TED Magazine - June 2017

Continue with: “This isn’t a compe- tition; no team will be awarded ‘best,’ nor will anyone get penalized. Our goal is to arrive at some really strong approaches that each of you can use with customers as you see fit.” Now give the framework: 1. “Highlight what makes our com- pany a great partner.” 2. “The presentation should last no more than 10 minutes.” 3. “No brochures or slideshows are allowed. It’s just you and your words, plus anything you want to create up on the whiteboard right there during the meeting.” Tell them: “I’ll be in and out, walk- ing around as you work on this right now. Feel free to ask me questions if you’re unsure. Tomorrow morning each team will present. I’ll decide the order at random; the other teams won’t be in the room while you’re presenting.” Now comes the big news: “Who will play the role of the prospect? You’ll be presenting to me and (the president or another similarly high- ranking executive). He (or she) feels very strongly about this; that’s why he’s investing his time.” That’s the key to this exercise. Hav- ing top management in there changes everything. It now becomes a far more serious project to the salesperson than if it was just his or her daily manager. The insights and results that come from such a simple exercise are amaz- ing. Some salespeople, it will be dis- covered, have really terrific ways of explaining the company. Everyone can begin using those immediately. Other salespeople, it turns out, aren’t nearly as good as one would expect. They can now adopt some of those great approaches to improve their selling. Doing this with one’s team quickly will impact sales. It’s well worth the investment of time and resources— plus the president will be impressed with this initiative. ; Wax helps teams sell more. He has two books on Amazon and can be reached at kenwax@gmail.com.