How the principles of improvisation can be used in a sales setting.
By Pete Mercer
Improvisational theatre is an art form that has been around for centuries, entertaining and regaling the masses through the feat of thinking on your toes. This ability to be flexible and nimble in a high-pressure situation is crucial to the art and spirit of improvisation – without that ability, you’re not really doing improv.
While the art of improv is usually seen through the lens of performance and entertainment – live theater, comedy shows, and television programs like Whose Line Is It Anyway? – it’s also a skill that can be used just about anywhere, but especially in a sales environment. Most good sales reps are likely familiar with the idea of going with the flow of a sales meeting. Anything can happen, so it’s important to be open to the possibilities and opportunities in any sales conversation. This is why familiarity with improv is so important for sales reps!
Repertoire Magazine recently spoke to Izzy Gesell about the power of improvisation and how it can be used in a sales setting. Gesell describes himself as an organizational alchemist, saying, “The big picture is it’s a process that turns something ordinary into something special. That’s what my approach offers sales reps. How do you set yourself apart? How do you become the person that your clients are looking forward to seeing? It’s about how you show up.”
Introducing the idea of “yes, and…”
The most widely known principle of improvisation is “yes, and…” Essentially, there is no room for a no in improv, putting the performers in the position of saying a hearty “yes” to each new situation. While the literal phrase “yes, and…” is certainly applicable for most improvisational situations, it doesn’t always have to be said outright. More often than not, the performer is just moving with the flow of the action to create the best scene possible.
This is a simplified version of the idea of “yes, and…” Gesell says that there is a fundamental misunderstanding of what “yes, and…” really means. “A lot of folks think that ‘yes, and…’ focuses on the ‘yes’ and that you have to agree with whatever you get. The ‘yes’ is an acknowledgment. ‘Yes, I hear you. And here’s my response.’ The power for the sales rep is that when you say, ‘I hear you,’ people feel acknowledged.”
For Gesell, this idea opens the door for a partnership between the sales rep and the customer. “The benefit for the sales rep is that you learn to deal with reality by always acknowledging what the person said. We are all in charge of listening to the people around us.” Listening is a critical piece of the puzzle to creating this partnership.
Picture this: you are in a sales meeting with a big prospect, and it’s not going well. Why is that? It’s very possible that you are not really listening to the challenges and obstacles that the customer is faced with, which means that you aren’t meeting their needs. When you introduce something like “yes, and…” into these meetings, it shows that you are making efforts to listen and communicate a potential solution for them.
Dealing with hecklers
In addition to his time spent coaching and training sales reps to introduce some flexibility into their toolbelt, Gesell also spent time onstage as a stand-up comedian. When he left standup, he transitioned into his role as a keynote speaker – a move that allowed him to transfer his skills to a different sort of stage. Mostly, it comes down to energy management.
Gesell said, “Storytelling is a very important skill. If you think about hecklers in comedy, you have to learn how not to slam them because they are a part of the audience. How do you manage that negative energy? Do you deflect it? Do you absorb it? Do you belittle that person? Do you ask someone else for help?”
He argues that a sales rep is an energy manager too. There’s an energy in the connection between the sales rep and the customer. Is there a positive energy? Is he focused? Is this person upset? How are they responding to your suggestions?
More than anything, Gesell learned how to leverage his own vulnerabilities. There are plenty of popular comedians working right now that are using their own vulnerabilities to build a connection with their audience. That’s where the real connection happens – it’s easier to build a connection with people when you are vulnerable about what you are struggling with.
Opportunities and challenges for today’s sales reps
According to Gesell, one of the biggest opportunities for sales reps is changing the way they deal with the world around them. Finding balance in an unbalanced world, learning to embrace spontaneity, dealing with unexpected reactions, and letting go of things you can’t control. Collaboration is key because the playing field, as well as the game itself, is constantly changing. But with improv, it’s easier to stay nimble in a changing dynamic.
He said, “Every time you play the game, it’s different. You can play the same every day, and it’s different every time. With that, you learn to be creative in a way that deals with the situation, rather than what you expect.”
On the other side of the coin, there are plenty of challenges facing sales reps right now. With Gesell’s experience conducting workshops and training on how to improve tactics of sales reps, he has found that the companies are perpetuating these challenges by not understanding what the sales reps are up against. The training provided by organizations isn’t as comprehensive as it should be, which can leave sales reps unprepared to successfully navigate these challenges.
“In order to grow, you need to be uncomfortable,” he said. “The companies that are not doing the best that they can are not investing in their people to help them become more confident, present, dealing with reality, and spontaneous than they can. I think that’s a shortcoming, because budgeting comes in and [companies] say, ‘We can’t spend that kind of money.’ There’s not a lot of long-range thinking.”