Yesterday we started our three-part series on sales training ideas with the best practice of blocking off non-negotiable time on the calendar for sales training. This week we’re going to focus on the best activity you can conduct during those sessions.
Idea #2: Role play.
I had a baseball coach that told us that his job during practice was to make us so uncomfortable that the games were relaxing. He would put us in the most intense scenarios and then ask us why we made the decisions we made. Our practices were full of constant decision-making in every aspect of the game: pitch selection, hitting, fielding, and base running. I remember one of his comments very clearly: “After two months of us drilling you at every practice, your instincts and muscle-memory will be in mid-season form while everyone else is getting started.” He was right – when the season started we were on auto-pilot, and the games were like a vacation compared to practice.
Sales is practically the same dynamic. If a sales person takes part in three intense role-playing exercises per week (playing the sales person, the customer, or simply evaluating), they’ll have the equivalent of a decade of experience after three or four years. Role playing is that powerful … if done correctly. Below are four best practices to conducting effective role-playing exercises.
- Ideally, break into groups of three, filling the roles of a sales person, a customer, and an evaluator. I’ve seen many role-playing exercises in which there is a sales person and a customer, and then a few people who give input. This isn’t the most efficient use of everyone’s time nor do the people feel compelled to give the best feedback.
When one person is assigned the role of evaluator, they’ll take their job seriously. Also, it’s amazing how much they learn by observing. Ask the evaluator to provide one specific area of improvement and up to three positive comments about the sales person’s performance.
When each session is done, rotate roles until all three people have played all three roles.
- Every now and then, have people role play in front of the whole team. Maybe at the end of each session, have one person perform and get feedback from the whole audience. The discussion following the role playing will be more educational for the team than the actual exercise.
- Create scenarios that are real and relevant. Don’t use generic scenarios like “Jane Doe is a purchasing agent of a textile manufacturer” when your sales people rarely interface with purchasing or textile companies. Create your own scenarios. A scenario can simply be two paragraphs, one describing the type of meeting and another describing the customer. Get as specific as using real prospects and customers if that makes sense.
- Create a start and end. For example, instruct the sales person that the role playing should start immediately following the rapport-building and continue until they’ve received enough information for the next step in the sales process.
Yes, role playing is the very best activity a sales person can do to improve their selling skills. Looking forward to sharing the long-term plan that will keep you from reinventing the wheel every week in tomorrow’s post. By the way, if you’re interested in a virtual sales training program for sales people in the security industry, check out vectorfirmacademy.com.
