August 16, 2023
What would happen if your most beloved sports team started missing practices, or skipped them entirely? Do you think this would hinder their ability to win games? Absolutely it would. Therefore in sales why is there not a priority to continually practice and get better?
Many of us have been in a spot where we had to roleplay with ourselves or a senior sales team member, usually your direct manager - perfecting your pitch. Usually, this method of roleplaying is done to practice your sales objection/skills are done with junior-level members to hone their skills. Although it can be uncomfortable at times, it will emulate real-life situations therefore you can be quicker on your feet in sales calls. But I'll challenge you you do it regardless of what level you are in your career. If you are a manager of a smaller team, take the time out of your schedule to do these calls with your reps. If you are a manager of a larger team, then delegate senior reps to practice with a junior rep to develop their skills, and have that program in place to encourage continual learning and team development. And if you want to you could reach out yourself too. If you are non-management and think this could be helpful for you then chat with your manager to see if they can take some time periodically to do this with you. The truth is that most people won't take the time out of their day to do this, only the people that care will offer. So you might have to ask yourself, what type of leader are you? Are you the type to be too busy to spend time developing your reps?
But I'll challenge you you do it regardless of what level you are in your career. If you are a manager of a smaller team, take the time out of your schedule to do these calls with your reps. If you are a manager of a larger team, then delegate senior reps to practice with a junior rep to develop their skills, and have that program in place to encourage continual learning and team development. And if you want to you could reach out yourself too. If you are non-management and think this could be helpful for you then chat with your manager to see if they can take some time periodically to do this with you. The truth is that most people won't take the time out of their day to do this, only the people that care will offer. So you might have to ask yourself, what type of leader are you? Are you the type to be too busy to spend time developing your reps?
The truth is that most people won't take the time out of their day to do this, only the people that care will offer. So you might have to ask yourself, what type of leader are you? Are you the type to be too busy to spend time developing your reps?
What can you do?
There are a few different things you can roleplay:
- Cold-calling
- Discovery calls
- Deep dive/closing calls
If you were to do all three in a single session then it would likely take up a long time, so focus on what your rep needs the most practice with. There's a decent chance that they might not need help in any areas, in that case, this is still a great learning lesson for all parties. For the rep, it will allow them to get comfortable with roleplaying and understanding their market better and for the manager, it will allow them to see what areas they could help their team member with. You’re as strong as your weakest link.
Have a discussion with your team and see what they think about this. Make sure to share any stories with us, you can email me here: tanvir@prospectai.co
-By Tanvir Rahman