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Sales call role playing is a form of mastermind group for salespeople
Yesterday my fellow writers at the Burbank Barnes and Noble Writers’ Group provided an invaluable service for me: they critiqued my article, “Easier Sales – 9 Steps to Finding Prospects Who Want What You Provide.” The good news is that they all agreed it was technically good writing. The better news is that they suggested what I need to do to make the article stronger – and actually interesting instead of a dry and academic list of bullet points.
Thus I benefited from participation in a mastermind group. Such a group goes beyond the beneficial service of proofreading to pointing out what needs to be done to strengthen your work. It requires people who have the technical competence to actually contribute to your understanding and help you look at things from a different angle. For sales and marketing purposes, sales call role playing serves a similar function.
When I was a sales rep, I did not like role playing because I was always so critical of myself I didn’t need anyone else to criticize me too. As a result, I cheated myself of the benefit of other professionals who could have helped me improve.
It’s difficult to see yourself as others do so it’s hard to catch places where a prospect might react negatively. For instance, today Larry felt the way I said “North America – includes Mexico” came across condescending because people know Mexico is part of North America. Hearing his take on it, I agree a better phrasing would something like the “whole of North America.”
Growing up, I heard a lot of negative criticism making me inclined to avoid group feedback. So as you think about using role playing to improve your skills, find a supportive group. People can be constructive or nasty in the way they critique. We draw in when hit by snide barbs. On the other hand, we grow and open up to new ideas and insights when we get positive comments.
It’s particularly important for soft sell salespeople to role play. It’s amazing what a difference actually speaking your questions out loud makes. For some reason, just thinking about them doesn’t lock the phrasing into our normal speaking patterns. I find in myself, and in others too, the tendency to ask close-ended questions that kill dialogue because they invite only yes-or-no answers. Role playing offers the advantage that we get to do mock sales calls at no risk of losing the customer – and that we get suggestions or feedback from our sales team of how to be more open, inviting, and curious about what our customer says – in other words, did we hear the answer that we should have followed up on?
Everyone who wants to become great in his or her field will gain from joining a mastermind group of people with skills, expertise, and shared interests. Sales call role playing offers the benefits of a mastermind group specifically for sales professionals. We can develop soft sell sales skills in a risk-free environment because asking open-ended questions with the pressures of a sales call on us gets better with practice. These are the questions that invite propsects to explain what their individual situations are. And be sure your fellow mastermind group members are supportive so you all feel good about your progress as you learn to connect so as to help customers buy.
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