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Demotainment: The Art of Delivering Demos That Engage, Inspire, and Drive Results
"Required reading for anyone in presales, whether you're just starting out or are a seasoned professional." — Jack Cochran, General Manager, Presales Collective
STOP GIVING FORGETTABLE DEMOS.
Tired of demos that fall flat? Want to deliver presentations that actually inspire your customers to close deals?
Demotainment is the key to mastering attention, emotion, and human connection to solve real business problems faster. It's your go-to guide to making presales demos not just informative, but unforgettable.
In this Amazon Top 5 bestseller, Mike McDowell blends the art of performance with the science of persuasion to show you how
Engage your audience with energy, storytelling, and humorSimplify complex ideas using schemas and analogiesHandle surprises with confidence and authenticityDeliver demos that are remembered long after the call endsWhether you’re in Presales, Sales, Customer Success, or Business Development, this book gives you ready-to-use techniques to connect, differentiate, and win.
Who is this book for?
Solutions Consultants / Sales Engineers – Master techniques to inspire and engageAccount Executives / Sales Reps – Make solo demos the highlight of your pitchCustomer Success Managers – Deliver insights that build champions and boost retentionBDRs & SDRs – Leave strong impressions from the very first callEducators, Founders, Coaches, and Public Speakers– Learn how to deliver value with styleAbout the Author
Drawing on years of experience as a Solutions Consultant, trainer, and lifelong performer, Mike McDowell delivers real-world strategies that work. Packed with ready-to-use phrasing, examples, and visual storytelling techniques, this book will help you create presentations that feel less like a meeting—and more like a show.
Praise for Demotainment
"An outstanding guide to transforming presentations and product demonstrations into Demotainment—a blend of education and entertainment that leaves a lasting impression. It’s engaging, actionable, and packed with ready-to-use examples. Even with years of experience, I found myself learning from Mike’s fresh techniques and clever pop culture nods. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their demos and create meaningful connections with their audience."
— Ron Whitson, Author of A Friendly Human in Presales
“Don’t walk—run to the nearest computer and find Demotainment on Amazon. It’s a great read, an easy read, and I’m willing to guarantee your next demo will be better as a result—and more fun to give. That is a guarantee coming from me.”
— Chris White, Author of The Six Habits of Highly Effective Sales Engineers
“What is unique is the method Mike uses to make the material engaging and memorable. For that, he deserves a big round of applause and a standing ovation from the audience.
STOP GIVING FORGETTABLE DEMOS.
Tired of demos that fall flat? Want to deliver presentations that actually inspire your customers to close deals?
Demotainment is the key to mastering attention, emotion, and human connection to solve real business problems faster. It's your go-to guide to making presales demos not just informative, but unforgettable.
In this Amazon Top 5 bestseller, Mike McDowell blends the art of performance with the science of persuasion to show you how
Engage your audience with energy, storytelling, and humorSimplify complex ideas using schemas and analogiesHandle surprises with confidence and authenticityDeliver demos that are remembered long after the call endsWhether you’re in Presales, Sales, Customer Success, or Business Development, this book gives you ready-to-use techniques to connect, differentiate, and win.
Who is this book for?
Solutions Consultants / Sales Engineers – Master techniques to inspire and engageAccount Executives / Sales Reps – Make solo demos the highlight of your pitchCustomer Success Managers – Deliver insights that build champions and boost retentionBDRs & SDRs – Leave strong impressions from the very first callEducators, Founders, Coaches, and Public Speakers– Learn how to deliver value with styleAbout the Author
Drawing on years of experience as a Solutions Consultant, trainer, and lifelong performer, Mike McDowell delivers real-world strategies that work. Packed with ready-to-use phrasing, examples, and visual storytelling techniques, this book will help you create presentations that feel less like a meeting—and more like a show.
Praise for Demotainment
"An outstanding guide to transforming presentations and product demonstrations into Demotainment—a blend of education and entertainment that leaves a lasting impression. It’s engaging, actionable, and packed with ready-to-use examples. Even with years of experience, I found myself learning from Mike’s fresh techniques and clever pop culture nods. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their demos and create meaningful connections with their audience."
