How Much Time Do You Spend Rehearsing?
I’ve just returned from working with over 80 sales reps of a high-tech firm. They sell contracts (consulting, installation, products, and maintenance) that are worth many, many millions of dollars. Their sales process, which is remarkably well thought out, requires them to give several presentations. Their final presentation is often a formal oral proposal made by a team.
I was impressed with how professional and well-trained they were. During our discussions, I asked how long they typically spend rehearsing their formal oral proposals. One person said, “We talk it through in the parking lot outside the customer’s headquarters.” Others said they might spend a half a day or a day. They all admitted that they’d like to spend more time, but that doing so wasn’t always feasible.
I’m a pragmatic sort of person. If you’re getting the results you want from your presentations, I think there’s little reason to change what you’re doing. So that’s what I told them: “If you’re happy with how many contracts you’re winning, keep it up. But if you’d like to improve your win ratio, I suggest you put more time into rehearsing your presentations.”
In future posts I’ll address how much time I think teams should put into rehearsing their presentations. And I’ll make some suggestions about how to make the best use of that time.
In the meantime, I’d like to ask for your input. How much time do you recommend devoting to rehearsals for a high-stakes team presentation?
Tags: Oral proposal, time spent rehearsing a team presentation