacts your team’s day-to-day.
1. Scheduling and No-Shows
- Traditional: Most tools rely on plugins or third-party schedulers (think Calendly). Rescheduling can get messy.
- Demodesk: Built-in scheduling, automated reminders, rescheduling links, and calendar sync. Cuts down on back-and-forth and no-shows.
Pro tip: If your no-show rate is high, fixing scheduling friction is more important than fancy meeting features.
2. Prepping for Calls
- Traditional: You’re toggling between tabs, hunting for notes, trying to remember what stage the deal is in.
- Demodesk: All prep materials, battlecards, and CRM context pop up automatically based on the meeting type.
Honest take: If your reps are already disciplined about prep, this might not be a game changer. But for teams with lots of new hires or junior reps, it helps keep them on track.
3. Running the Meeting
- Traditional: Screen share, talk, take notes in a doc or CRM later. If you want to bring in a manager, it’s another invite.
- Demodesk: Co-browsing lets both sides click through demos together. Real-time note-taking and playbooks keep everyone focused. Handoffs are smoother—just invite another team member in.
What to ignore: Co-browsing sounds fancy, but most buyers are fine with regular screen sharing. It’s only a killer feature if your product is interactive or hard to demo.
4. Post-Meeting Follow-Up
- Traditional: Notes live in someone’s notebook, or maybe get pasted into the CRM (if you’re lucky). Follow-ups are manual.
- Demodesk: Notes, recordings, next steps, and action items automatically sync to your CRM. Automated follow-up emails can go out right after the call.
Reality check: Automation is only as good as your team’s discipline. If reps don’t fill in notes during the call, you’ll still have gaps.
5. Analytics and Coaching
- Traditional: You get basic call logs and maybe some meeting recordings. Not much else.
- Demodesk: Detailed analytics on talk time, adherence to playbooks, engagement, and conversion rates. Managers can spot coaching opportunities quickly.
Don’t get distracted: If you don’t have a coaching culture or you’re not actually reviewing calls, these analytics won’t magically make your team better.
What Demodesk Does Well (and Where It Falls Short)
Where Demodesk Shines
- Consistency: Playbooks and guided workflows help keep your sales process tight.
- CRM automation: Less admin work for reps, more accurate data for managers.
- Onboarding: New hires get up to speed faster with in-meeting prompts and resources.
- Scheduling: Smooth experience for prospects, fewer dropped balls.
Where It’s Just Okay
- Video/audio quality: It’s fine, but not noticeably better than Zoom or Teams.
- Buyer experience: Unless you’re doing interactive demos, most buyers won’t care which tool you use—ease of joining matters more than features.
Where It Might Disappoint
- Adoption: If your team is set in its ways, expect pushback. New tools always bring a learning curve.
- Price: It’s not cheap. For small teams or simple sales cycles, you might not see ROI.
- IT headaches: Another tool means more to manage, more integrations, more things to break.
So, Should You Switch?
Ask yourself: - Are your reps wasting time on admin work? - Do you run a tight sales process, or is everyone winging it? - Are you onboarding lots of new reps? - Are you losing deals because meetings are hard to schedule or follow-ups get missed?
If you answered “yes” to a few of these, Demodesk is worth a look. If your team runs a simple, high-velocity process and already uses Zoom/Teams effectively, you probably don’t need it.
Getting Started: Keep It Simple
Here’s what I’d do if I were in your shoes:
- Audit your current process. Where are things breaking down? Scheduling? Notes? Follow-ups?
- Pilot Demodesk with a small group. Don’t force it on everyone. See if it actually solves your problems.
- Measure what matters. Track no-show rates, CRM hygiene, deal velocity, and rep feedback.
- Don’t chase features. Only pay for what you’ll actually use.
- Iterate. If it works, roll it out wider. If not, move on.
Final thought: Most of the sales process is about discipline, not tools. The right software can help, but it won’t fix broken habits. Start simple, get feedback, and don’t be afraid to ditch what doesn’t work.
Now—go help your team sell, not just sit in prettier meetings.