Acting Classes vs sales training

“Acting classes are more effective in teaching salespeople communication skills than traditional sales training.”

“I can’t support that – acting is dishonest. Sellers need to be authentic.”

…a recent exchange on LinkedIn.

My response -

Bad acting is dishonest.

Great acting is authentic.

'All the world's a stage and all the men & women merely players'

-As You Like It, Shakespeare.

We all wear masks in different situations with different people in different contexts.

You don’t speak to your mother in the same way you speak to a CEO.

You don’t speak to your client in the same way that you would speak to your daughter.

Whether we like it or not, we are all to some extent, chameleons.

And great salespeople are the best chameleons.

...so long as they enter sales conversations with the right intentions – i.e. to be transparent & to serve prospects in the best possible way for win-win outcomes.

And so, ‘acting’ in the context of sales means putting your best foot forward in any given situation to maximise the exchange for mutual benefit.

This means knowing how to communicate effectively by learning...

- how to make people feel comfortable

- how to ask questions

- which type of questions

- the timing of those questions

- how to listen

- knowing the appropriate response

- self awareness, i.e. your tone, body language and overall presence

It's not what you sell, it's how you sell.

Great sales skills are the same as great acting abilities – both are steeped in honesty and serve to establish the truth, by creating the conditions for people to let their guard down & truly connect.

They are both built on top of a solid foundation - and that foundation is the art of communication.

Which is the reason my training combines both.

#sales#training#communication