The Ultimate Guide to B2B Inside Sales to Close More Deals

Storylane acquires PreSkale and expands into presales

We're excited to announce Storylane's  acquisition of PreSkale, marking our strategic expansion into the presales market.

The acquisition comes as presales teams increasingly seek automation tools to scale their operations. While Storylane has built its reputation serving marketing teams with demo automation software, the company has observed substantial demand from presales engineers looking to streamline their processes.

"We've seen a significant uptick in revenue from presales teams in the last year. With the PreSkale acquisition, we're doubling down on presales as a key function for 2025, positioning ourselves as one of the few demo automation vendors that scales across the entire go-to-market motion." - Nalin Senthamil, Co-founder and CEO.

PreSkale CEO Ajay Jayagopal will join Storylane following the acquisition. “When the opportunity came up, I was thrilled by the potential of this idea,” said Jayagopal. “Storylane is the fastest-growing leader in demo automation. Go-to-market leaders consistently praise Storylane for saving teams 10 hours a week and boosting deal closures by 30%. I’m excited to help teams deliver exceptional product experiences and drive business wins.” 

The move appears well-timed, as market trends indicate growing demand for demo automation tools among presales teams seeking to enhance productivity. Storylane plans to apply the same product innovation, speed, and ease of use that drove its success in marketing to address these presales needs.

The company has already established itself as a significant player in the demo automation space, currently ranking second in the category with a 4.8/5 rating across more than 500 reviews. Its platform serves enterprise customers including Nasdaq, Palo Alto Networks, Microsoft, SentinelOne, and Autodesk.

Through this acquisition, Storylane aims to expand its offering to provide comprehensive demo automation capabilities across the entire sales cycle, potentially reshaping how B2B companies approach product demonstrations and technical evaluations.

Let’s face it: One demo is not enough to educate or convert your buyers.

No, your buyers aren’t looking forward to “we’ll reach out to you shortly” or a standard demo experience from your sales team.

Instead, buyers want to explore relevant products and features at their own pace. AKA, specific, short demos that are relevant to the buyer’s specific needs.

Which in today’s B2B buying process, led to the rise of product demo centers.

They’re self-serve product experience sites, which allow buyers to jump to their specific needs or queries faster, easing the buying process.

Let’s break down how demo centers reduce friction and make the buying experience shorter and easier. 

What is a Demo Center?

A demo center is a microsite or landing page where buyers can explore different product demos catered to their use case, persona, or feature that matters most to them. 

Instead of sitting through a one-size-fits-all presentation, buyers can sift through a content hub and discover your product’s value at their own pace. 

At Storylane, we do demo centers a bit differently. We call them “DemoHubs,” offering interactive features to engage buyers, such as: 

• Centralized Demo Discovery: DemoHubs offer a gallery or playlist view that lets buyers easily navigate different use cases and features
• Guided Playlists: Create curated demo sequences to tailor the experience to specific buyer needs.
• Real-Time Engagement: CTAs, lead capture options, and live chat ensure buyers find what they need and stay engaged.
• Analytics & Integrations: Track buyer activity, identify top prospects, and send insights to tools like HubSpot and Slack
• Enterprise Security: Features like SSO, custom branding, and SOC2 compliance offering buyers a secure, branded experience

Infact, here’s how you can experience DemoHub for yourself:

When Should You Use a Demo Center?

At Tradeshows

Prospects at tradeshows or events don’t want another brochure or video; they want to see your product in action. 

This is when a combination of an in-booth digital kiosk or screen and a demo center becomes your digital spokesperson. They allow multiple prospects to explore your product at the same time, at their own pace.  

Tip: Set your in-booth demo centers on autoplay so they continue to run in the background and attract traffic. Here’s our quick guide on using demos at tradeshows.

The Post-Demo Follow-up

We've all been there – that moment when a prospect says, "This is great, but I need to show it to my team." Instead of crossing your fingers and hoping your one-hour demo stuck in their memory, send them a link to your demo center. 

For instance:

It's like giving them (plus their team) a backstage pass to revisit the highlights and explore features at their own pace.

Also read: Best follow-up emails to send after meetings

For Personalized Outreach

A demo center lets you create personalized experiences for different customer ICPs, showing exactly how your product adds value to their workflow. 

Or even when selling to a buying committee, there are always different departments involved- such as finance, IT, etc. You can curate different demos by features or department use cases and compile them in a single demo center.

