How to Maximize Sales Practice Opportunities

Hey, Enablers, Happy Friday! Mike Kunkle here. Welcome to this week’s edition of Sales Enablement Straight Talk! Today, I want to talk about how to maximize practice opportunities with your sales force. And specifically, I want to identify and address barriers that can get in the way.

Role play. Simulation. Practice.

Whatever you want to call it, deliberate practice is a valuable tool for enhancing the skills of B2B salespeople.

"Deliberate practice is the best technique for achieving expert performance in every field—including writing, teaching, sports, programming, music, medicine, therapy, chess, and business."

- Farnam Street

It’s also one of the most widely resisted and completely ignored pieces of advice in the sales profession.

Puzzling, right?

I've written several times about deliberate practice and role play, from multiple perspectives, so I will try to offer some additional and different advice today, while reiterating the power of deliberate practice and highly encouraging you to foster it with your sales force. I'll provide links to the previous articles, videos, and advice in the Resources section.

VIDEO

Let's start with this week's video. Click the image below to watch it on YouTube. If you're getting value from this newsletter, please subscribe to my YouTube channel, while you're there. I appreciate your support very much.

What Holds People Back from Practicing

Resistance to role play and practice in sales can stem from a variety of factors, both psychological and practical. Here are some common reasons why many people resist role play and some solutions to consider.

Fear of Failure: Role playing exposes individuals to the possibility of making mistakes or not performing well. This fear of failure can be intimidating and discourage participation.

• Solution: Encourage a growth mindset by emphasizing that mistakes are opportunities for improvement. Highlight the successes that can come from learning through failure and provide examples of accomplished individuals who faced setbacks on their path to success.

·Fear of Judgment: Participants often worry about being judged by their peers or superiors during role play sessions. This fear of criticism can hinder their willingness to engage fully.

• Solution: Create a safe and supportive environment where feedback is constructive and focused on growth. Emphasize that role play is a learning experience and that everyone participates to improve collectively. Celebrate efforts and progress rather than dwelling on perceived shortcomings.

?Ego Protection: Admitting weaknesses, or even the opportunity to improve, and practicing in front of others, all require vulnerability. Some individuals may be reluctant to expose their vulnerabilities, especially in a competitive environment like sales.

• Solution: Share stories of accomplished professionals who openly acknowledged their areas of improvement and engage in continuous learning. Emphasize that vulnerability is a strength and that acknowledging weaknesses is a step towards personal and professional growth.

Lack of Confidence: Some individuals might lack confidence in their sales skills or feel imposter syndrome, and believe that role play will expose their shortcomings.

• Solution: Gradually build confidence by starting with simpler scenarios and progressively moving to more complex ones. Provide positive reinforcement and specific feedback after each session to highlight areas where improvements have been made.

Comfort Zone Issues: People tend to prefer staying within their comfort zones. Role play takes them out of that comfort zone and forces them to confront unfamiliar or challenging situations.

• Solution: Explain how stepping out of the comfort zone is a necessary part of growth. Frame role play as a controlled environment to experiment with new techniques and approaches, which can ultimately lead to increased confidence in real sales interactions.

Pressure to Perform: The pressure to perform well in front of colleagues or superiors during role play can lead to stress and resistance.

• Solution: Normalize mistakes by sharing your own experiences and the lessons learned from them. Emphasize that role play is a low-stakes opportunity to practice and refine skills, rather than a high-pressure performance evaluation.

Perceived Ineffectiveness: Some may doubt the effectiveness of role play in improving their skills. Some feel it’s “fake.” If they've had negative experiences in the past or haven't received meaningful feedback, they might question the value of participating.

• Solution: Share success stories from colleagues who have seen improvements through consistent role play. Provide specific examples of how role play can directly address real-world sales challenges and improve communication and negotiation skills.

Time Constraints: Salespeople often have demanding schedules, and they might perceive role play as time-consuming and taking away from other tasks. They’ll see to see the value first and understand that even quick-hit or ad-hoc practice sessions can be valuable

• Solution: Offer flexible options for role play sessions, such as short and focused practice scenarios that can be incorporated into daily routines. Highlight that even brief practice can lead to noticeable improvement over time.

