Today, I want to bring up a topic that I don't think enough people discuss before it becomes a problem: how to manage team selling effectively. This comes into play when you take a co-worker or someone from the office out with you to meet clients, hoping they can help grow your business, create more trust, and build reliability with those clients.
If you don’t have good, strong team-selling discipline, you’re going to end up with bad, unpleasant experiences. So, the first—and really the most important—thing you need to do is make sure everybody knows what their role is on the call.
Someone has to be the call manager. They need to be in charge of what happens: who speaks, when they speak, what they speak about, how long they speak, and even whether they speak at all. If you’re the lead on the call, you need to manage the flow of conversation, making sure everything runs smoothly—like ensuring planes land and take off at the right time without disrupting the flow of the conversation.
Another key point is to decide when, or if, the other person is supposed to speak at all. You can have someone there just to take notes, while you lead the call, set the rules, and manage expectations. You can do the discovery or deliver the presentation, but the other person should know whether they’re there to participate, observe, or just cheer you on. Whatever the role is, it’s important that everyone understands it clearly.
If you don’t define roles, it can create unnecessary tension and confusion for the prospect. They won’t know who to talk to, who the expert is, or who’s just there to carry the bags, so to speak. So, do the hard work beforehand. Set the roles, stick to them, and don’t get upset if you feel like the other person had a more prominent role. Even if you have something important to say, bite your tongue and speak only when it’s your turn. Let the person managing the call take responsibility for its success or failure based on the rules they set and that everyone agreed to.
Team selling isn’t just two people showing up—it’s two people showing up and doing it right. Everyone needs to understand what that looks and sounds like, and how to make it work when it’s showtime.
Team selling is a gift. It’s not something you’re entitled to, so make sure you work on it and make it part of your skill set—not just something that happens by accident. Thanks for letting me share this advice. Have a great weekend, and go work with your team! When done well, team selling can be a great experience for everyone—but make sure you do it right.
Take care.
