Why Top Salespeople are Like Orchestra Conductors and other useful habits

Feb 5

In the intricate world of B2B sales, I've found that the most successful salespeople are not just pitch-makers or deal-closers. They're conductors, orchestrating a symphony of ideas, stakeholders, and solutions. I've seen firsthand how the ability to make complex messages stick and spread can transform a good salesperson into an exceptional one.

Understanding Your Audience

Before a conductor raises their baton, they must understand their orchestra and audience intimately. In sales, this translates to comprehensive research. We don't just scratch the surface; we dive deep into the organisation's strategy, tactical approaches, and ongoing projects. Our goal? To see how our piece fits into their bigger puzzle.

But it's not just about understanding the organisation as a whole. Each stakeholder is a unique instrument in this orchestra, with their own communication style and goals. Some are analytical, others are drivers, and some are more expressive. Mapping out these stakeholders, their roles, and their individual objectives allows us to tailor our message not just to the collective goal, but to each person's specific needs and communication preferences.

The Power of Visual Thinking

We humans are visual creatures. We don't just process words; we translate them into mental images. That's why I always emphasise the importance of learning to draw your pitch. It's not about creating a masterpiece – it's about tapping into a different part of our brain, one that allows for a better flow of thinking and communication.

Imagine trying to explain the concept of momentum in a sales process using just words. Now, picture a person rolling a heavy ball up a hill. They're almost at the top, where the momentum will finally kick in, but they're considering letting go. That visual immediately conveys the idea of sunk costs and the importance of pushing through to completion. It's a simple image, but it sticks. It's shareable. It spreads across the organisation far more effectively than a paragraph of text ever could.

Closing Doors: The Art of Progressive Commitment

In any complex sales conversation, there's a risk of circling back, revisiting old ground, and losing momentum. That's where the concept of "closing doors" comes in. It's like punctuation for your sales pitch, a way of firming up each point before moving forward.

Here's how it works: You discuss a challenge with a prospect. Before moving on, you ensure you both agree on the problem statement. You've now entered a new room in your sales conversation, and you symbolically close the door behind you. This prevents backtracking and ensures that each stage of the conversation is fully explored and agreed upon before progressing.

This technique isn't just about maintaining forward momentum. It's about creating clarity and building confidence in the process. When a buyer sees that you're methodically addressing and closing out each aspect of the discussion, it builds trust. They know you're not glossing over important details or leaving loose ends.

Crafting Questions Worth Answering

In my years of sales training, I've seen countless salespeople ask questions that don't serve them or their prospects. They ask about information they could have easily found on LinkedIn, or they pose queries that don't stimulate thinking. These questions aren't worth answering, and they can make you appear unprepared or uninterested.

A question worth answering does more than extract information – it stimulates the customer's thinking. It creates intrigue. It has enough tangible impact that the buyer might say, "That's a good question. We haven't thought about that." These are the questions that can break someone's frame of reference, opening up new possibilities and perspectives.

For example, instead of asking, "What's your current process?", you might ask, "If you could redesign your process from the ground up, with no limitations, what would it look like?" This question not only gives you valuable information but also gets the prospect thinking creatively about their challenges and potential solutions.

The Conductor Mindset: Orchestrating the Sales Process

Remember our orchestra metaphor? This is where it all comes together. As a salesperson, you're not just playing an instrument in the band. You're not even just a member of the audience. You're the conductor, responsible for understanding both the audience (your buyers) and the orchestra (your internal team).

Your job is to ensure that everyone plays the right tune at the right time. This means taking the insights you've gained about your buyers and communicating them effectively to your support team, your executives, and your technical experts. It means knowing when to bring in the strings (perhaps your technical team for a deep dive) and when to let the brass shine (maybe your executive team for high-level strategic discussions).

This conductor role requires a unique blend of skills. You need the big-picture vision to see how all the pieces fit together. You need the detailed understanding to know what each "instrument" can contribute. And you need the communication skills to guide everyone towards a harmonious performance.

Professional Curiosity: The Heart of Sales Excellence

At the core of all these techniques lies one fundamental trait: curiosity. But not just any curiosity – professional curiosity. This goes beyond being interested in things we're naturally passionate about. It's about cultivating a deep, genuine interest in our customers' worlds, even when their business might not naturally excite us.

I like to compare this to a doctor's approach. When a patient comes in with a foot problem, a good doctor doesn't just prescribe a quick fix. They're professionally curious. They dig deeper, they ask probing questions, they consider alternative diagnoses. They're driven by a professional commitment to understand and solve the problem, not just by personal interest.

In sales, this translates to asking ourselves: What else might be possible? How else can we solve this customer's problem? What hasn't the customer considered? This level of curiosity pushes us beyond surface-level understanding and allows us to uncover insights and opportunities that others might miss.

Mastering the Next Step

In complex sales processes, maintaining momentum is crucial. One of the most effective ways to do this is by always understanding and clearly defining the very next step. This might seem simple, but it's an area where many salespeople fall short.

Complex buying processes can involve dozens, if not hundreds, of individual steps. Often, the people involved don't have a clear picture of what comes next. This lack of clarity can cause unnecessary delays and stalled deals.

As a salesperson, it's your duty to understand and communicate the next step with crystal clarity. Who does what? By when? What's the specific objective of this step? What's the timeline? Who's responsible? By providing this clarity, you keep the momentum alive and guide the process forward.

Bringing It All Together

These techniques – visual thinking, closing doors, crafting powerful questions, adopting a conductor mindset, cultivating professional curiosity, and mastering next steps – aren't just a collection of tricks. They're a set of habits that, when internalised, become an integral part of how you think and operate as a salesperson.

When these habits become intrinsic, they allow you to form stronger connections with your customers. They enable you to communicate your solutions at varying levels, tailoring your message up and down the organisational chart and across different business units.

The result? You're able to capture a far broader buying ecosystem than you would if you were simply dealing with short, tactical, solution-related messages tailored to one buying group. You become more than a salesperson – you become a trusted adviser, a problem solver, and yes, a conductor, orchestrating complex ideas into a harmonious and compelling vision that resonates throughout your customer's organisation.

In the ever-evolving world of B2B sales, the ability to make your message stick and spread is more than just a skill – it's an art. Master this art, and you'll find yourself conducting sales symphonies that resonate long after the deal is closed.

Thomas Preiss