Disconnection from Reality: If the role play scenarios don't accurately reflect the challenges they face in real client interactions, participants might view the exercise as irrelevant. If role play partners don’t act realistically, it will also derail the relevance.

• Solution: These potential problems are real, but you have control over this. Customize role play scenarios to closely mimic real client interactions. Encourage participants to bring their own challenges and scenarios to the practice sessions, making them more relevant and engaging. Give good instructions to those playing the buyers or customers. Manage this, and it will pay dividends for you in gaining credibility and adoption.

Negative Past Experiences: This is another barrier that may be very real. If past role-play sessions were conducted poorly or without proper guidance, participants may associate the experience with discomfort and ineffectiveness.

• Solution: You can't control the past, but you can control the present. Clearly outline the structure and purpose of role play sessions. Give clear instructions for the role play and confirm they're understood. " Maybe do a demo of "what good looks" (removes all doubt). Provide guidance on how to effectively give and receive feedback, ensuring that the experience is positive, productive, and valuable. Again, you can take control.

Misunderstanding the Purpose: Some salespeople might not fully grasp the purpose of role play as a learning tool. They might see it as artificial and not recognize its potential to enhance skills.

• Solution: Educate salespeople on the theory and science behind deliberate practice and its impact on skill development. Share examples of how other industries, like sports and music, utilize practice to achieve excellence.

Resistance to Change: Salespeople who have established routines and techniques may resist adopting new approaches or strategies through role play.

• Solution: This is human nature. Expect it. Showcase success stories where incorporating new strategies led to enhanced sales performance.

In addition to the barriers and possible solutions, here are some other suggestions to maximize the effectiveness of your role play sessions.

