A well-run payroll demo is one of the most effective ways to convert a prospect into a client. It’s your chance to demonstrate real-time value, uncover inefficiencies in their current process, and position your product as a clear upgrade. This guide outlines the step-by-step structure for running a high-impact payroll demo that drives results.

Start by creating a warm, conversational atmosphere. Your goal here is to build trust and comfort. Ask about their business, their role, or even something you saw on their website or LinkedIn profile. People buy from those they like and trust—so be personable and genuinely interested.

Before diving in, ask:

This sets the stage for a clear path to decision-making and helps you avoid stalls later in the process.

Ask the prospect to walk you through their current payroll process:

Take notes. This is your discovery time. Listen for manual tasks, bottlenecks, and inefficiencies. You’ll use these later to highlight exactly where your system saves time and reduces errors.

Now that you understand their workflow, show how your platform transforms it.

Key tactics during the demo:

Explain what onboarding looks like. Set expectations for how easy it will be to switch and how your team will support them every step of the way.

Be direct and clear. Share your pricing model, any potential savings, and what's included. Avoid vague estimates—be transparent.

Then ask:

Let them verbalize the ROI. When they say it, it sticks.

Your demo must end with a clear direction. Guide the prospect into one of these three outcomes:

Keep the momentum going. Always follow up within 24 hours with a summary of the demo, a reiteration of the value, and next steps.

By mastering this structure, you will consistently deliver demos that feel less like software tours—and more like strategic consultations that lead to action.

Email marketing plays a crucial role in a payroll go-to-market strategy—not because it delivers instant conversions, but because it keeps you top of mind for when a prospect’s current payroll provider fails them.

Switching payroll is perceived as painful. Most employers only consider switching once they’ve hit a wall—botched filings, tax mistakes, integration failures, or lack of service. This isn’t an if—it’s a when. Your job is to stay in their peripheral vision until the frustration is high enough to warrant a change. That’s where email comes in.

Email lets you consistently provide value, insights, and proof points without being intrusive. Done right, your prospects will think of you the moment they need a lifeline.

Instead of scattershot emails, your marketing should follow a monthly theme. Each theme is broken into 2–3 short emails spaced 3–10 days apart. These should feel like a mini-series: one email builds into the next, delivering new angles, deeper insights, or use cases.

Example Theme: “When Payroll Goes Wrong”

Make each message reference the previous to drive deeper reading and anticipation: “If you missed my last note on [X], here’s the quick version before I dive into [Y]…”

If you offer other products like time tracking, benefits, or HR, your email themes can flex around those too—but always bring it back to payroll. Payroll is a connector: it powers the data behind time, taxes, benefits, and compliance.

Work with your Check team to brainstorm messaging that helps tie those verticals together in a way that reinforces payroll without cannibalizing your broader marketing.

Your subject line is your front door. If it doesn’t invite curiosity, it won’t get opened.

Keep it under 45 characters. Avoid spam triggers like:

Better subject line examples:

In Gmail, the subject line and first ~20 words are previewed in the web inbox. Up to 45 words appear in mobile notifications.

Your first sentence should hint at a story, promise insight, or trigger curiosity. Examples:

Don’t waste this space with intros like “Hope this finds you well” or “Just checking in.”

Example CTA Options:

Your email should end with:

Example:

Warmly,

Jordan Taylor Partnerships @ Acme Software 📅 Book Time with Me

By using email to drip value—not pressure—you’ll build trust over time. When payroll pain hits your prospects, you won’t need to shout… they’ll already know who to call.

Payroll has a relatively long GTM engagement tail because of the stakes involved in switching systems. Employers are hesitant to disrupt something as critical as paying their team — not because they love their current provider, but because the perceived risk of a mistake feels too high. Many also assume all payroll systems are the same, making it harder for a new vendor to stand out. Even for micro-SMBs, it’s not uncommon for the decision journey to stretch 3 to 12 months. Our job is to shorten that window by building trust earlier, demonstrating value more clearly, and reducing perceived risk — and that’s where product-led growth (PLG) can become a powerful accelerator.

Product-led growth (PLG) is a go-to-market strategy where the product itself drives user acquisition, engagement, and conversion. Instead of relying solely on outbound sales or high-touch demos, PLG empowers employers to experience value early — through features like interactive demos, self-serve onboarding, or in-product nudges. In the context of payroll, PLG can help overcome skepticism by showing rather than telling.

For micro-SMBs, it creates trust without requiring a sales call. For traditional SMBs, it shortens discovery cycles. And for mid-market employers, it builds internal buy-in across stakeholders before a formal evaluation even begins. Regardless of company size, PLG helps you earn attention, reduce perceived risk, and build momentum earlier in the decision cycle.

PLG isn't a one-size-fits-all approach — its value multiplies when tailored to the employer segment you’re targeting. Because payroll has a naturally long sales cycle, PLG can serve different roles across different segments: in some cases, it closes the deal; in others, it warms the lead, educates internal stakeholders, or increases intent signals for sales follow-up. By aligning PLG tactics with each segment's buying behavior and decision complexity, Check partners can shorten sales cycles, reduce lift on their sales team, and improve win rates — all while keeping support costs low post-sale. The following table shows how to think about PLG across each employer size segment:

In payroll sales, trust and clarity are everything — and most employers have been burned before. That’s why showing the product in action is more powerful than telling someone it’s “easy to use” or “better than their current system.” A demo video is one of the most effective tools in a product-led growth (PLG) strategy: it lets prospective buyers see how intuitive payroll can be, reduces fear of the unknown, and builds confidence without requiring a live sales conversation.

