Selling software is hard enough. The last thing you need is a messy, unreliable demo environment slowing you down or confusing your customers. If you’re running sales demos, proof-of-concepts, or onboarding sessions, you want setups that just work—no surprises, no "hang on, let me fix this" moments. This guide is for folks who want to use Cloudshare to build demo environments that help customers say "yes" faster.
Below, I’ll walk you through setting up sales demos in Cloudshare, what to watch out for, and a few tricks to keep things running smoothly. Whether you’re new to Cloudshare or just want to avoid the usual headaches, this is for you.
Why bother with Cloudshare for sales demos?
Let’s be real: spinning up demo environments on your own hardware or juggling VMs gets old fast. Cloudshare lets you create isolated, one-click environments that reset easily. Here’s why people bother:
- Speed: Demos are ready in minutes, not days.
- Consistency: Every prospect sees the same thing. No “it worked on my machine” moments.
- Scalability: Run dozens of demos in parallel, no sweat.
- Isolation: Each customer gets their own sandbox. No cross-talk, no accidental data leaks.
But it’s not magic. You’ll still need to set things up right, or you’ll run into the same old problems, just in the cloud.
Step 1: Get your base environment right
Don’t skip this, even if you’re eager to “just get started.” Your base environment is the template for every demo you run—get it wrong, and you’ll spend hours fixing the same issues over and over.
What to include: - Core app(s) and services your sales team needs to demo - Realistic sample data (not just lorem ipsum or “test123”) - All necessary integrations and API keys (keep secrets out of the template) - Default user accounts for easy logins
Pro tip:
Keep your base environment as lean as possible. The more you pack in, the more you’ll have to update—and the greater the chance something breaks.
What people get wrong: - Using production data (don’t, unless you want a privacy nightmare) - Forgetting to document passwords or access steps - Cramming every possible feature into one demo (leads to confusion, not sales)
Step 2: Snapshot and clone like a pro
Cloudshare’s magic move is its snapshot feature. Once your base environment is ready, take a snapshot. This becomes your reset button—every new demo spins up from here.
How to do it: 1. Double-check everything: Log in, click through flows, make sure nothing’s broken or missing. 2. From the Cloudshare dashboard, find your environment and select the snapshot option. 3. Name your snapshot something obvious, like “Sales Demo Base – June 2024.” 4. Test restoring from the snapshot. If it’s not perfect, fix the issues before you run real demos.
Things to ignore:
Don’t bother snapshotting demo data that changes every week. Keep your environment generic, and layer in customer-specific tweaks later if needed.
Step 3: Automate your setup (where it matters)
One of the best things about Cloudshare is automation, but don’t get sucked into automating every last detail. Focus on what saves real time.
Automate: - User account creation (if each demo needs unique logins) - Resetting demo data between sessions - Environment expiration (so you don’t leave zombie VMs running)
Manual is fine for: - Custom branding for a big prospect (slap their logo in yourself, unless you’re doing this daily) - One-off integrations that aren’t used in every demo
Pro tip:
Document what’s automated and what’s not. Otherwise, you (or your teammates) will waste time guessing if things are prepped.
Step 4: Invite your team and set permissions
Nothing stalls a sales process like waiting for IT to grant access. Cloudshare lets you control who can spin up, run, or edit environments.
Best practices: - Give sales engineers rights to create and reset demos, but not to edit the base environment. - Limit who can update the master template—this keeps “surprise” changes to a minimum. - Use groups or roles for large teams, so you’re not micromanaging access.
What to avoid:
Don’t give everyone admin rights. One accidental click can trash your carefully built base.
Step 5: Spin up demo environments for each prospect
Now the fun part. With your base and permissions set, you can create a fresh environment for every customer. This is what really speeds up onboarding—they can test drive your product in a real environment, with zero risk.
How to do it: 1. Go to your Cloudshare dashboard and select “Create Environment.” 2. Pick your latest sales demo snapshot. 3. Name the environment after the prospect or deal (e.g., “Acme Corp – Demo”). 4. Set an expiration date, so it auto-deletes after, say, 7 days. 5. Invite the prospect to access the environment directly, or walk them through it during your call.
Pro tip:
Always test a new environment yourself before sending links to customers. There’s nothing worse than watching a demo break in real time.
Step 6: Track usage and clean up
It’s easy to forget about demo environments once a deal moves forward—or fizzles out. But old environments cost money and can clutter your dashboard.
Do this regularly: - Use Cloudshare’s usage reports to see which environments are active. - Delete or archive environments that are no longer needed. - Review which snapshots are still relevant—clean out old ones every quarter.
What happens if you ignore this?
You’ll burn budget on unused resources, and your team will waste time sorting through a graveyard of dead demos.
What works, what doesn’t, and what to watch out for
What works: - Cloudshare is reliable for cloning environments—way less breakage than DIY scripts. - Fast environment resets mean you can recover from “oops” moments quickly. - Isolated environments keep customer data safe.
What doesn’t: - Customizing every demo for every customer is a time sink. Only do it for big deals. - Don’t expect Cloudshare to magically fix a buggy app. If your app is flaky, it’ll be flaky in the demo.
Watch out for: - Outdated snapshots. Set a monthly calendar reminder to update your base environment. - Over-customization. The more you tweak per demo, the harder it is to maintain.
Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)
- Forgetting to reset environments: Always start fresh. Don’t carry over data from previous demos.
- Too much complexity: Keep demo flows simple. Fancy integrations impress no one if they fail mid-demo.
- Poor documentation: Write down steps, logins, and gotchas. Saves you (and your team) headaches later.
- Ignoring permissions: Don’t let junior reps edit your base template. One wrong move, and everyone’s demos break.
Wrapping up: Keep it simple, iterate often
There’s no gold medal for the most complicated demo setup. Start simple. Get your base environment right, clone it, and keep your environments clean. If something’s a pain, automate it—but don’t waste days on “nice to have” scripts you’ll only use once. Iterate as you go, fix what’s broken, and focus on showing your product at its best.
You’ll save time, your customers will get onboarded faster, and you’ll spend less time firefighting technical glitches. That’s really the point, right?