Demonstrations
Every year at the state fair, there is a contest to see who can raise the biggest stud bull. One year the winning cattleman decided to charge a dollar to everyone who wanted to see the big stud bull. He put his bull in a tent with the trophy and the big blue ribbon. The bull was a great attraction and the cattleman quickly began to realize a sizable return on this bull that he had raised.
One afternoon at the fair, a tired-looking man walks up to the tent and asks for a discount to see the bull as he has a very large family. The cattleman refuses at first. The man looks at his family and decides to give it another try. “Please, I have a large family. We have driven a long way. Is there anything you can do?” He appeals to the cattleman so the cattleman asks, “How many kids do you have?” The man says, “I have 23.” The cattleman (thinking like a cattleman) says to himself, “Man this guy is a great producer!” He says, “How many kids do you have with you?” The man says 17. The cattleman says, “I will let you, your wife and all seventeen of your kids come in at once for free, but you have to be all together.” The man is overjoyed and says, “That’s great, but why are you being so nice to us?” The cattleman says, “I want you and your family to see my bull. Even more importantly, I want my bull to see you!”—Earl Taylor
The cattleman understands the value of a great demonstration. One of the best ways to transfer information and skills from one person to another is by using a clear demonstration. As sales leaders and salespeople we need to make a conscious effort to “show” with demonstrations and examples vs. “tell.”
For sales coaches and sales leaders
Think about the last time you gave advice to one of your people or set a particular expectation. Did you show or tell? Most of us get caught doing too much telling and not enough showing.
- “You need to set at least 5 appointments per week.”
- “Ask for more referrals.”
- “Try to further that relationship.”
These are all great ideas that may help a salesperson succeed. What about this approach to “show”?
- “Let’s make some calls together, so you can hear how I ask for appointments with prospects.”
- “This week let’s arrange a time for you to ride along with Sarah (our top-performer) to hear how she asks for referrals.”
- “We’ll go on that meeting together so we can try to further the relationship as a team.”
These examples give the salesperson the opportunity to not only understand what to do, but also, specifically how to do it. Consider the next time you need to teach someone something and make sure you “show” with a good demonstration or example vs. merely “telling” him or her what to do. Your chances of achieving the desired result will be much higher.
For salespeople
Providing clear demonstrations and examples helps us in the sales process too. It’s the difference between: “let me tell you all these features and benefits…” vs. “let me show you how you will be in a better position with this investment in our product/service.” In fact, anytime you can give a prospect “the client experience”, you are setting your sale up for success. An example from our sales consulting world:
In a recent final sales presentation, we were presenting to a team of 10 executives, when one of them stopped us and asked, “How do you actually teach these skills?” One approach would have been to answer the question by “telling” and explaining what happens in our training class. Instead, one of our consultants, Jack, stood up and said, “Why don’t we simulate an example from a training class? I’ll play the instructor and everyone in the room will play the role of the participants, OK?” Jack went on to provide a 5-minute demonstration of our approach to training. All 10 executives were engaged in this portion of our presentation and after the presentation, we received feedback that the 5-minute demonstration was one of the most compelling pieces of our entire sales presentation. We gave this group of prospects the client experience.
In your world, you may “show” vs. “tell” through free samples/trials, product demonstrations, testimonial letters, references or other means. Challenge yourself before your next sales presentation to see how you can include clear specific examples and demonstrations.