Which exception should an automation sales demo show first?

I’m Shrawan, the founder of DemoPop. Here is a simple way to prepare an automation sales demo before the real workflow is built.

Show three paths:

1. The ordinary request, with a clear input and expected output.

2. Missing information, where the workflow pauses and asks for what it needs.

3. An exception, where it stops or hands the decision to a person.

For invoice processing, those could be an ordinary invoice, a missing purchase-order reference, and a duplicate invoice. Make the final status match the scenario: the duplicate should not end in an approval message.

Use fictional data and label prepared outputs as simulations. A sales demo can help agree on scope; it does not establish the accuracy or reliability of a production integration.

We’ve made a free checklist with more examples: https://www.demopop.org/resources/automation-demo-checklist

For agencies selling automation services: which exception would your buyer want to explore first, and what would make that demo useful enough to share with a colleague?