Yeah, we're David in a world of Goliaths.
Sometimes, when you're looking for just the right tool, you can feel you're drowning in a sea of spoons when all you need is a knife. Right? How many times does that happen?
Of course, that's what powers the engines of SaaS development and growth. There are more tools than ever before today, and somewhere out there, is a tool that's just right for you. And if there isn't, then someone is busy making it.
That's what happened with me and SmartCue. Back when I was an overworked sales engineer, I wanted a tool that 'genuinely' helped me churn out demos at speed. A tool that my sales rep could use on their next call - no messy deployments, no learning curve, and no coding experience required. A simple, effective, smart solution for busy, overworked sales folks.
It didn't exist. So, I worked on it for a few years, and now we have SmartCue!
I get it. You've probably never used SmartCue. Or see it in action. Maybe this is even the first time you're hearing of us. That's understandable: we're the new kids on the block, after all. This is why I'm comparing ourselves with other players out there that you have heard of. And I'm being honest (as honest as I can be, given that SmartCue is my brainchild!).
Simply put, SmartCue is demo creation software that takes the grunt work out of demo creation - Sales Engineers, Sales Enablement Managers, or Product Marketing teams can rapidly create custom, personalized product demos with loads of contextual cues. This is a double win: time saved on making demos, and time saved in meetings that they no longer need to attend, because the sales reps are confident enough to deliver the demos themselves, without the SE in the room.
How? Contextual cues. SmartCue presents cues to the presenter (and only to the presenter!) based on where they are in the product. It also provides a step-by-step demo playbook or demo flow, so the sales rep can simply follow the flow. It's a little bit like having a second brain (or an SE!) in the room. Without needing to do all this additional admin, the sales reps can focus on what they do best: selling your product.
There are things SmartCue can do better than most, and somewhere we have ways to go. This comparison with Demostack and Outreach lets you assess whether SmartCue might be a good fit for you: now, or in the future.
Demostack vs Outreach Vs SmartCue
Parameters | Demostack | Outreach | SmartCue |
Deployment speed | 3-4 weeks | 4-6 weeks | Instant, all you need is a chrome extension |
Training requirements | Videos, documentation, and live online training. | Webinars, videos, documentation, and in-person training | None. So far, no one has asked us to train them. |
Works with your demo environment | Creates its own demo/sandbox environment | Yes. | Yes. No integrations are necessary. |
Lets you customize demos on the fly | Yes | No | Yes |
Create Demo Playbooks | Not really. The product replicates the demo environment, but you still need to create your playbook | Sort of | Yes. Even if you decide to move through the playbook in a non-linear fashion, it cues you with what's left to cover |
Do presenters need scripts? | Yes. | Yes | No. Contextual cues basis where you are in your product |
Simplifies demo creation | Yes. It effectively clones your tool. You can edit images, text, charts, data - everything. | No | Yes. Simply add the cues for any feature, function, button, link, image, etc. of your product. You can have several of these on each screen. Combine screens into a demo flow. |
Manages your demo library | Yes | No | Yes |
Export to video | Yes | Possible through integrations with other tools. | Yes, through Loom integratio+n |
Export to PDF | No | If you're using slides, yes. | Yes. Can also include notes taken during the demo to make great leave-behinds. |
Note taking allowed | No | Yes | Yes |
Edit dynamic text | Yes, as it creates its own demo environment. | No | No, as it uses your own demo environment |
Content analytics | Basic analytics | Basic Analytics | Know where your reps spend the most time in the product, whether they followed the playbook, how much did they deviate, and much more |
Integrations | Yes | 90+ integrations across CRM, ABM, email, chat | Over 200 planned integrations in 2023! |
Support | Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base | Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base, Phone support | Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base, Chat |
Key Benefits
Demostack: The biggest advantage it brings is the ability to create its own sandbox/dev environment. The cloning feature is impressive, as is the functionality it able to clone. Using editing tools, you can replace text, charts, images, front-end data, etc. However, in my view, this could create more work if you need to update dummy data in each screen, as opposed to doing so directly in your demo environment. I suspect you may end up having to do both - customize the demo environment, clone it in DemoStack, then customize it in Demostack.
Outreach: Outreach is a BIG tool. And like all big tools, it takes a little getting used to. But once you're up and running, you'll love the engagement functions, the automated sequences for customer contact, and of course, the ability to A/B test your email and call strategies. I also really like the AI-powered action-outcome pairs which help salespeople zero in on the most impactful sales actions. When it comes to demos though, there's not much here that saves time or boosts confidence, or minimizes practice time.
Honestly, I see synergies with SmartCue.
Why our clients chose SmartCue
There are some things you can only do on SmartCue. For instance, SmartCue sits atop your demo environment, and even your production environment!
As long as you've created a demo using SmartCue, it's in the library. Now, if your client wants to explore a screen that isn't covered by your current demo, but you have covered in another demo, have no fear! SmartCue can pull cues from linked demos. So you can go into screens you haven't practiced, with confidence, knowing that you have all the information and cues you'll need to deliver the goods and answer whatever questions come up.
SmartCue's demo dashboard screen is where you can see all demos created by you and your team.
SmartCue also helps keep track of the agenda - the client wants to explore functionality out of turn? No problem! No need to madly flip through slides or move your demo video back and forth. Just go into your demo as always, and SmartCue will cue you on the basis of wherever you are in your product. When done, it will cue you into what you can cover next, based on your agenda.
Also, no more cumbersome and long-drawn-out emails covering the demo play-by-play. Take notes within SmartCue itself, and export them as a PDF. This way, everyone gets exactly what you're referring to when you ask a question, provide additional information, or clarify something: because your notes are in context.
Of course, the core function of the tool is to make demos super simple to make for Sales Engineers, and super simple to deliver for Sales reps. No more starting from scratch, no more scripts, no more memorizing jargon (or anything!) EVER.
Smart, right?
