Revenue Journal®

Long-time readers are probably wondering if I've gone off my rocker with that title. No worries, I'm not suggesting that you do anything stupid or lewd. But there is something that you can learn from any performer, even the most superficial ones.

Having come from a show business family, I learned at an early age about "stage presence." It really boils down to the fact that when you're on stage, you're in character. Even if you are a bit player in a crowd scene and you're the person at the very back of the crowd, you are still on stage. You must be in character and engaged the entire time you are on stage. If the main character in a musical is singing a solo, and you are part of the "listening crowd," your role as a listener is just as important as the soloist's role.

What does this have to do with sales? Imagine that you are part of a sales team, pitching a potential client. Someone in your group is presenting.

Guess what? You're all on stage. Even though you are not presenting, it's your job to be an active listener. Without being affected or drawing attention to yourself, your job is to pay full attention to the speaker and the client, and others in the room. You are being evaluated, even as you listen, both as an individual and as the member of the larger group. If you are actively listening, the client will walk away with a positive impression of you as an individual and as a team member.

Active listening will also enable you to help the speaker if something goes awry, if the speaker needs help, or if the client's body language suddenly changes and the speaker doesn't notice it.

I recently participated in such a "group sell" exercise, and was reminded of this when someone in the room - one of the "crowd of listeners" - kept lifting his large, ice-filled Starbucks plastic cup and noisily sucking up a few more ice cubes. This was just one of his many "fidgeting" actions going on throughout the day. It was bothersome, because I knew it was irritating to the client and others in the room.

There was nothing I could do at the time without drawing further attention to it, and it was important that I wasn't distracted from my own job as an "active listener." And I don't hold grudges. So each time he fidgeted or slurped, I noted it but just let it go. It reminded me that sales trainers tend to neglect the role that the non-salespeople play in a conference room. That's why I'm bringing it up today.

When you're part of a group pitching a client - or even part of a group pitching your boss - you're on stage. How you behave in that conference room when someone else is speaking is just as important as when it's your turn to speak.

People who haven't learned about stage presence tend to behave as if they're invisible when someone else is talking even though they're part of the team making the pitch. They behave as if they are alone in a room watching TV. They do things that they'd be embarrassed about if they realized that the person being pitched was scanning the room frequently, noticing everything that everyone was doing as the pitch took place.

The person being pitched will notice that the Starbucks guy is noisily slurping up ice cubes. She will think, "Either the Starbucks guy is a rude egomaniac, or he doesn't have much respect for the presenter. Or both." Over time, she will decide that he is rude, and that he doesn't have much respect for anyone, including the presenter. She will think, "Well, I will make sure I don't end up working with this guy. He really needs to draw attention to himself."

This will distract her from listening to the pitch, and will put a negative entry on the mental go/no-go list she is creating as she is being pitched. She will start to pay more attention to others in the room, to see if there are other rude people in the crowd. This will further distract her from listening to the pitch. Her energy will be drawn away from absorbing information from the presenter, which means less of the presenter's content will get into her brain. The Starbucks guy will undermine the team's ability to make the sale.

You don't want to be that Starbucks guy. You want to be the person who is paying attention, contributing, and leaving the potential customer with a positive impression.

If you want a good example, look at the good sports announcers. While the other guy is talking, the listener is not picking his teeth or fidgeting. He's actively listening, alternating between looking at the camera and at the speaker, nodding and smiling. The best ones make it look natural.

When you're in a conference room, if you spend the majority of your time watching the presenter and the rest of your time glancing around the room to pick up signals, you'll be a successful active listener.