Sales is an Act.
We were at the end of the play. It was emotional, a huge performance by all and the audience was giving them, the actors, a standing ovation. Many of us in the audience had moist eyes.
And then it struck me that this was the forty fifth show of this particular play. For forty-five times the actors had been out there on the stage. Every time just as intense. Every time getting the audience involved in the story. Every time that applause.
And I thought – is it not repetitive for the actors, do they not get bored? The same lines. The same emotions. The same team of other actors. The same stage and props. Day in – Day out.
What makes these actors bring on that intensity even in the forty fifth show?
As a manager who has seen the sales process unfold time and time again over many years, I was curious. I have witnessed sales officers making a sales call. Yes, there are the born salesmen. Those who have the passion and hunger to make a sale – every time.
But in equal measure, maybe more, there are times when the sales call does not go well. There is that sameness of approach. It gets dull and there is no zing in the presentation to the potential customer. It is as if it is being done by rote even though the sales call is important for the sales officer. Significant incentives are linked to converting a call to a productive sale; there are targets. And a boss breathing down his neck.
So what is it that keeps him from being driven? Every single day. Even on the forty fifth day.
Is there something a sales person can learn from the theatre actor? Can something from the world of theatre be applied to the everyday act of sales?
Behind the curtains I spoke to a couple of well-known actors from the Marathi stage. What makes them so involved and remain so intense while playing out the same script time and time again? Don’t they get bored?
It was a learning experience.
Theatre actors call the play they are acting in a “prayog” (an experiment). With each other the language used is “aaj ka prayog kaise gaya” (How did today’s experiment go?). That phrase says it all. Each show is viewed differently and treated as a unique experience. Same play, but a different “prayog”. English theatre, it seems, does not have this vocabulary.
A little more probing was required. The actors, the script, the set and the props are all the same. So why was it called an experiment?
Here are some responses:
- The audience is never the same and each audience reacts differently and we have to alter our delivery, our effort to be in sync with the audience.
- Sometimes a fellow actor delivers his lines in a different manner and we have to be aware of this and alter our response to match the delivery. Thus, we have to be in the moment, and 100% aware of the change that is happening although the lines being spoken are the same.
- An actor could have had a bad day and his delivery and presence in the play is low-key, possibly dull. We sense this and make up with a greater effort.
- Even though the script is the same, we are not the same. Hence every show is a little different. We have to continually improvise, the objective being to get the best out of the “prayog”
- To do really well a theatre actor has to know the script backwards. Only then can he go beyond the script.
An effective sales officer does so many of the same things that a successful theatre actor does all the time:
- He is passionate about his craft. In theatre language you cannot survive on stage unless you are passionate about what you do.
- He knows his product and the product story backwards. In theatre language this is his script. Thus he is able to handle any and all possibilities and scenarios that might be put up to him. He has the answers. It is effortless.
- There is an understanding of where the customer is coming from. In theatre language – he knows the other actors’ script as well as his own. He is also sensitive to the audience. It gives him flexibility and allows him to operate with ease.
- There is an acute awareness of his surroundings and the state of the potential customer and the sales pitch is planned accordingly. At that moment of time he is not thinking of targets, or his boss or the way his previous sales call went. He is prepared to go beyond his script. In theatre language he is 100% in the moment.
- Each prospective call is viewed as a new one. In theatre language it is called a “prayog” or experiment. Even though the tools and the product are the same and it is the same sales story and possibly even the same customer he approached two months ago, the approach is fresh. This is because he knows that today he is a different person and his customer is possibly in a different frame of mind too. The customer senses this and an active productive dialogue commences.
- The sales calls are converted to productive calls. In theatre language there is a huge applause and a standing ovation.
Theatre is also a great place to learn how to flex your leadership style but that is another story.
Anil Kulkarni
Strategy & Leadership Coach
First Published April 2016