Method Selling

I landed the part of company CEO in a play at a theatre in east London...

I was in my mid 20s and also worked as a salesman during the day.

It was a new business role - with a minimum of 100 cold calls a day.

I needed to find the character so I could start to embody a CEO twice my age.

So, I started practicing over the phone with gatekeepers and prospects.

I experimented with different tonality, delivery, and pace.

I started to sound less like a 24 year old and more like a C-Level director.

And it killed two birds with one stone -

- I was starting to find my voice as CEO through trial & error

- I was having a lot more success over the phone at getting through to decision makers & speaking to them as an equal

And the more I did it, the more I believed in the person I aimed to become.

This was my version of method acting, practiced through my day job!

The evening theatre performance 3x a week started to feel natural, as I'd been speaking as CEO all day over the phone for weeks.

I believe we all have the resources inside of us to become whoever we want to be - we just need to tap into them.

I was finding that part of my personality & I was becoming him.

And it meant that I...

- commanded authority

- had genuine presence

- found truth in the role

And I got into that flow state.

Making 100+ cold calls each day was also a lot more fun...and I was smashing my targets!

I couldn't believe I hadn't tried something like this sooner. It seemed so obvious to me now.

If you want to sell to senior people - sound like them.

Becoming assertive, direct, short and sharp changed my entire physiology -

...the way I would hold myself, sit at my desk, my tonality and my breath.

It was a transformation based on a suspension of disbelief.

And it was steeped in the truth of the character I was becoming.

#business#sales#actor