If you’re in sales, product marketing, or just tired of sending one-size-fits-all demos that flop, this one’s for you. Demos are supposed to wow buyers, but showing everyone the same thing? That’s a recipe for glazed eyes and ignored follow-ups. Let’s talk about how to set up personalized demo experiences in Storylane for different buyer personas—without creating a maintenance nightmare for yourself.
Why bother with personalized demos?
Let’s be honest: “personalization” gets thrown around a lot, but most demos are still generic walkthroughs. The reality? Buyers tune out anything that isn’t made for them. A good demo should answer: How does this solve my problem? not How many bells and whistles does it have?
Storylane lets you build interactive demos that can be tweaked for each persona. When used right, you’ll cut through the noise and actually show buyers what matters to them.
Step 1: Nail your buyer personas (but don’t overthink it)
Before you open Storylane, get clear on who you’re demoing to. You don’t need a 20-slide persona deck. Just jot down:
- Job title(s): Who’s actually watching this demo? (e.g., Sales Manager, IT Director)
- Top 2-3 priorities: What’s keeping them up at night? (e.g., “I need my team to close faster,” or “Is this secure?”)
- Dealbreakers or key objections: What will kill the deal? (e.g., “This looks complicated,” or “Will this integrate with our CRM?”)
Pro tip: Ask your sales team for their “if I could just show them X, I’d win the deal” moments. That’s your demo focus.
Step 2: Map out tailored demo flows (keep it simple)
For each persona, sketch a rough flow. This isn’t about showing every feature—just what matters to them.
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Example (Sales Manager):
- Quick intro: “Here’s how you track your team’s performance.”
- Spotlight: Dashboard view, sales pipeline, quick reports.
- Objection handler: “Here’s how easy it is to onboard reps.”
- Call to action: “Ready to try it with your own data?”
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Example (IT Director):
- Quick intro: “Here’s how we keep your data safe.”
- Spotlight: User permissions, audit logs, integrations.
- Objection handler: “Here’s our security settings—no surprises.”
- Call to action: “Want to see a sample data flow?”
Don’t: Try to make one demo fit everyone. It’ll end up watered down and forgettable.
Do: Reuse screens and steps where you can, but adjust the story for each persona. Sometimes a tweak to the intro or the order of features is all it takes.
Step 3: Build your base demo in Storylane
Now, set up your core demo in Storylane. This is your “template,” not the finished persona demo.
- Capture the product flow: Click through your product in the order you mapped out. Storylane will record these steps.
- Add simple guidance: Use tooltips or highlights to explain why each feature matters—not just what it does.
- Keep it tight: Aim for 2-4 minutes total. If you’re hitting 5+, you’re probably cramming in too much.
What works:
- Showing real data or believable sample accounts. Don’t use “John Doe” everywhere—makes it look fake.
- Short, action-focused copy in callouts. “See all team activity here,” not “Our solution enables robust tracking at scale.”
What to ignore:
- Fancy animations, unless they actually help. Buyers want clarity, not a motion graphics reel.
- Overly technical deep dives, unless that’s what your persona cares about (e.g., IT).
Step 4: Clone and personalize demos for each persona
Here’s where the magic happens. Instead of rebuilding from scratch:
- Duplicate your base demo.
- Edit steps, text, and data to match the persona:
- Rename sections and tooltips to address their specific goals or worries.
- Swap out screenshots or data if needed (e.g., show “Sales Team” vs. “Engineering Team”).
- Hide steps that aren’t relevant. Less is more.
- Add a custom intro/outro that speaks their language. A simple “Hey IT folks, here’s what you care about” goes a long way.
Pro tip:
If you’re personalizing for companies (not just personas), use Storylane’s dynamic variables to auto-fill names, logos, etc. Just don’t go overboard—automated personalization can get creepy or break easily.
Step 5: Test like a real buyer (not just a checklist)
Before you unleash your demo, actually watch it as if you’re the target persona:
- Does the flow make sense for this person?
- Are there any steps that feel like filler?
- Is the language clear, or is it full of product jargon?
- Does it answer their big “so what?” question in the first 30 seconds?
- Are there any obvious dead ends, broken links, or typos?
Ask a teammate (ideally someone outside your team) to try it. You’ll catch more issues this way.
Step 6: Share and track (without spamming)
Storylane gives you a shareable link for each demo. How you use it matters:
- For outbound: Send the link in a short, personalized email—no attachments, no “check out our amazing platform!” fluff. Just: “Hey [Name], here’s a quick demo of how [Their Role] can use [Your Product] for [Their Problem].”
- For inbound or website: Embed the right demo on persona-specific landing pages. Don’t plaster “Book a Demo” everywhere—let people try it first.
- Track engagement: Storylane will show you who watched, for how long, and where they dropped off. Don’t get obsessed with the numbers—look for patterns (e.g., everyone bails at step 3).
What works:
- Quick, follow-up notes: “Saw you checked out the demo—happy to walk through your questions live.”
- Iterating if you see big drop-offs. Maybe that part just isn’t relevant.
What to ignore:
- Trying to force everyone through a single “perfect” demo flow. People want to skip around. Let them.
Step 7: Maintain and improve (don’t let it rot)
Personalized demos aren’t “set and forget.” Here’s how to keep your setup sane:
- Schedule a quick monthly review: Are any screens out of date? Has the product changed?
- Keep a simple doc listing your demo links, what persona they’re for, and last update date. Nothing fancy.
- Ask your sales team what’s working and what’s missing. Update as needed—don’t chase “perfect.”
Pro tip:
If your product changes a lot, build your core demo as modular as possible. That way, when something changes, you only need to update one or two steps, not a dozen versions.
What works, what doesn’t, and what to skip
Works well:
- Short, focused demos for each persona (not every feature, just what matters to them)
- Simple, human language—no buzzwords
- Reusing and tweaking a base demo, not building new ones from scratch every time
Doesn’t work:
- Over-customizing to the point you can’t keep up
- Ignoring maintenance—outdated demos lose trust fast
- Assuming “personalization” means just swapping in a name
Skip it:
- Building a unique demo for every company unless you’re chasing whales
- Obsessing over perfect design—clarity beats prettiness
- Relying on demo engagement stats as the only signal. Use them, but talk to your sales team, too.
Wrapping up — Keep it simple, iterate fast
Personalized demos in Storylane aren’t magic, but they do cut through the noise if you keep things focused and relevant. Don’t build a monster you can’t maintain. Start with simple flows for your main personas, get real feedback, and tweak as you go. The best demo is the one that gets watched—and remembered—not the one that checks every feature box.
Now get out there and build demos your buyers actually care about. You’ll be surprised how much difference a little personalization (done right) can make.