THE BARD GROUP, LLC

OBJECTIVES

Achieve a level of trust and synergy such that the team’s collective performance is better than the sum of individual performances.
Look seamlessly coordinated, so it feels authentic and spontaneous to the client.
Interact and play off one another with camaraderie and positive energy.
Maintain a high level of engagement with the client while getting your key points across.

CHALLENGES

Clients make decisions subconsciously at the emotional level. While you are presenting, their unconscious mind is processing a lot of data, not just what you say, but also your body language and how you interact as a team. The unconscious conclusions they draw about you are communicated to their brains via emotions that drive their decision to buy.
There is no room for ego when team selling. The 20-minute presentation you painstakingly prepared as an individual contributor may get cut to 5 minutes, for any number of reasons, and you need to be able to go with the flow.
Managing time is challenging in a one-on-one meeting, but exponentially so when team selling.
Your team has come prepared to share a lot of valuable information about your capabilities, but you must never, ever forget you are there to help the client achieve their goals.
The client wants to be heard and understood, so you must engage them — yes, even when team selling.

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TECHNIQUES

Team selling is about having the right people in the right roles who are fully aligned around the goal of the meeting and focused on what is most important to the client.

A. Assemble the right TEAM for the client situation

Your first priority is to select the right people working in the right roles for the client situation. Every sales opportunity and client relationship is different. One person might be right for one client situation, but not for another. Assembling the right team gets you one step closer to meeting your goal.

1. Every member of the team must have a vital speaking role.

Each team member must bring a unique expertise that the client values, and knowledge that encourages the client to think differently.
They each must play an active role in engaging the client in meaningful dialogue, regardless of title. Even senior executives who attend to show your company’s commitment to the client must have a meaningful speaking role during the meeting. Being a prop serves no one’s purpose.
Every team member is there because they will add value to the meeting. Do not invite people just because they want to come or because it will be a good learning experience for them. If this meeting is important, it cannot also be an observation tank or training ground. Do not bring subject matter experts to have on hand “just in case”. Having someone at the table with no stated purpose is confusing to the client.

2. When selecting your team, consider the size and demographics of the buying committee.

Have as many or fewer people on your team than on the buying committee. You never want to outnumber them.
Think about the make-up of your team from the client’s perspective. Clients want to buy from people who they believe understand them, and you want your team to be naturally empathetic toward them and their situation.

B. Prepare as a TEAM to elevate your collective performance

Great teams know that the success of the team is more important than the success of any individual.

Great teams help each other out, and they trust their teammates to do the same. By preparing and rehearsing together you build trust in one another. When trust is high, people step forward and do their best work.

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1. Make sure the team gets a full briefing on the client and their situation. The briefing is typically the responsibility of the Sales Lead.

Focus everyone on the goal of the meeting. The goal is what you want the client to take from the meeting, not what you hope to get from the meeting.
Answer these three questions before the meeting:

What might you learn from them that will help you connect what you do uniquely well with their challenges?

What do you want them to know and remember?

How do you want them to feel when you leave?

Align around 3 key messages.

These are the 3 most important things you want to get across based on what you know about their situation.

Agree on your swim lanes.

Who owns each section of the presentation?

What key points must you hit on in each section?

How much time do you have for each section?

2. Prepare your presentation deck.

Design a cohesive set of slides that flow logically from one section to the next.
Follow a few simple design rules, so the slides look and feel like they belong together.

Your design choices — fonts, colors, slide layout, headers, and type of imagery — should all be decided before you start building your pitch book. Once decided, do not make exceptions, even when tempted. Stick to your design choices so you have consistency throughout your pages.

3. Practice how to use your pages and your words to hammer home the key messages.

Practice opening your section by previewing what you will talk about and inviting the client’s input to see if they have anything else they would like you to cover.
Close your section by summarizing the key points you want them to remember.
Continue to practice until you have worked out your anxiety and mastered your content and delivery. You do not want to let your team down. Only with practice will you be able to confidently take the conversation wherever it needs to go, making it all about the client while still staying on message.

4. Rehearse as a team.

Rehearse in character, aloud, and exactly how you intend to do it live.
Be specific when giving feedback and explain how it will produce a better outcome.
Praise your teammates. Show them that you have faith in their abilities and that you trust them to do their job well. Positive feedback should outweigh negative by 3:1.

If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.
Booker T. Washington

C. Perform as a TEAM on game day

Clients notice team dynamics. They observe how you play off one another and they will have an intuitive, often unconscious reaction to your team dynamic. This unconscious reaction translates in their brain to an emotion.

Teams that perform well are teams who maintain positive energy and a high level of engagement with the client.

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1. Maintain positive energy.

The client cannot be all in unless they see you are.

Demonstrate your passion, enthusiasm, and desire to help the client, not only in the words you say, but in your non-verbals — the lift of your face, body, and voice. It is the job of every member of the team to keep the energy high.
Throughout the meeting, put your full attention to the person speaking, whether it’s the client or a team member. Sit up straight with your body drawn towards the speaker, not just your head but your shoulders, knees, and toes. Keep your arms and legs uncrossed. If the person speaking is a team member, pay attention as if you are listening to them for the first time.

2. Engage the client.

Engagement reflects the level at which everyone is involved in the conversation. Maintaining a high level of engagement is up to every member of the team.

Here are three ways to engage during each section of the presentation:

a) Engage the client during your section opening.

Share what you will be talking about, in what order, and then ask the client for input.

Example:

“We are excited to talk with you about ..…which means…..to you. I will start with…, then move to…, finishing up with…How does that sound and what else do you want to be sure we cover on this topic today?”

