React and Adapt

Sales conversations toady compared to what they were many years ago have changed significantly.  The old structure for a sales conversation included a very structured format that was followed every time with the same questions.  Fast forward some years, the sales conversation has been completely flipped to a more personal and open-question type conversation.  This means that whatever questions are asked, an assortment of answers could be given from whoever is being sold to.  These answers could be opportunities to success and digging deeper, but can also set the salesman back on their heels in conversation.  Whatever the case may be, some of the best salespeople are ones that are able to use a little technique called improv.  Improv is often seen from comedians as they tell a joke and gauge what to say next based on how much the crowd is laughing or interested in the joke.  However, improv does not just stop at the comedian level; Improvising in a sales conversation could lead to a whole new spread of pain and answers that can truly start and keep a conversation with the individual.

Throughout high school I participated in a lot of the school musicals and before shows we would have to improv our way through certain scenes or, if in the middle of a show a line is forgotten, the show must go on so you have to improv your way until a line comes back to you.  I tell this story to illustrate that improvising is not always the easiest.  Over the course of this past week in class we have been conducting hot seats and trying to imitate a real sales conversation.  With that, there has been many examples throughout conversations where classmates have been put on their heels with a question or get an answer they were not expecting and they have used improv to get the conversation back.  Improvisation can be a life saver when it comes to sales conversations and the responses received.