If you’ve ever watched a sales demo flop because users couldn’t follow along, or you’ve tried to get buyers excited about your product without letting them click around, you know how tough it is to show—not just tell—what your software can do. This guide is for sales teams, marketers, and anyone tasked with making your product less abstract and more concrete. We’ll walk through building an interactive product tour in Saleo, sending it out, and making sure it actually helps—not hinders—your sales process.
Why bother with interactive product tours?
Let’s be honest: Most people don’t read decks, and nobody remembers a list of features. Interactive product tours let prospects poke around your product in a safe, guided way. Done right, they cut down on repetitive demos and help buyers “get it” faster. Done poorly, they’re just another thing to click through.
Saleo promises “live, interactive demos that look and feel real.” That’s great, but you still need to actually build something worth sharing. Here’s how to do it—without wasting hours or confusing your prospects.
Step 1: Get clear about your goal (before you open Saleo)
Before you touch any software, figure out what you want this tour to do. Are you trying to:
- Land a first meeting by teasing key features?
- Show a specific workflow to a technical buyer?
- Train new hires on how to use the product?
You don’t need a 20-step plan, but you do need a rough map. Jot down:
- Who’s taking the tour (their role, their pain points)
- The “aha” moment(s) you want to deliver
- What you want the viewer to do next (book a call, sign up, forward it to their boss, etc.)
If you skip this, you’ll end up with a generic tour that nobody finishes. Worse, you’ll waste time rebuilding later.
Pro tip: Less is more. Three strong steps beat ten fluffy ones.
Step 2: Set up your Saleo environment
Assuming you’ve got a Saleo account and the browser extension installed, log in and get your product demo environment ready. If you don’t have these, chase down your admin or follow Saleo’s onboarding (which is, thankfully, pretty straightforward).
- Pick the right environment: Saleo works by layering “demo data” on top of your real product. Don’t use production data unless you want to play compliance roulette.
- Load any templates: Saleo offers templates for common use cases. Sometimes they’re helpful, sometimes they’re more work than they’re worth. If you’re in a rush or starting out, try one—but be ready to tweak or toss it.
- Check for quirks: If your product has weird UI states or heavy customizations, test a few flows before you build a full tour. Saleo is slick, but it can get tripped up by edge cases.
Step 3: Build your product tour
Now the fun (or frustration) begins. Here’s how to actually build the tour:
3.1 Record your base flow
- Launch your product with Saleo active.
- Start a new “tour” (sometimes called a “scenario” or “demo” in Saleo).
- Click through the key steps you want users to see.
- Don’t overthink it. Start with the minimum path from A to B.
- Avoid showing every button or menu—focus on the moments that matter.
What works: Short, focused tours that tell a story or solve a problem.
What doesn’t: Dumping your whole app into a tour. Nobody cares about every feature.
3.2 Add guidance and hotspots
After recording the flow, add overlays to guide users:
- Tooltips: Point out what to click, why it matters, or what to look for.
- Pop-ups: Use sparingly. Too many, and it feels like Clippy’s evil twin.
- Highlight areas: Draw attention to key fields or buttons.
Ignore: Over-explaining obvious stuff (“Click here to log in”). Trust your audience.
3.3 Customize data for realism
Saleo lets you swap in fake customer names, deals, or activity. This is where the magic happens:
- Change names, dates, and numbers to fit your prospect’s world.
- Remove anything irrelevant (or embarrassing).
- If you’re demoing to a big customer, tailor the data to their industry or use case.
Pro tip: Save a few “personas” you can reuse. No need to reinvent the wheel for every demo.
Step 4: Preview and test like you’re a prospect
Don’t assume it works—actually run through the tour as if you were the prospect.
- Click every button and link.
- Check that tooltips show up at the right moment.
- Look for typos, broken steps, or dead ends.
- Make sure nothing sensitive is exposed (real customer data, pricing, etc.).
Have a teammate test it, too. Fresh eyes catch things you’ll miss.
What works: Quick, honest feedback. “This is confusing” is gold. Don’t get defensive.
What doesn’t: Polishing forever. Get it 80% right, then launch and iterate.
Step 5: Share your interactive tour
Once you’re happy, it’s time to send it out.
- Get the share link: Saleo gives you a unique URL for each tour.
- Decide on access: Some tours can be public; others might need a password or email gate. Don’t overcomplicate it unless you’re sharing sensitive info.
- Embed in your outreach: Drop the link into emails, LinkedIn messages, or even your website. Add a sentence or two of context—don’t just send a “Check this out!” link.
Pro tip: Track who clicks and how far they get. Saleo has basic analytics; use them to see what’s working and tweak what isn’t.
Step 6: Follow up (but don’t be annoying)
A shared tour isn’t magic. Most prospects won’t finish it—or they’ll skim. Some tips:
- Wait a day or two, then follow up with a short note. Ask if they had any questions or got stuck anywhere.
- If you see they dropped off early, ask what was confusing or irrelevant.
- If they finish, tee up a next step (“Let’s walk through your real account together”).
Don’t hammer them with reminders. Respect their time.
Pro tips and honest pitfalls
- Keep it short: Under 5 minutes is ideal. The longer the tour, the fewer people finish.
- Quality over quantity: A single, well-done tour tailored to your top use case is more useful than five rushed ones.
- Don’t rely on Saleo to “sell” for you: It’s a tool, not a salesperson. Use it to open doors, not close deals.
- Expect some technical hiccups: Saleo is good, but not infallible. Browser updates, weird integrations, or heavy JavaScript apps can cause glitches. Have a backup plan for live demos.
Wrapping up: Keep it simple and iterate
Building interactive product tours in Saleo isn’t rocket science, but it does take some thought. Start small. Get clear on what you want your prospect to learn or do. Test it yourself, share it with real people, and don’t be precious—update as you learn what works.
Most importantly: Don’t chase perfection. The best product tours are the ones that actually get sent, clicked, and understood. Keep it simple. Iterate. You’ll get better with every round.