I've been selling high tech products for about 20 years and I've never quite gotten over the fear of the phrase: “I'd like to go to the plant for a demo.”

As many of us have said in the past, there's no such thing as a good demo, only one which didn't disintegrate beyond all recognition. Every salesperson I know has his or her favorite stories of incredible happenings when the “Proximity Effect” takes over. (For the unknowing, the Proximity Effect states that the more closely the customer approaches a demo instrument, the more likely it is to self-destruct.)

My most memorable demo occurred when I was working with a French company selling semiconductor manufacturing equipment, I arrived with customers from the States and the first morning we were standing outside the demo lab passing the time until we were given the all clear from the instrument technician. As we conversed, an acrid odor permeated the lobby and the lights in the demo lab seemed to dim a bit. The odor became overpowering.