Don't Steal the Spotlight from Sales Reps: 10 Tips

Salespeople love bringing technical consultants, system engineers, business owners and (in the right context) sales managers on their sales calls—and for very obvious reasons. Most notably, assembling a team of experts and unleashing them on a prospect often illustrates the depth of the company’s expertise and communicates the viability of the business.

Naturally, you might assume that showering your company’s prospects with that attention would give the business greater credibility and, in turn, help your sales team close more deals. But it doesn’t always work out that way. In fact, when salespeople leverage in-house experts to help close deals, the strategy can backfire if it’s not managed properly.

Think about it: Technical consultants and system engineers boast impressive knowledge and often overshadow salespeople in sales meetings when they begin drawing on a whiteboard or conducting a product demo. Similarly, sales managers have the authority to approve special conditions that sales reps cannot, while business owners are the ultimate experts—the thought leaders who understand the business better than anyone else.

When a salesperson introduces one of those experts to a prospect, it’s likely that the prospect will be drawn to those aficionados. After all, experts are experts for a reason—they’re generally confident, strong-willed people who deeply understand their domain and, consequently, command attention and respect.

Unfortunately, these experts sometimes fail to realize that by taking control of a sales meeting, they’re also diluting the “expert” reputation of the salesperson—a reputation that’s essential to moving sales forward.

So, how can you (business owners, sales managers, technical experts, etc.) avoid usurping that expertise? To ensure your sales reps retain control of prospect relationships in meetings, make sure you allow sales reps to:

Essentially, when a salesperson invites you or any other company expert to a sales meeting, your goal should be to pitch in when your expertise is needed and avoid the temptation to hog the spotlight. 

If you have any doubts during a sales meeting about how to proceed, default to the salesperson and allow them to take the lead. It won’t hurt your expert status and it will ultimately help the sales rep more effectively close opportunities.

Kendra Lee is a top IT Seller, Prospect Attraction Expert, author of the newly released book “The Sales Magnet” and the award winning book “Selling Against the Goal” and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group works with companies to break in and exceed revenue objectives in the Small and Midmarket Business (SMB) segment.