Can Music Make Your Sales Force More Effective?

The Beatles? Revolution? Yes, when I listen to the radio or my iPod, certain songs take me right back to the time when that song was first popular. I can tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing when I hear songs like, And The Beat Goes On, Revolution, 25 or 6 to 4, If You Leave Me Now, I’m Easy, Unforgettable, Have I Told You Lately, We Are the Champions, Good Bye Yellow Brick Road, Mockingbird, Long Train Runningg, Kodachrome, Cracklin’ Rosie and dozens more. Some of these tunes go back more than 45 years! Some of them are not even favorites, yet they all have Time Machine capabilities. Does this happen to you too?

The exact same thing takes place on sales calls, in training, coaching and even reviewing the findings from a sales force evaluation. When somebody says something I’ve heard before, it takes me right back to the first time I heard that comment. Does that happen to you too?

It’s actually desirable for this to happen to your salespeople – as long as they respond appropriately to the effect. They shouldn’t ignore the impulse, nor should they assume that because somebody said the exact same thing that led to a favorable outcome 8 years ago, that a favorable outcome will occur this time too.

We want them to remember the unfavorable outcomes that occurred when those words were last uttered. Then they should say something like, “You know, the last time someone said that to me, what they really meant was….. Is that what you really mean?” Then they can force their prospects’ thoughts to the forefront of the conversation and discuss them, rather than let happy ears guide them to a feel-good-about-the-call false sense of security.

Do you do that too?