— Ron Whitson, Author of A Friendly Human in Presales
“Don’t walk—run to the nearest computer and find Demotainment on Amazon. It’s a great read, an easy read, and I’m willing to guarantee your next demo will be better as a result—and more fun to give. That is a guarantee coming from me.”
— Chris White, Author of The Six Habits of Highly Effective Sales Engineers
“What is unique is the method Mike uses to make the material engaging and memorable. For that, he deserves a big round of applause and a standing ovation from the audience.
214 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 21, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 30, 2025
One of the best suprises of working from home during COVID (and yes there were very few) was how many of my colleagues in the PreSales world were musicians. There was rarely a day that went by that I didn't hop on a Zoom and see guitars, drums or keyboards in somebody's background.
In retrospect, it really shouldn't have surprised me. Over the years, many of the amazing PreSales Pros that I worked with had demonstrated creative outlets in their life. Stand up comedy, writing books, painting, doing community theatre, many of my collegues had some kind of amazing outlet for their creativity.
At work that manifests itself for many of the very best PreSales Pros in how they bring that creativity to the demo. And now Mike McDowell has put those connections together in his new book Demotainment, The Art of Delivering Demos That Engage, Inspire and Drive Results.
Mike has a background in theater and he very concisely demonstrates the connection between creating an engaging and entertaining demo and the skills applied in creative outlets.
Mike lays the steps out as a series of Scenes where he introduces a concept and then dives into the details for executing that scene. He does a great job demonstrating the use of the concepts in his own PreSales experience which makes it very transferrable to your role.
My favorite was Scene 10 The Psychology of Priming and Influence. The key to this Scene is how to use the small cues and language to encourage postiive feelings and anticipation. He aligns it to the use of music in movies. For those of us old enough to remember seeing Jaws in the movie theater, I will never forget that visceral feeling of growing fear that came from John Williams famous score. Duh Dum, Duh Dum, Duh Dum (faster and faster).
In today's world of PreSales, there is a lot of talk about how do we automate, how do we pre-record but Mike points out one of the underlying truths. If you aren't engaging your audience in a way that captures their attention, it really doesn't matter what method you are trying to use to deliver that message.
Demotainment can help you put your own creativity out into the world.
In retrospect, it really shouldn't have surprised me. Over the years, many of the amazing PreSales Pros that I worked with had demonstrated creative outlets in their life. Stand up comedy, writing books, painting, doing community theatre, many of my collegues had some kind of amazing outlet for their creativity.
At work that manifests itself for many of the very best PreSales Pros in how they bring that creativity to the demo. And now Mike McDowell has put those connections together in his new book Demotainment, The Art of Delivering Demos That Engage, Inspire and Drive Results.
Mike has a background in theater and he very concisely demonstrates the connection between creating an engaging and entertaining demo and the skills applied in creative outlets.
Mike lays the steps out as a series of Scenes where he introduces a concept and then dives into the details for executing that scene. He does a great job demonstrating the use of the concepts in his own PreSales experience which makes it very transferrable to your role.
My favorite was Scene 10 The Psychology of Priming and Influence. The key to this Scene is how to use the small cues and language to encourage postiive feelings and anticipation. He aligns it to the use of music in movies. For those of us old enough to remember seeing Jaws in the movie theater, I will never forget that visceral feeling of growing fear that came from John Williams famous score. Duh Dum, Duh Dum, Duh Dum (faster and faster).
In today's world of PreSales, there is a lot of talk about how do we automate, how do we pre-record but Mike points out one of the underlying truths. If you aren't engaging your audience in a way that captures their attention, it really doesn't matter what method you are trying to use to deliver that message.
Demotainment can help you put your own creativity out into the world.
June 13, 2025
Mostly solid advice
Mike presents some very solid advice on how to deliver a product demonstration. Framing it as a movie is novel and helps provide a way to remember what he suggests. I found some of his suggestions contrary to delivering a solution oriented demonstration, and really nothing he suggests is different from what can be found in other similar books on product demos and technical sales.
Mike presents some very solid advice on how to deliver a product demonstration. Framing it as a movie is novel and helps provide a way to remember what he suggests. I found some of his suggestions contrary to delivering a solution oriented demonstration, and really nothing he suggests is different from what can be found in other similar books on product demos and technical sales.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews