Demo Scorecard for Peer Review
A weighted 9-criteria rubric for reviewing recorded demos, built to catch narrative and business-outcome gaps that a polish-only review misses — for managers running peer-review or 1:1 coaching sessions.
What's inside
- 9 scoring criteria with weights: discovery alignment, narrative structure, outcome framing, stakeholder coverage, objection handling, technical credibility, buyer engagement, close/next steps, delivery polish
- 1/3/5 behavioral anchors for every criterion (what "absent," "adequate," and "exemplary" actually look like)
- Weighted scoring formula with a worked calculation example
- Score bands mapped to a coaching action (exemplar library / minor coaching / structural rebuild)
- Reviewer comments template with 4 required fields
- A 2-reviewer calibration exercise to keep scores consistent across managers
How to use this scorecard
Watch the full recorded demo once without pausing. Then watch a second time, pausing at each criterion below to score 1-5. Score the narrative and business content first (criteria 1-8) — delivery polish (criterion 9) is intentionally weighted last so a smooth presenter with no story doesn't outscore a rougher presenter who nailed the outcome.
Scoring scale (applies to every criterion)
- 1 — Absent: the behavior didn't happen at all
- 2 — Weak: attempted but generic or disconnected from this specific buyer
- 3 — Adequate: present and correct, but not tailored or reinforced
- 4 — Strong: tailored to this buyer, reinforced at least once
- 5 — Exemplary: tailored, reinforced, and buyer visibly reacted (verbal confirmation, question, or note-taking)
The 9 criteria
| # | Criterion | Weight | Look for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discovery-to-demo alignment | 15% | Every feature shown maps to a pain or goal the buyer stated in discovery, named explicitly ("you mentioned X, here's how this addresses it") |
| 2 | Narrative structure | 15% | A recognizable Before/After/Bridge or Tell-Show-Tell arc — not a feature-by-feature tour with no throughline |
| 3 | Business outcome framing | 15% | Outcomes stated in the buyer's numbers/units (time, $, error rate, revenue) — not "this saves you time" with no quantification |
| 4 | Multi-stakeholder coverage | 10% | Each attendee's role-specific concern is addressed by name at least once (economic buyer, technical evaluator, end user) |
| 5 | Objection handling | 10% | Objections are acknowledged and explored before being answered — not deflected or steamrolled |
| 6 | Technical credibility | 10% | Claims are accurate, rep didn't guess on a question they didn't know, edge cases handled honestly |
| 7 | Buyer engagement | 10% | Rep checks for understanding/reaction at least 3 times ("does that match what you're seeing today?") rather than presenting uninterrupted |
| 8 | Close and next steps | 10% | Ends with a specific, mutually agreed next step and date — not "I'll follow up" |
| 9 | Delivery polish | 5% | Pacing, screen hygiene (no notifications/clutter), verbal filler, eye contact/energy on video |
Weighted score calculation
Formula: Total Score = Σ (criterion score ÷ 5 × weight), expressed as a percentage.
Worked example:
| Criterion | Score (1-5) | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery alignment | 4 | 15% | 12.0 |
| Narrative structure | 3 | 15% | 9.0 |
| Outcome framing | 4 | 15% | 12.0 |
| Stakeholder coverage | 2 | 10% | 4.0 |
| Objection handling | 4 | 10% | 8.0 |
| Technical credibility | 5 | 10% | 10.0 |
| Buyer engagement | 3 | 10% | 6.0 |
| Close/next steps | 5 | 10% | 10.0 |
| Delivery polish | 4 | 5% | 4.0 |
| Total | 100% | 75.0 |
Score bands and next action
| Band | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 90-100 | Exemplar | Clip it, add to your team's demo swipe library, have this rep peer-coach one other rep on their strongest criterion |
| 75-89 | Strong | One focused coaching conversation on the single lowest-scoring criterion — don't try to fix everything at once |
| 60-74 | Developing | Schedule a structured coaching session, assign one framework template (BAB or Tell-Show-Tell) as homework before the next live demo |
| Below 60 | Needs rebuild | Pair the rep with a manager or top performer to rebuild the demo narrative from scratch before their next customer-facing demo |
Reviewer comments template
- Strongest moment (timestamp + what happened):
- Weakest moment (timestamp + what happened):
- Single highest-leverage thing to fix before the next demo:
- Recommended next step: ☐ Clip for library ☐ 1:1 coaching ☐ Shadow a peer ☐ Rebuild with manager
Calibration exercise (for 2+ reviewers)
Before using this scorecard across a team, have two managers independently score the same recorded demo, then compare. Any criterion with more than a 1-point gap between reviewers gets discussed until you agree on what "3" looks like for that criterion in your specific market. Re-run this every quarter — scoring drifts as reviewers get more lenient over time.
How to use it
Score a recorded demo against all 9 criteria on the 1-5 scale, calculate the weighted total, and use the resulting band to decide whether to clip the demo for your library, run a targeted coaching session, or schedule a full rebuild.