Our first post in this Q&A series helps you master Q&A with a story-structured approach for every answer. The second post helps you prepare for team Q&A, so you can beat the tensions of team preparation and become a well-oiled Q&A machine!
What if you could have this kind of presence in Q&A. Sales presentation skills can bring charisma to pressure.
This post is all about charisma – the sales presentation skills for Q&A, which has all the burden of a presentation, but is improvised in the moment. This is a “how do I say it” post, designed to make whatever you say, the perfect thing to say.
Pete and I were coaching a group for a crucial Q&A session with unavoidable zingers. Our clients were the new face in town, as the competition had existing relationships our team lacked.
There was a lot of fretting about who should answer which question, and we knew that some of our answers were probably not what the client would want to hear.
With all the variables, Pete and I knew that this was going to come down to presence, and here’s how we got them to the winning vibe, and eventually the win itself.
1) All for one, and one for all! As we practiced Q&A, we noticed a tendency for the top dogs to want to divvy out the Q&A.
SENIOR EXEC
Bill, why don’t you answer that one, and I’ll nod
your way if I think you should field a question,
or add your input. Just watch for my cue.
The senior exec wanted to regulate the Q&A to make sure the right person answered the question. Clearly there were favored answers and preferred people to answer them. We’ve seen this a lot, where one of the big questions is how to decide who should answer.
Controlled Q&A can look controlled, and that’s the problem, because it can look like the leader doesn’t trust the team. It subtly implies “micromanagement,” and suggests that everyone should stay in a box.
A better motto for Q&A is trust – trust your team to know what question is a good one for them to answer, and what is not. A presentation team leader should say this instead:
SENIOR EXEC
If you feel you have a good answer to the question,
or it’s your zone to speak to, by all means, answer it!
The very statement says, “I trust you,” and that plays well into winning presence. Most people aren’t dying to answer a question they don’t have a good answer for. So letting team-members decide for themselves when to answer, and when to hop on, shows synergy and collaboration.
2) Get Excited – One of the best ways to have charisma in answering is to get excited about the question itself. Hesitation, doubt, and self-editing are the enemies of Q&A. They make you look unsure, which brings nothing but questions into the minds of the interviewers, even if you give a good answer. Instead, practice getting excited about questions.
INTERVIEWER
Can you step us through your budget and explain
how you arrived at your total fee?
YOU
Oh my gosh! I just love talking about budget. In fact, I
have been chomping at the bit to take you through
what I came up with because it’s absolutely amazing!
Obviously you wouldn’t really say those words, but you could feel that way as you give your real answer. You can feel that way about any question, even challenging ones.
INTERVIEWER
It’s hard for us to see how you could manage this big
a project with the limited team you’re proposing.
YOU
That is such a fantastic point! I LOVE that question
because it gives me a chance to share how our team
is streamlined for faster turnaround!
Again, I’m not suggesting those words, but that energy. Practice eager, enthusiastic answering, and with some practice, it’s just as easy to get excited about the challenge of tough questions.
3) Share Insight, Advice, and Your Best Recommendations.
The charismatic impact that helping others has on your presence is inspirational to an interviewer. You can practically count on your opponents tooting their own horn and trying to make themselves look good. Who could blame them, since the stakes are high for all of the suitors in a competitive sales interview? But then again, who is that high-stakes story about? Clearly, it’s about the suitors.
Instead, focus on the high-stakes for the team forking out the cash! It’s the prospects who have the high stakes, and you can help them. Every question is an opportunity to share insight, give advice, and make a recommendation. Base all your answers on the commitment that you are here to help this prospect face their own high-stakes situation and win! This will impact your presence dramatically.
In sum, there are three big practices that SagePresence focuses on when training and coaching Q&A for winning presence.
- Instead of having one regulator doling out questions to the team, trust your team to know when to answer. This is how you embody a trusting team, and demonstrate synergy.
- Get excited about the opportunity every question represents. They’re going to be picking someone who is up for the challenge, and your excitement will tell them more than your answer will.
- Answer questions to help them. Don’t wait until you get the job to show them value. Be a value in the Q&A and your recommendations will show them a resource who makes a difference.
Take these three qualities into your Q&A by practicing as you prepare for Q&A with charisma. Share your reactions below, and tell us how it goes. And pass it on to others facing high-stakes and the challenges of tough questions needing great answers. Be sure to sign up on our book-release notification list, as our first SagePresence book is nearing release.
The entire series was well thought out and helpful for a variety of scenarios. Sage Presence continues to deliver insightful ideas to assist in many aspects of business and hiring/interviewing. Thanks again for the wide variety of input. The key take-away here is the trust factor of who is “in charge” so that the entire team feels empowered!
Wonderful sum, Dave! You’ve captured the YIN side of power. People so often rely solely on classical concepts of strength and assertiveness to gain control. But trust positions you powerfully, and in a sort of quieter, unseen way. A friend of mine says, “Every powerful mountain has a sunny side, and a shady side, and both are equally part of its strength.” Trust would be something on the shady side of the mountain.
And Dave, you honored us greatly with your valued praise. Thank you. We’re glad to be here making a difference, and evidence of that difference is the fuel that keeps us going.
As always, well said Pete & Dean! There’s a great book on trust by a local author/speaker, Dave Horsager, called “The Trust Edge”. In it he outlines the 8 Pillars of Trust; Clarity, Compassion, Character, Competency, Commitment, Connection, Contribution and Consistency. Although he doesn’t mention charisma, I believe it’s a natural characteristic for anyone in sales (or politics), however, overly charismatic people may also come off as too “slick”, thus losing trust -at least in my eyes. I often don’t buy things from people who seem too eager or “dripping” with charisma. Something about that approach makes me want to step back and re-examine their motive. As Dave puts it, “Trust, not money, is the currency of business and life.”
I strongly agree with the 8 pillars of trust, and in the fact that too much “classic charisma” can come off as slick. On top of that, I’d suggest that the kind of charisma that triggers your “too slick” reaction is one lacking in authenticity. It’s not too much of a good thing, it’s too good to be true. It’s an act, and you are sensitive enough to see through it. Fortunately, charisma comes in more than one flavor.
The flavor I’m talking about is innately sincere, and it won’t taste like “snake oil.” Snake oil charisma is self-centered energy in disguise. The charisma resulting from [trusting your team, getting excited about the questions, and being there to help] creates an inherently other-centric mindset, for a more authentic magnetism. It’s easier to trust because it’s more trustworthy.
So there may be 8 pillars to trust, but under pressure, you can’t track 8 principles of anything. So I’m trying to get you there in 3, but even that might be too far. Let me try in a single sentence: “Team, trust each other and be excited to help them.”
Love it Dean!! Great response – thanks
You’re most welcome. Anytime!