For micro and small businesses, a strong demo video can drive the entire sales motion. For larger employers, it accelerates trust-building and improves demo show-up rates by giving buyers a baseline understanding before a live walkthrough. Every Check partner should consider their demo video a key sales asset — not just a marketing tool.

Below is a step-by-step guide for structuring your payroll demo video, including suggested product screens, pacing, and storytelling techniques.

Here are some demo video examples with effective pacing and storytelling. Pay attention to how they:

Absolutely — here’s a concise, actionable guide Check partners can use to build both public-facing and in-product payroll landing pages that support product-led growth while also enabling traditional sales-led options.

Public-Facing & In-Product Variants

A strong landing page is where PLG meets conversion. Whether it’s external (public website) or internal (in-product upsell), the goal is the same: educate, build trust, and convert interest into action — without needing a rep to explain everything. Use the guide below to create both versions efficiently.

This page lives on your marketing site and should be optimized for conversion from SEO, ads, referrals, or email campaigns.

Suggested Layout:

Optional Enhancements:

This page is triggered contextually — for example, from a “Payroll” menu tab, a banner, or an in-app prompt. Its tone should be slightly more direct and action-oriented.

Suggested Layout:

Absolutely — here’s a concise and actionable guide for Check partners to effectively use in-app prompts as part of their product-led growth and payroll GTM strategy.

In-app prompts are timely, contextual messages delivered within your product interface that guide users toward key actions. These could be banners, tooltips, modals, or slide-outs triggered by user behavior. They are one of the most powerful tools in a product-led growth (PLG) motion because they allow you to educate, upsell, and gather insights while the user is actively engaged with your platform.

In-app prompts work because they meet users where they already are — inside your product. For payroll, this is especially valuable due to the long sales cycle and high hesitation around switching. With smart in-app prompts, partners can:

Timing and placement are critical. A prompt delivered at the wrong time (e.g., when someone is managing time off or resolving an error) can be ignored or dismissed. Prompts should align with:

Inspired by Check’s Proven Call Flow

For Check partners looking to build a successful outbound calling strategy, the structure and psychology behind Check’s outbound call script offers a repeatable and scalable framework. Whether you’re calling auto shops, restaurants, or SaaS founders, the principles hold true: value upfront, frictionless next steps, and empathy for busy people.

Outbound calling still works—but only when done thoughtfully. You’re calling someone mid-task, so you must:

Let’s break down the proven script Check uses and how you can apply it to your own GTM motion.

Hello, this is [Your Name] from [Partner Name]. I’m calling to see if [Point of Contact’s First Name] is available.

Keep it neutral and professional. No salesy phrases. You’re just checking in.

If they’re not available: Offer a helpful reason for the call and gather information.

No worries! I was calling to go over your payroll. We’re also gathering insights into how customers like yours handle payroll. Do you know if you use ADP, Paychex, or someone else to run your payroll?

If the decision maker is available:

Hi [POC First Name], this is [Your Name] with [Partner Name]’s payroll team—how’s your day going?

Keep it light and conversational, showing you're not a robotic seller.

Once rapport is made or if the call moves forward from someone else:

Great! I know I caught you out of the blue, so I’ll keep this quick. We’re helping shops save nearly [insert your time savings or value position] 3 hours per payroll run, reduce costs significantly, and give total pay transparency by matching paystubs to the paysheet line-by-line—automatically.

This pitch hits three high-impact value props fast. It's designed to grab attention without sounding like a pitch.

I’d love to find 30 minutes in the next week or two to learn about your current payroll process, walk you through a quick demo, and see if we’re a good fit. Any immediate questions before we look at calendars?

This removes pressure and allows for a natural close.

If they say: “We’re not interested.”

Totally understand. We’re also looking to be a backup option if anything changes. Just curious—do you know which payroll provider you’re using now? ADP, Paychex, or another?

If they say: “Our accountant handles it.”

About 16%* of our clients were in the same boat. Most accountants do it because legacy systems don’t support [their industry] well. If I send you a quick overview email, could you forward it to your accountant? It’s likely they’ll see the time-saving benefits too.

*Check finds around 15% - 20% of our Partner’s employers use their CPA to run payroll.

If they ask clarifying questions:

Great question! I’d love to show you how that’s handled during the demo. I’ve got my calendar open—would next week work better for you?

Once they agree:

Awesome, I’ll talk to you at X time on Y date. To be prepped for our call—who are you currently using for payroll?

Wrap it up positively:

Great! Can’t wait for you to see how much time and money we can save you.

If you're a Check partner looking for help writing your custom script based on this framework, your Check GTM consultant is just a call away. We’ll help tailor your value pitch, vertical language, and demo hook to drive conversion with your audience.

Let’s make those outbound calls work smarter—not harder.

Webinars are one of the most efficient and scalable ways to:

To ensure each webinar delivers clear value and sustains content momentum throughout the selling season:

Driving registrations and engagement starts with a well-orchestrated promotion strategy. Here’s how to make sure your webinar gets seen and attended: