If you’re running sales demos and want to actually know what’s working (and what flops), this guide is for you. Plenty of tools promise “next-level insights,” but most just add another dashboard to ignore. Here’s how to use user engagement data in Walnut to get answers that change how you run demos—and hopefully close more deals.
Let’s keep it practical. No analytics fluff, no “unlock actionable intelligence.” Just a clear process for finding what matters and improving your demos without getting lost in the weeds.
1. First, Know What You’re Measuring (And Why)
Before you start poking around dashboards, get clear about what “engagement” actually means for your sales process. Walnut tracks a bunch of signals—views, clicks, time spent, drop-off points, etc.—but not all of it matters equally.
What’s worth tracking?
- Demo starts and completions: Do prospects finish the demo?
- Key feature interactions: Are people clicking the parts of your product that matter most for your pitch?
- Drop-off points: Where do people get bored or lost?
- Feedback and revisits: Do prospects come back or leave comments?
What’s just noise?
- Every single click: Not every scroll or random button mash tells you something useful.
- Obsessing over time-on-slide: Longer doesn’t always mean better—sometimes it means confusion.
Pro Tip: Align your tracking with your sales goals. If your demo’s job is to get a prospect to a discovery call, focus on the parts that drive that outcome.
2. Set Up Your Walnut Demo for Real Insights
If your demo is a 30-slide product tour with no logic, your data won’t help much. Set up your Walnut demo so the analytics actually tell you something.
Keep it focused: - Highlight the features that matter most to your buyers. - Use clear navigation and calls to action so you know what users are trying to do.
Tag your slides and steps: - Walnut lets you tag steps and screens. Use this to mark “key moments” (e.g., pricing, integration, dashboard). - If you’re running A/B demos (different versions for different personas), tag those too.
Add short, optional feedback prompts: - Don’t overdo it, but a quick “Was this helpful?” at the end can give you more context than raw numbers.
Skip the vanity metrics: - Page views and total demo time are easy to track but rarely tell you anything actionable.
3. Dig Into The Data: What To Look For (And What To Ignore)
Here’s where most people get lost. Walnut’s analytics can look impressive, but the point isn’t to marvel at the pretty graphs—it’s to find friction, confusion, or moments that really land.
The signals that matter:
- Demo drop-off: If most prospects bail halfway, find out where. Is it always after your pricing slide? Or a confusing feature?
- Feature engagement: Which features get clicked, and which are skipped? Are you spending demo time on things no one cares about?
- Repeat visits: If someone comes back to a demo, that’s a good sign they’re interested (or confused). Follow up.
- Custom questions/feedback: What do prospects actually say? Sometimes a “this is confusing” comment is worth 100 heatmaps.
The stuff you can safely ignore:
- Micro-interactions: Don’t obsess over every mouse hover or scroll. Focus on major actions.
- Time on less important slides: If a prospect spends ages on your login screen, it’s probably not a buying signal.
Pro Tip: Look for patterns across multiple demos—not just one outlier. You’re looking for trends, not edge cases.
4. Turn Insights Into Demo Improvements
Data is only useful if you actually change something. Here’s how to use what you find:
a. Shorten (or reorder) your demo
If users bail at the halfway mark, try moving the most important feature up front. Cut slides that no one engages with.
b. Clarify confusing steps
If a slide has lots of clicks but no forward progress, it’s probably unclear. Add tooltips, simplify language, or just skip it.
c. Double down on what works
If a certain feature gets lots of engagement and good feedback, make it a bigger part of your pitch.
d. Follow up with real questions
If a prospect keeps coming back or leaves a comment, reach out. “I saw you spent extra time on the analytics section—any questions I can answer?” That’s more helpful than another generic follow-up.
e. Test changes, don’t just guess
Make small edits, then check the data again. Did more people finish? Did the right features get more clicks? Keep iterating.
Pro Tip: Don’t overhaul your entire demo every time you find a weird data point. Small, steady tweaks usually win.
5. Avoid These Common Pitfalls
Even with the best intentions, it’s easy to fall into some traps:
- Analysis paralysis: Don’t spend hours slicing and dicing every stat. Focus on a few key signals tied to your sales goals.
- Chasing vanity metrics: More clicks aren’t always better. You’re not running a social media campaign.
- Ignoring feedback: If multiple prospects say a part is confusing, believe them—even if it’s your favorite feature.
- Over-customizing: Personalization is good, but if every demo is totally different, you lose the ability to compare and learn over time.
6. Reporting: Keeping It Honest (And Useful)
It’s tempting to make your analytics look better than they are—especially if you’re reporting up the chain. Resist the urge.
- Stick to outcomes: Did more prospects book meetings? Did conversion rates go up?
- Show what you changed: “We moved pricing to the middle, and demo completion went up 15%.” That’s meaningful.
- Be honest about what didn’t work: Not every change will help. Share misses so the team learns faster.
If your boss wants a wall of charts, fine, but always bring it back to what actually moved the needle.
7. Tools & Integrations: How Much Do You Really Need?
Walnut has decent built-in analytics for most sales teams. Before you start piping data into CRMs or buying add-ons, ask:
- Are you really using the data you already have?
- Will another integration actually help, or just add noise?
If you’re running high-volume or enterprise sales, you might want to connect Walnut data to Salesforce or HubSpot. Just make sure someone actually looks at the reports.
Pro Tip: More tools usually means more busywork. Stick with Walnut’s built-in analytics until you outgrow them.
8. Iterate—Don’t Overthink It
The best sales teams treat demo analytics like any other feedback: try something, see what happens, improve. You don’t need a PhD in data science or a 40-page report.
- Pick one thing to test each month.
- Share what you learn with the team.
- Rinse and repeat.
Most big improvements come from small, obvious changes. Keep it simple and don’t let analysis get in the way of actually selling.
That’s it. Use Walnut’s engagement data to get clear, honest feedback on your sales demos—and don’t let the analytics tail wag the dog. Start with what matters, ignore the noise, and keep tweaking. You’ll get better results and spend less time guessing.