Prospects in financial services can dive into compliance features, while marketing teams can explore analytics capabilities – all without having to skim through irrelevant content. 

Product Education

Cramming all your product features in a single demo might just do more harm than good. In such cases, complex product features can be broken down into digestible, shorter demos within demo centers. 

That way, you don't overwhelm prospects and help them zero in on the features that benefit their use case. 

5 Creative Examples of Demo Centers (From Our Own Customers)

1. Cognism

Demo center: https://www.cognism.com/demo-centre

Cognism is a B2B sales intelligence platform that services a wide range of audiences. Accordingly, its demo center breaks down multiple use cases and products into bite-sized demos for quick consumption.

Inside the Cognism Demo Center

Cognism’s demo center is set up to make exploring easy. Here’s what it includes:

• Playbooks and workflows, with each self-guided demo highlighting a different feature 
• Filter the demos based on the use case, keyword, or product
• A live chat to answer questions 

2. SentinelOne

Demo center: https://www.sentinelone.com/tour/

SentinelOne is a leading cybersecurity platform that supports a wide range of products.

Cybersecurity is known for its complex, multi-faceted products. To tackle this, SentinelOne's demo center helps early-stage prospects understand product features and use cases at their own pace.

Inside the SentinelOne Demo Center

SentinelOne’s demo center is designed for quick, self-paced exploration, putting the security features on spotlight. Here’s an overview:

• Interactive walk-throughs showcasing SentinelOne's AI-driven product features 
• Demos to showcase how the platform defends against real-time attacks
• Demos that walk the user through investigating and resolving incidents efficiently

3. Cleeng

Demo center: https://cleeng.storylane.io/hub/l7okbjqp672v

Cleeng is a subscription management platform for OTT broadcasters and media companies, helping them manage subscribers, drive engagement, and streamline billing. 

Accordingly, its demo center breaks down how they can best use the platform’s features, from monetization to client retention and management. 

Inside the Cleeng Demo Center

Cleeng’s demo center makes it simple for users to explore each feature’s functionality through self-guided tours. Here’s what you’ll find:  

• Demos that guide through platform features and subscriber management
• A monetization and retention section to discover Cleeng’s tools for tracking viewer engagement and reducing churn
• Demos on integrations with other services or apps

4. Graide

Demo center: https://app.storylane.io/hub/mvqqubx1dzgq

Graide is an AI-powered platform that provides educators with intelligent grading and feedback processes. 

So, its Demo Center is simple and to the point. It takes you through interactive demos on grading an assignment or providing feedback on academic assignments using the product. 

Inside the Graide Demo Center 

Graide’s demo center is shorter, with examples of how they can use the product to grade and score maths, essay or script-related answers. Here’s what you’ll find:

• See how Graide uses AI to speed up grading for various assignment types and to update feedback in real time
• Explore how to provide constructive, specific feedback to students based on the subject
• Track answer history, review updated answers and changes in real-time

5. CD systems

Demo center: https://app.storylane.io/hub/taafwoi7iuzy  

CD Systems is a platform designed for chauffeur services and fleet management. 

Given that the platform caters to new and existing users looking for client booking or real-time tracking and reporting, CD Systems Demo Center tackles everything from setup to using the right pages and features via simple-to-follow interactive demos. 

Inside the CD Systems Demo Hub

CD Systems’ demo hub makes it easy for new and existing users to explore each feature in action with guided tours. Here’s what it covers:

• How to setup the platform and use it to simplify bookings and dispatch chauffeurs with ease
• Demos for getting started, how to assign/dispatch a driver, and create invoices
• How to navigate the platform and use alerts

Create Product Demo Centers with Storylane

With Storylane, you can create, customize, and launch your demo center without writing a single line of code. 

Take it from our growing hub of customers with demo centers.

Such demo libraries help your prospects go through your product features easily (like Cognism did) or show your product in action with the right examples (like Graide did).

Looking to reduce buyer friction with demo centers and see it in action for your own product? Create your first demo today or book a demo to know more.

Intent data is your audience’s digital footprints that show purchase intent. 

When you act on these signals and reach the buyer at the right time, you'll also have better chances of shaping their decision criteria.

That's why around 55% of sales leaders see increased lead conversions when using intent data.

This happens when brands use intent data intelligence to improve their messaging across marketing channels. 

