How to Effectively Run POCs (Proof of Concepts) on Slack

Proof of concept (POC) is a crucial part of the B2B sales cycle. Over 58% of companies expect PoCs as part of their vendor evaluations. PoCs provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your capabilities and showcase how you can provide a solution for your potential client’s problems.

Running proof of concept is a significant investment for both the buyer and the vendor, pouring resources and time into the process. Getting it right is crucial to the health of your business.

With many challenges and complexities, it’s essential you spend time identifying the best PoC strategy that suits your business. Slack can provide a great platform to help you streamline your processes and bring the most value out of your next proof of concept.

Common Challenges of Running a POC in B2B 

Lack of Communication

Without effective collaboration, your proof of concept is set up for failure. It is essential to establish clear communication channels to avoid reputational and financial damage, as organizations lose an average of $62.4 million annually due to bad communication practices. 

PoCs require intricate feedback loops and teamwork between your teams and potential clients. Using Slack, you can provide a platform for your internal teams and prospective customers to collaborate without adding other software to their busy desktops. Smooth contact channels can build trust and remove issues that could obstruct in the future. 

Not Enough Visibility 

Your team might run multiple PoCs simultaneously, juggling diverse stakeholders and numerous individual demands. Keeping track of project stages and milestones can be challenging, as well as syncing CRMs and spreadsheets between video conferences.

You can integrate the essential project management tools into one smooth platform through Slack. In addition, you can automate workflows to keep track of processes and assign sub-tasks to team members as necessary.

Above all, collaboration within your team should be fast and streamlined, removing the need to switch between multiple tools. With Slack plugins such as Thena, your team can keep on top of ongoing requests without risking losing a ticket in the process.

Undefined Goals

How can you tell your PoC is a success if you don’t set clear objectives? Without an in-depth understanding of your prospect’s needs and expectations, you might waste time showcasing the incorrect features or fail to highlight segments of your product that could seal the deal for your team.

Spend time to discover the business needs and technical requirements of your client. This will help you ensure that you deliver maximum value and demonstrate how to optimize their processes. Slack can serve as a collaboration platform to brainstorm initial expectations, allowing participants to express support for particular ideas with emojis or quickly raise concerns if the direction is not right.

Avoid rushing through the sales process and jumping straight into the PoC. Cutting corners has never won a PoC.

Proof of Concept Best Practices on Slack 

Keep an Eye on The Feedback 

While running a proof of concept, you must keep track of ongoing feedback from your potential customers. Dedicated Slack channels can enable you to keep track of your feedback through natural conversation and gain an in-depth understanding of their feelings and experience.

With conversational ticketing tools like Thena, you can monitor potential issues and address them quickly. This can also help you verify your product's usability and practicality and make necessary improvements.

Through conversational ticketing, your team can assign tasks to colleagues in real time, reducing time-to-resolution with speed. Quick resolutions will lead to satisfied customers and closed sales cycles.

Create a Knowledge Base

Complex proofs of concept naturally have many important documents and guidelines your team should know. Equally, your client must always be aware of your agreed SLAs and basic standards. Creating a central knowledge base can be a helpful resource for both sides. 

Customer expectations and ongoing insights should be recorded in a shared workplace such as Slack that is easily accessible and streamlined. Include templates and workflows so team members don't have to operate in the dark regarding your perspectives. 

With various tools integrating with Slack, there are plenty of ways to document all relevant milestones and feedback that you can recap at the end of the PoC cycle. This will be a foundation to build your live product and set you up for long-term success.  

Analyze Your Metrics

With less than a third of PoCs converting into product implementations, you must base your PoC on data rather than blind faith. You must measure your success at every step of the way throughout your proof of concept.

While performance analytics are crucial, engagement metrics are equally necessary to set you up for success. Alongside gathering feedback on channel conversations, you should also request feedback on pricing and features in addition to competitor comparisons. It might hurt your ego, but you will provide an infinitely better service.

Run surveys and polls through Slack and share data sheets through your internal channels to share insights with the most important members of your team.

Conclusion

Proof of concepts should be important in getting your B2B sales cycle right. Although running a PoC can be complex, integrations like Thena can help you make sense of the chaos and navigate your project seamlessly.

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