How Mike Cabot Maintains A High Octane Sales Force

Sales Gravy: Jeb Blount

Moving From A Culture of Efficiency to A Culture of Effectiveness Acting and improv skills are similar to soft skills in sales— leading with empathy and understanding your audience and your customer is paramount. Sales leaders need to build a strong sales culture and eliminate mediocrity, which starts with the willingness to invite, embrace, and accept feedback. Synchronous conversations are making a comeback. Whether you get coffee with a prospect in your own town or fly to your prospect's city to close a deal, face-to-face interactions are invaluable. Sales isn't an easy profession, and leaders should be honest and transparent with their teams about the work required to close deals. Efficiency does not equal effectiveness. Sales technology should focus on making people better, not just faster. Sales organizations need to adapt to changes in the market and rethink what's working and what's not. In this podcast, Mike Cabot and Jeb Blount discuss the challenges of sales in the current climate, including the impact of technology and the need for emotional intelligence when dealing with analytical stakeholders. They also emphasize the importance of celebrating small victories and providing feedback to improve performance. Sales Is Like Acting— Empathy Is Essential As a child, Mike Cabot and his sister starred in a local cable television show for seven years. Later on, Cabot gained acting experience both in theater and through featuring in commercials. In his sales career, he has been able to leverage the improv skills he learned from acting at an early age to connect, engage in deep listening, and show empathy to prospects and clients. The job of a sales professional isn't just to sell a product or service, it's to help people. And in order to truly help people, great sales professionals have to be great empathizers. The same can be said for actors. To tell a story convincingly, an actor must take on the character's persona. She must step into their shoes and see the world through their eyes. Otherwise, it's not authentic. Empathy is a critical skill for sales professionals, and acting is an excellent way to hone this skill by putting yourself in someone else's shoes. This is what sets the best salespeople apart. They can quickly and easily see the world through someone else's eyes and adjust their messaging, style, and strategy accordingly. The Show Must Go On Often, people make excuses for why they can't sell, such as a lack of leads or poor marketing. As sales professionals, we must deliver for the audience in front of us, no matter what. Embracing this idea is crucial in building a strong sales culture. Mastering the same soft skills that improv actors use is critical because you must listen not only with your ears, but also with your eyes and intuition. On stage, if you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't know how to respond when something gets thrown back at you. Dealing With Analytical Stakeholders Buyers use emotions to make decisions. Tap into their emotions and stories to meet their needs. Engaging with analytical stakeholders in sales requires a thoughtful and empathetic approach. Understanding the different levels and roles within the stakeholder groups is crucial, as each individual has unique concerns and priorities. While these stakeholders are analytical by nature, it's important to recognize that emotions play a significant role in their decision-making process. By tapping into their emotional needs and sharing relevant stories, sales professionals can connect with them on a deeper level and demonstrate how their product or service can help solve their problems. Building trust and showing the value of saving time or avoiding negative outcomes are key strategies for engaging with these stakeholders. Salespeople often encounter challenges when engaging with analytical stakeholders.