If you aren’t on this bandwagon yet, here's our simple guide to making intent-based marketing work for you.

Let's dive in!

What is intent-based marketing?

Intent-based marketing is the practice of tailoring your marketing campaigns based on signals that indicate a prospect's likelihood to purchase. 

Think of it as reading into your buyer's actions that suggest buying intent and acting on it, over waiting for prospects to book a demo or reach out to a sales rep. 

What are some Key Sources of Intent Data?

Searching for the right intent marketing data can be the cheat code to a successful marketing campaign. It’s often broken down to three main sources:

1. First-party Data Sources 

First-party data is basically the digital footprints your prospects leave directly on your website – from demo interactions to pricing page visits. 

Examples include:

1. Interactive Demo Engagement

Your product demos are more than just feature showcases – they're intent goldmines. It’s essentially giving your audience a “test drive” of your product at the awareness, decision, and even the retention stage. 

Here’s how it works:

So, what makes demo engagement particularly valuable?

The key is in the patterns. A prospect who spends 30 minutes sifting through demos on landing pages and exploring other features in your product demo is showing significantly higher intent than someone who briefly clicks through your knowledge base demo.

In fact, pay attention to:

• Which demo steps they’re revisiting 
• How much time they spend in each section
• Whether they're exploring advanced functions
• If they're testing integration capabilities

Remember: A product demo interaction signals they're visualizing your solution in their environment – that's powerful intent data you can't ignore.

2. High-Intent Landing Pages

Not all website visit sessions have the same intent. Certain pages naturally attract serious buyers who are closer to making a decision. These high-intent pages include:

• Pricing pages 
• Technical documentation, such as API references
• Integration capabilities pages
• Security and compliance information
• ROI calculators

The key is tracking not just visits but engagement patterns. A prospect who spends 15 minutes on your pricing page and then immediately checks out your implementation guides is sending very different signals than someone who briefly glances at your features page.

2. Second-party Data Sources

These are intent signals collected by another brand’s first-party data and then shared with you, such as review platform activities or publisher data. 

Some examples include:

1. Activity on Review Platforms

B2B review platforms like G2 and Trustradius have become the new battleground for purchase decisions. 

These platforms offer crystal-clear intent signals because, let's face it – when prospects are comparing solutions, they mean business.

Look for these high-value actions:

• Multiple visits to your competitor comparison pages
• Looking at reviews in your category
• Downloads of comparison reports
• Feature-by-feature comparison activities
• Engagement with pricing comparisons

Infact, recent data even shows that accounts driven by G2 intent signals typically generate higher form submission rates, with 61% higher MQL to SQL conversion rates and 20% higher win rate.

Reference

With this level of intent, you can act on it via email outreach, creating tailored landing pages or form submissions and move prospects down the funnel- increasing your chances of converting these visitors into paying customers. 

2. LinkedIn Engagement

LinkedIn isn’t just a networking platform; rather, every reaction, comment, or share might just be a buying signal in disguise.

It’s also what Konstantin, CEO of Cascaddy, emphasizes:

Here's what makes LinkedIn engagement particularly valuable:

• Multiple ad impressions and clicks from the same account 
• Engagement patterns across different ad copies 
• Content interaction with ads or posts 
• Company page visits combined with ad engagement 

The magic happens when you see repeated patterns: A prospect who clicks on your ads multiple times, visits your company page, and engages with your content is showing clear buying intent.

3. Third-party Data Sources

These signals offer a broader view of buyer behavior and are combed from technographic, firmographic, and engagement signals to piece the buyer intent together.

Here’s an example:

1. Technographic Data

Technographic data gives a clear view of the tech stack your potential customers are using, including the tools, software, and platforms that they depend on. 

This can be the blueprint for upselling your own tool or product. 

When you see companies using CRMs or tools that your product has native integrations with- it’s an opportunity to seamlessly plug in your product into their existing workflow.

Pay attention to:

• Which core systems they're heavily invested in (CRMs like Salesforce or HubSpot)
• Whether they’re existing free trial users and the size of their company (for budget readiness)
• How sophisticated their current sales tech stack is
• What their competitors in the same technographic segment are adopting

Ultimately, It's an opportunity to show them how your product could seamlessly plug into their existing workflow and amplify their ROI.