• ?Creating a Safe Environment: Establish a non-judgmental and supportive atmosphere for role play. Emphasize that the goal is learning and improvement, not evaluation. Psychological safety is a key tenet to any coaching environment and it also addresses many of the recurring fears from above.
• Set Clear Objectives: Define specific learning objectives for each role-play session. Are you working on resolving concerns, active listening, prospecting skills, or discovery? Or are you stringing a few things together, to run a mock meeting? Clear objectives will keep the practice focused and measurable.
• Use Realistic Scenarios: Create scenarios that closely mimic real-world B2B sales situations. Use actual client interactions, concerns, and challenges that your salespeople commonly face. Better yet, have your team identify the toughest challenges.
• Structure Feedback Purposefully: After each role play, provide detailed feedback on what went well and areas for improvement. Open with positive and move to constructive. Start with the seller, then the customer, and then the observer or observers. You'll probably need to redirect people to stick with positive first - it's not a natural tendency. Gently force it. As the leader, provide your feedback last, starting with constructive and ending with positive. Choose your words carefully. For example, "What should Mike consider doing differently next time?" is far better than "What did Mike do poorly" or "What were Mike's weaknesses?" Also, the more specific the feedback (actual words used, facial expressions made, tone of voice, someone's reaction, etc.).
• The Observer Role: Assign someone as an observer when possible. When appropriate, provide a customized form to help them check off what they’re observing for (based on the session topic) and a place to make notes. This person can provide feedback from an outsider's perspective and offer insights that the active participants might miss. And then, they can give their notes to the seller.
• Manager Involvement: If leaders and managers actively participate in and support role play sessions, it sets a positive precedent for the team. Sales managers can do demonstrations of “what great looks like” (this provides an example and helps people to know what to strive for). They can also participate as prospects or customers. This can ensure realism, which is key. And, this gives managers insight into their team's strengths and areas needing improvement, enabling targeted coaching. In addition, if you sell to CFOs, as one example, consider asking your CFO to occasionally participate as a prospect or customer. This can apply to other personas as well.
• Rotate Roles: Have participants take turns playing the salesperson and the client. This helps individuals gain insight into both sides of the conversation, improving empathy and understanding. Consider having a seller play their own customer, while another rep plays the sales role.
• Single-Skill vs. Full Scenario: Musicians often practice difficult passages individually, and successively, and then put them back together. You can do the same. Single-skill drills allow for focus and can be very effective at improving skills. Then you can combine them into a longer practice session.
• Record Sessions: Record the role play sessions (with participants' consent) for later review. This allows salespeople to review privately, self-assess their performance, and identify their own areas for improvement. I like to use the phone of the person playing the sales role to record, so they own the recording. If they sell by phone, record audio only. If they sell in person, use video.
• Vary Your Scenarios: Cover a range of scenarios, from initial prospecting calls to negotiation to resolving concerns or navigating disinterest. This prepares salespeople for various stages of the sales process.
• Use Gradual Progression: Start with less intimidating scenarios and gradually move to more complex ones. This allows participants to build confidence over time. The first time someone practices a new skill, it should be purposefully easy (easy customer, friendly, agreeable, no concerns) and focus on developing comfort with the new skills. Then, you can make the scenarios more realistic and difficult, as their confidence and competence increases. Too often, role play partners rush "add realism" before the new skills have even been acquired. The intent is positive ("I'm just trying to be realistic"), but it doesn't help the person learning. Baby steps work, when learning new skills, especially for complex human interactions and interpersonal communication.
• Use Real Materials: Provide participants with real sales materials, such as product brochures, pricing sheets, other collateral, and playbook sections. This adds realism to the role play and helps salespeople practice using these resources effectively. Again, don't overcomplicate in the beginning (unless the purpose is to use the materials), but layer it.
• Encourage Peer Sessions: Encourage participants to practice informally with each other, outside of structured events. Have them offer feedback to each other. This promotes a collaborative learning environment. I once managed an office where salespeople challenged each other in the hallways and on breaks. They made a competition out of it. This grew organically out of me forcing (for a while) daily role play. At first, the team almost hated me for making them role play. Then, something interesting happened. They got really good and started to win more deals. They made more money. They were recognized and respected in the division. And suddenly, they were practicing on their own. It was fun to watch and very gratifying.
• Set Time Limits: Set time limits for each role play session to simulate the time constraints of real conversations. This trains salespeople to be concise and effective communicators.
• Personalize Scenarios: Tailor role play scenarios to mirror common sales challenges or especially to prep for upcoming real meetings. This increases relevance and engagement.
• Develop Your Facilitation Skills: Skilled facilitators can guide role play sessions more effectively, providing context, feedback, and maintaining a supportive environment. Invest in developing your facilitation skills, as a manager. It’s worth it. (And, by the way, the same skills are helpful for B2B sales pros, to facilitate better discussions with their prospects and customers.)
• Adapt and Iterate: Based on feedback and observed improvements, adapt your role play scenarios and techniques. Continuously iterate to address evolving challenges. This keeps them relevant for your team. Consider doing “reruns,” as well, where sellers redo a role play to incorporate the feedback they just received. This works well for skill development and can also foster a feeling of immediate improvement. See the video below, The Power of Role Play Reruns for a cool story. They work.

Remember that the goal of role play practice is not only to improve skills but also to build confidence and refine techniques, and ultimately - improve results. By tailoring scenarios, offering constructive feedback, and fostering a positive learning environment, you can help your B2B sales team excel in real client interactions.

RESOURCES

• Article: Sales Leaders - It’s Time to Get Serious About Purposeful Practice & Skill Mastery - Mike Kunkle
• Newsletter: Sales Training Spotlight: Role Plays & Sales Simulations - Mike Kunkle
• Video: The Power of Role Play Reruns - Mike & Frank Kunkle
• Online Guide: The Ultimate Deliberate Practice Guide (with a ton of links) - Farnam Street Blog

Well, that's it for this week, Enablers! Did you learn something new reading/watching this newsletter? If you did, or if it just made you think (and maybe chuckle from time to time - bonus points if you snorted), share it with your favorite enablement colleague, subscribe right here on LinkedIn, and check out?The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement Learning Experience.?Felix Krueger?and?Mike Kunkle?are both Building Blocks Mentors for the weekly group coaching sessions, and we hope to see you there! For other courses and content from Mike, see:?https://linktr.ee/mikekunkle

Until next time, stay the course, Enablers, and #MakeAnImpact With #Enablement!?