A demo is one of the few assets that shows buyer intent. Someone who clicks through your product is more interested than someone who read a headline. So it is tempting to ask for their email before they start. Sometimes that is right. Often it costs you the viewers you wanted.
For more on this topic, read How Product-Led Teams Can Use an Interactive Demo Before the Trial and How Founders Can Show Product Progress in Investor Updates.
Short Answer
Gate demos sent to specific prospects or used as campaign offers. Leave homepage and help-center demos open.
- Ask what the demo is for. Awareness, evaluation or qualification.
- Gate only when knowing who watched is worth losing some viewers.
- Ask for as little as you need.
Why Gating Is Harder than It Looks
A form is a cost. Every field asks the visitor to trust you before they have seen anything.
- On a homepage, a gate turns a demo into a form with a preview.
- In a help center, a gate blocks a customer who is already yours.
- In a sales follow-up, the buyer already knows you, so a gate is less of a hurdle.
Decide by Placement
| Placement | Gate? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage | Usually no | The goal is a signup, not a lead |
| Feature page | Usually no | Same as homepage |
| Paid ad landing page | Often yes | The campaign is built to collect leads |
| Sales follow-up | Optional | You know the buyer, but others may open it |
| Event or webinar follow-up | Often yes | Attendees expect it |
| Help center | No | They are customers |
Where the Form Goes
A form can come before the first step, partway through, or at the end.
- Before the first step. Strongest filter, fewest viewers.
- Partway through. The viewer has seen value before you ask.
- At the end. Least friction, fewest form submissions.
Test where it fits your audience. A Proovyt lead form shows either before the demo starts or after a step you choose.
Ask for Less
Every field you add is one more reason to leave. Name and work email are usually enough to start a conversation. Ask the rest on the call. The Proovyt form asks for a name and an email, with company and a consent checkbox as options.
Respect Viewers Who Do Not Fill It In
Viewers who skip the form are still people evaluating you. In Proovyt, viewers stay anonymous unless they send a lead form. Analytics keep no IP addresses, and hosted pages and embeds set no cookies.
An Illustrative Worked Example
This example is hypothetical. A team runs a paid campaign for a new reporting feature.
- The homepage demo stays open.
- The campaign landing page gets a separate demo with a lead form partway through, after the report appears.
- The form asks only for name and work email.
- Leads appear in the demo's lead list with how far each person got.
- The team exports them as CSV for follow-up.
The Old Way Versus a Better Way
| Old way | Better way |
|---|---|
| Gate every demo by default | Gate only where a lead is the goal |
| Long form before the first step | Short form after the viewer has seen value |
| One demo for open and gated uses | Separate demos, so analytics stay clean |
| Leads copied by hand | Leads exported as CSV |
A Gate Is Not a Lock
A lead form asks for details. It is not access control. In Proovyt, the form runs in the browser, so a determined viewer could read the page without sending it. If a demo must stay private, use a password. Use a lead form when you want to know who is interested, and a password when you need to control who can see it.
Consent and Your Own Privacy Notice
When you collect a viewer's details, you are responsible for how you use them. The Proovyt form can show a consent checkbox with your own text, and ticking it is never required to continue. These are legal terms for you to review, alongside your own privacy notice.
A 2-Week Rollout Plan
Week 1. List your demos and their placements. Mark which ones serve a lead goal. Make a separate demo for any placement that needs a gate.
Week 2. Add the form to those demos, before the start or after a step you choose. Keep it to name and email. After a few weeks, compare completion with the open version.
Where Proovyt Fits (Full Disclosure)
Proovyt is an interactive demo tool, and this is our blog.
- Lead capture is on Pro and Team. The demo's owner sees the details sent and how far the viewer got.
- Per-viewer analytics with CSV export are on Pro and Team.
- Viewers stay anonymous unless they send a form.
Proovyt does not have CRM integrations yet, so leads do not sync to a CRM automatically. See pricing and the FAQ.
Common Mistakes
- Gating the homepage demo.
- Asking for phone number, company size and role up front.
- Gating help-center demos for existing customers.
- Using one demo for both open and gated placements, which mixes the analytics.
The Bottom Line
Gate where the goal is a lead and the viewer expects a form. Keep it open where the goal is a signup or a solved problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a lead form reduce demo views? It adds friction, so expect fewer people to finish. Weigh that against knowing who they are.
Which Proovyt plans include lead capture? Pro and Team.
Can I see how far a lead got? Yes. The owner sees the details sent and how far that viewer got.
Can leads go straight into my CRM? Not yet. Export them as CSV from per-viewer analytics.
What about viewers who do not fill in the form? They stay anonymous. See measuring demo drop-off for what you can still learn from them.