How to Market Based on Intent Signals

Let's get practical about turning these intent signals into marketing gold. Here's how to craft campaigns that respond to different levels of intent:

1. Segment and Personalize

Think of intent signals as your prospect's digital body language. Just as you'd adjust your conversation based on someone's verbal and non-verbal cues, your marketing should adapt to digital intent signals.

Here’s an example:

Reference

For High Intent Prospects:

• Skip the basics and go straight to the meat – detailed case studies, custom ROI calculations, and specific solution demonstrations
• Enable your sales team with intent data so they can have more relevant conversations
• Create personalized content based on the specific features or use cases they've shown interest in

For Medium Intent Prospects:

• Focus on differentiation – why you're the best choice in the category
• Provide comparative content that positions your solution effectively
• Offer "try before you buy" experiences like interactive demos

For Low Intent Prospects:

• Build awareness through thought leadership and educational content
• Share industry insights and trend analysis
• Keep them in the loop with newsletter content and general updates

2. Choose the Right Channels to Engage Prospects 

Here's the thing about B2B buyers today – they're already 75% through their buying journey before they ever want to talk to sales. 

That's why your channel strategy needs to align with their intent signals. 

When someone's showing strong buying signals – like extensively testing your product demo or comparing you with competitors on G2 – that’s when you need to act fast but smart. 

For a prospect with high intent, you could:

• Use targeted LinkedIn ad campaigns that speak directly to their use case
• Reach out with personalized email sequences 
• Equip your SDR team with context-rich insights about the prospect's journey
• Use retargeting with bottom-funnel content like customer success stories and ROI studies

Think about it –Your prospect might start their research on G2, move to your website, and then check out your LinkedIn presence. Your job is to be present with the right information across every channel they might use for research.

3. Customize Content based on Prospect Interest 

Here's where some B2B brands get it wrong- they treat content as a one-size-fits-all solution. 

But your prospects are telling you exactly what they need through their intent signals. 

Here’s how you can align the right content based on prospect interest:

For Business Decision Makers:

When intent signals show focus on business impact (like time spent on pricing pages or ROI calculators):

• Highlight ROI case studies from similar companies in their industry
• Create business value assessments tailored to their company size
• Share market analysis showing the cost of delayed decisions
• Provide competitive intelligence reports

For End Users:

When intent signals indicate product usage research:

• Offer interactive product tours 
• Share workflow automation examples relevant to their role
• Create comparison guides focusing 
• Develop adoption guides and best practices

If someone's heavily researching your integration capabilities, sending them a general product brochure isn't helpful. But a detailed integration guide comparing your API flexibility with competitors? Now, that's valuable.

4. The Timing Factor

Content customization isn't just about what you send – it's also about when you send it. 

“If you've reached a buyer at the right time with the right content, you'll typically see win rates improve- as you were the first to shape their decision criteria,” says Paul Gilhooly from G2. 

For high-intent signals like demo requests or pricing page visits, your speed to lead should be shorter. 

However, for medium- and early-stage intent signals such as blog post engagement or newsletter subscriptions, keeping them in the loop with the right content is essential. 

The goal isn't to overwhelm prospects with content – it's to provide exactly what they need when they need it.

What are the Benefits of Intent-Based Marketing?

• Higher Conversion Rates: By focusing on prospects showing genuine interest, you naturally increase conversion probability.
• Optimized Marketing Spend: Resources are directed toward accounts most likely to convert.
• Shorter Sales Cycles: When you engage prospects at the right moment with relevant content, decisions happen faster.
• Better Sales-Marketing Alignment: Shared intent data helps both teams work together more effectively

What are the Limitations of Intent-Based Marketing?

While powerful, intent-based marketing isn't without its challenges:

• Data Quality: Not all signals accurately reflect true buying intent.
• Integration Complexity: Combining data from multiple sources can be technically challenging.
• Signal Interpretation: Different industries and products require different intent frameworks.

How Storylane Can Make Intent-Based Marketing Work for You

For over 56% B2B brands, data quality is among the top challenges when using intent signals.

This is why having data sources that you can trust and validate is key when it comes to intent signals. 

And what better than first-party data that lets you know what product features your audience is most interested in, their engagement rates, and even firmographic data?

With Storylane, you can get demo intent data that helps prioritize accounts, letting your sales reps target the right accounts at the right time. 

Curious how Storylane fits in your tech stack? Start a free trial or book a demo today to know more!