Once the client has agreed on the path of the meeting, they can relax and go along with you.

b) Get them talking about their challenges.

Only when they buy into the challenges will they be open to how you can help them.

Share something intriguing that gets them thinking and talking about their challenges.

Example:

“From the research we have done, in anticipation of today’s meeting, we learned…How does that fit with what you are experiencing?”

Thank them for their thoughts.
Then rephrase what you heard them say to be sure you understood correctly, and so the next speaker can hear again what they may need to cover.

Example:

“Did I get that right, and what more would you add?”

Any information the client shares provides a view into what is important to them and helps you and your team members align what you do with their challenges.

c) When closing each section, engage the client again.

Summarize what was just covered and highlight what is important for them to remember.

Example:

“If you remember only three things from what we just discussed, remember 1)…2)…, and 3)…”

Then ask the client what questions they have before moving on. Resist asking, “Do you have questions?” because this is code for “I don’t want you to ask me anything”. Keep your question open-ended by starting with “What” or “How”.

Example:

“Before I hand off to Jack, who is going to walk you through X, what questions can I answer or what additional thoughts do you have?”

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3. Facilitate smooth handoffs.

There are two ways to manage handoffs. Either the Sales Lead manages the handoffs from one team member and topic to the next, or the current speaker turns it over to the next speaker.

Either way, use previews and summaries to make sure no one in the room gets left behind.

a) Use previews to open the next section with a glimpse of what’s to come.

Example:

“One of the things that is very important is Y. Jack is going to walk you through how we…”

Brag a bit about the team member who will be speaking next. Tell the client what Jack does that’s so special. Play up his deep expertise and whatever positive things you can say to build up his credibility. Every time you do this, you build up the credibility of the whole team.

Example:

“I have asked Jack to join us, and I am so thrilled that he is here because he has a unique perspective on what we’re talking about today. There’s probably no one in the organization who knows more about this particular subject.”

Jack cannot say these things himself. Asking him to establish his own credibility is a catch-22. Either he will be overly modest, embarrassed, or self-conscious, in which case it will not come across well. Or he will not be any of those things, in which case it will come across as egotistical. It is a lose/lose. Far better for the person handing off to Jack to brag about him.

b) Use summaries to recap the key points that were just made.

Summarize, succinctly, what you just told them and want them to remember.
Ask the client what questions they have before moving on.

4. Manage time.

It is the responsibility of every member of the team to get the job done within the time allotted.

Keep track of time during the meeting. You know going in how long each section should run, so you have a good idea of what time you should be starting.
When you move to your section, share with the client how much time your section will take. If things are running behind schedule, this cues the Sales Lead to jump-in and adjust your time.

Example:

“Over the next 15 minutes, I want to…”

If the Sales Lead does not redirect the team, and you know the team is off track, then take the reins. Invite the client to prioritize where the discussion goes.

Example:

“It is now 1:40, and I know you have a hard stop at 2 o’clock. I planned to talk for 15 minutes, but knowing you wanted to spend time on X, which Sarah will cover, I can condense mine to 7-8 minutes, leaving the same amount for Sarah to cover her section, and 5 minutes to wrap up. How does this sound?”

You just did Sarah a favor by giving her time to think about how she will shorten her section. Any time you are adjusting the time, it must be done in a way that is respectful of the team and focused on the needs of the client.

Once the client answers, you will have your new roadmap.
Always end on time!

5. Showcase your teamwork when interacting and fielding questions.

As a rule, do not interrupt or contradict a team member. In the case of a gross misstatement, defer to the Sales Lead. The Sales Lead should wait for a natural break like when the speaker takes a breath, flips a page, or changes the subject, so as not to cut them off mid-sentence. The Sales Lead should then reframe what was said to the client, using different words and ask them if he/she got it right.

Example:

“A moment ago, when you asked this question, I think I heard this… (They respond). Okay, thank you. Knowing that, let me expand or rephrase what we’ve said to be sure we cover this completely.”

Never pile on!

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Never add unnecessarily to what a team member has said. The audience does not want to hear the same opinion from three different people, even if you use different words. Piling on makes the team look bad, diminishes your team member, and eats up precious time.

If you have new information to add, ask yourself these questions:

a) Is it critical for the client to know?

b) Am I the right person to share it?

c) Is now the right time?

Only if your answer to all the above is “Yes”, should you interject, but do so in a positive way.

Whenever possible, give your team members a heads up that a question is coming their way.

If a question is posed to you but better answered by one of your team members, let them know it is coming their way by repeating the question and using their name.

Example:

“That’s a good question, thank you for asking. This is certainly Tim’s area of expertise. If I understand your question right, you are asking X. Is this correct?“

Repeating the question is a real gift to Tim who may not have been listening. By naming Tim right up front, you alert him and give him time to think about his response. This is team selling at its very BEST!

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ADVANTAGES TO YOU

When you show your trust and admiration for each other, not only do you perform better as a team, but the client picks up on your positive energy.
You become likable as individuals and as a team.
You optimize the time you have by effectively using the talents of your team and communicating your key points in a way that feels synchronized yet natural to the client.
You leave the client impressed with your expertise, how well you work together, and how much you respect one another.

ADVANTAGES TO THE CLIENT

You make this so much easier for the client because your message is crisp and clear and each team member is on point.
The client feels connected to you based on the trust and team synergy you demonstrate, making their decision to buy that much easier.
Team selling at this level creates a natural and spontaneous experience for the client. They will admire you for this.
By engaging them throughout the meeting, the client cannot help but feel that the meeting is all about them and a good use of their time.