If you're reading this, chances are you’re tired of generic demos that make prospects glaze over. You want to show off your SaaS product in a way that actually feels tailored—without spending hours building fake data or spinning up a new sandbox for every call. This guide is for sales reps, solutions engineers, founders—anyone who needs to create personalized, real-looking demos that don’t break the bank or your calendar.
We’ll walk step by step through making a custom sales demo using Saleo, a tool that promises to let you shape your product’s demo environment on the fly. Spoiler: Saleo can save you time, but it’s not magic—there are real pitfalls to watch for, and not everything is as “one click” as the marketing might have you believe. Let’s get into it.
Why Bother with Personalized Demos?
Before we get tactical, let’s be blunt: most canned demos are boring. If you show a prospect “Acme Corp” as your sample data for the 50th time, you’re missing a chance to connect. Personalized demos let your product speak your prospect’s language: their logo, their workflows, their use cases.
But… manual demo prep is a time-suck. You’re not paid to be a data entry clerk. That’s where a tool like Saleo comes in—it lets you customize your live app’s data and visuals without spinning up a custom environment every time.
Step 1: Set Up Your Saleo Account
You can’t skip this step. Here’s what you actually need to do:
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Sign up and get access.
Saleo works as a Chrome extension (and sometimes via direct integration, depending on your app). You’ll need your company’s Saleo admin to invite you, or sign up directly if you’re starting from scratch. -
Connect your SaaS product.
Saleo is mainly built for web-based SaaS apps. You’ll need to link it to your product, which usually means: - Installing the Saleo browser extension.
- Granting Saleo permission to modify the UI in your browser.
- Sometimes, your engineering team may need to add a Saleo snippet or integration for more advanced features. (This can trip up IT/security, so get them on board early if you need their help.)
Pro Tip:
If you’re just evaluating, start with a test or trial environment. Don’t mess with your live production app until you know how Saleo works.
Step 2: Capture Your “Base” Demo Scene
Saleo works by letting you capture a snapshot of your product’s interface—think of it as freezing your app in a certain state—and then lets you tweak what’s on the screen.
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Open your SaaS app and get it into the right state.
Navigate to the part of your product you want to demo (dashboard, reports, whatever matters most). Get it looking as close to “demo-ready” as possible. -
Use the Saleo extension to capture a scene.
Click the Saleo icon, then “Capture Scene” or whatever their current button says. This creates a baseline you’ll edit later.
What works:
- This part is usually quick and feels a bit like taking a screenshot, but interactive.
- You can capture multiple scenes for different parts of your product.
What to watch out for:
- Make sure you’re not capturing sensitive customer data by accident.
- Some dynamic elements (popups, tooltips, animations) don’t always freeze perfectly—double-check your scene before moving on.
Step 3: Personalize the Demo Content
Here’s where Saleo tries to shine: swapping out generic data for details that fit your prospect.
- Edit text and images directly on the page.
Saleo lets you click and change things like: - Company name and logo
- User names and avatars
- Data points (revenues, project names, whatever fits your use case)
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Headings, labels, and button text
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Replace charts and tables.
For numbers-heavy apps, you can swap out chart values or table data. Some fields support only text edits—others let you fully customize visuals. -
Add or remove UI elements.
You can sometimes hide features that don’t apply to this prospect, or highlight a specific workflow.
Pro Tips: - Pull in real prospect details from LinkedIn or their website for a quick win. Even just adding their logo goes a long way. - Don’t get bogged down making everything perfect. Change the most visible items—no one cares if a tiny footer still says “Acme Corp.” - If you need to reuse demo templates, Saleo lets you save these custom scenes for later.
What to ignore:
- You don’t need to edit every field. Focus on what the prospect will notice.
- Don’t waste time faking up data for obscure features you’re not demoing.
Step 4: Set Up Demo Variables for Fast Customization
If you’re doing lots of demos, you don’t want to redo this every time. Saleo supports variables—think of them as placeholders you can swap out quickly.
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Turn common fields into variables.
Mark spots like “Company Name” or “Annual Revenue” as variables. Now, you can fill these in before each call. -
Create demo templates.
Save your scene as a template with variables. Next time, just plug in the new prospect’s details and go.
What’s great:
- If you’ve got a repeatable sales motion (same demo for every fintech, for example), this saves real time.
What’s not:
- Variable support varies by app—some complex widgets or custom UI elements can’t be templated easily.
- Saleo’s variable editor isn’t always intuitive. Test your templates before you trust them in front of a live audience.
Step 5: Preview and Test Your Demo
Never trust a demo you haven’t previewed. Saleo tries to keep things stable, but browser quirks, ad blockers, or app updates can break your scene.
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Preview the demo scene.
Use Saleo’s preview mode or just open your app in a new incognito window to make sure everything looks right. -
Check for broken links or weird artifacts.
Sometimes, edited elements don’t behave as expected—buttons may not work, charts might not update. -
Do a dry run.
Walk through your key demo moments, clicking and talking through it as if you’re on a call. Better to spot issues now than live.
What to ignore:
- Don’t stress if a feature isn’t 100% interactive—Saleo is for showing, not for fully working prototypes.
- Avoid overcomplicating; if a part of the app is too buggy to demo with Saleo, skip it or use a static screenshot instead.
Step 6: Deliver the Demo Live
Here’s the payoff. When you share your screen, Saleo overlays your personalized data on top of your real app.
- Launch Saleo before you start sharing.
Make sure your scene is loaded before the meeting. - Navigate as you normally would.
Saleo updates the UI in your browser—but only for you. The prospect sees your screen with all the customizations. - Handle questions honestly.
If a prospect clicks or asks about a feature you hid, be upfront. Don’t try to fake functionality you don’t have.
Pro Tip:
If you need to switch between different demo scenes (say, showing two different personas), have both scenes saved and ready in Saleo. Just swap between them as needed.
Step 7: Iterate and Improve
The first demo you build won’t be your best. After each call, ask yourself:
- Did the personalization land, or did the prospect ignore it?
- Were there parts of the demo that felt clunky or hard to explain?
- Did Saleo break anything, or did you have to apologize for something not working?
Update your templates and variables based on real feedback. Over time, you’ll end up with a set of demo assets you can tweak in minutes.
What Saleo Is Good For (And What It Isn’t)
Saleo works well for: - Swapping out visuals and data in web-based SaaS products. - Making demos feel relevant without engineering help. - Saving time if your sales cycle needs lots of customization.
Saleo struggles with: - Deeply interactive features (think drag-and-drop, real-time collab tools). - Mobile apps or anything outside the browser. - Demos where you need to show backend logic or integrations.
Don’t buy the hype:
No tool will make a bad demo good. Saleo helps with polish and relevance, but you still need a story and a real understanding of your prospect.
Keep It Simple—And Iterate
Personalizing sales demos isn’t rocket science, but it’s easy to overthink. Focus on what your prospect actually cares about. Use Saleo to cut busywork, not to fake features you don’t have. Start small, test your scenes, and keep improving. The best demos are the ones that feel real—not the ones that look the most “custom.”
Get your basics right, and you can spend more time selling and less time wrestling with demo prep.