THE BARD GROUP, LLC

OBJECTIVE

To continuously improve your performance, as individuals and as a team.

CHALLENGES

You are too busy to debrief because of other more pressing matters.
Your fear of giving feedback gets in the way; we worry about how we will be perceived by others.
Receiving feedback is stressful, so we avoid it whenever possible.
You do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings.

TECHNIQUES

A. Make debriefing a standard protocol

You rehearse before a meeting to perform well and debrief after to do even better next time. This is why you want to commit to rehearsing and debriefing, making both part of your standard protocol.

When debriefing becomes the norm rather than a one-off, it removes a lot of the stress because people become accustomed to doing it.

Schedule your debrief sessions ahead of time to be sure they happen.

B. Create a safe space

The Sales Lead always runs the debrief. Setting the right tone at the beginning is critical. Your goal is to ensure that everyone is open to hearing and sharing feedback on how they and their teammates performed.

Open with comments that lay the foundation for a safe and supportive space, free of judgment.

Example:

“This is our opportunity to learn and get better. I want us all to share our perspectives on what went well and where we can do better as a team next time. None of us can improve, myself included, without feedback from others.”

TIP: Create this safe space at the beginning of every debrief, even if the team is unchanged.

C. Conduct a soft debrief right after the client meeting

A soft debrief happens right after the client meeting before you leave the location.

It serves three purposes:

To agree on immediate follow-up items and who is on point for these.
To call out and celebrate successes, and allow the Sales Lead to thank everyone, with genuine appreciation, so they feel good about what they just did.
To share your gut reaction to how it went before you have time to replay, reflect, and overly self-critique.

1. The Sales Lead begins by asking, “What went well?”, and invites the team to talk first. This is a time to celebrate each other’s successes.

2. Once the round is complete, the Sales Lead may follow-up with “Why were we so successful?” Identifying the root causes of both successes and failures provides great insights for next time.

3. Next, move on to “What could have been improved, or what do you think we could have done differently as a team?”

Here you focus only on the team’s performance, not individual performances, those come later.

Give everyone a moment to think and reflect on what the team could have done better before you give them any feedback. This allows them to be thoughtful when they speak and feel a vital part of the process.

See the Exercise section below for questions that can help guide this conversation.

4. Next, move to individual feedback.

The Sales Lead always goes first, sharing what they personally could have done differently.

Example:

“I wish I had... or I missed X and could have responded with...”

The minute the Sales Lead shows his/her vulnerability, opening up and admitting to something they could have done better, it permits everyone else to be vulnerable too.

Only after sharing their own thoughts, do you move to the group.

Example:

“If you had a do-over, what would it be?”

This is not the time to critique each other, that comes later during the hard debrief in one-on-one conversations with the Sales Lead.

5. Always end this soft debrief on a positive note so that everyone is leaving feeling that they added value.

D. Conduct a hard debrief a few days later

The hard debrief happens 2-3 days after the meeting, by which time you have likely received feedback from the client. The purpose of the hard debrief is to discuss individual improvement areas.

1. Schedule these conversations one-on-one for 30 minutes, either in-person or via phone.

2. Open by asking for their thoughts on what went well for each of them individually.

Starting on a positive note helps them buy into the process, and it gives you a good sense for how far apart your thoughts are from theirs before you move to what they could have done differently.

3. When you share your thoughts on what went well for them, give plenty of positive feedback.

Examples:

“When you said this…the clients really opened up, and we learned.…”
“I loved when you did this or that….I wouldn’t have thought of that, but it really worked.”

4. Next, segue to what the person could have done better or differently. Once again, ask for their thoughts first.

5. When you share your feedback, be constructive by following these three rules:

a) Be specific

Target your comments toward things that would really make a difference next time and be as specific as possible.

For example, instead of saying, “Focus on slowing down”, be very clear about what you mean:

“Stand and smile at the audience for a moment before beginning to speak. This will give you time to take a nice long belly breath, so you start with full lungs. Then while you are speaking, emphasize important points with dramatic pauses. This will help you continue to breathe naturally and moderate your tempo.”

b) Tell them why it is important

People are more likely to make a change when they understand how it can produce a better result.

Example:

“Slowing down your tempo will decrease your anxiety so you will feel and come across more confident to the client. It also allows the client to keep up with what you are saying and absorb it.”

c) Focus on the future rather than over-analyzing or getting stuck in the past.

Examples:

“Next time, here are a few things for you to consider….”.
“Any time you are with a client, remember our rule of 3. Focusing on three key messages makes it easier for clients to remember our story.”

6. Always end your one-on-one session on a positive note and thank them for their willingness to engage in this conversation.

ADVANTAGES TO YOU

Your team members will improve individually, and they will want to do a better job for the team next time.
You continually improve your chances of winning.
You help your organization develop its collective skills and build a culture of continuous learning.

ADVANTAGES TO THE CLIENT

You come across as confident and natural to the client, which means they are more likely to relate to you as a team, and be more open to engaging with you in the meeting.
You make it easy for them to understand your value and absorb your key messages.

EXERCISES

1. SOFT DEBRIEF QUESTIONS

Prepare 4-8 questions you want to ask the team after you leave the meeting that same day.

Begin with these 4 questions, all of which are focused on the team, not the individual. Add questions based on the specific client situation.

1. How does everyone feel about the meeting (first impression)?

2. What 1-2 things did we do well?

3. What 1-2 things could we have done differently as a team? Did anything jump out at you as a major problem?

4. What are our next steps/follow-ups? Who is on point to address these?

Examples of custom questions to add to those above (choose or write your own):

How well did we get across our 3 key messages?
How well did we engage the client?
How well did we manage time?
How effectively did we answer their questions?
How well did we bring new insights and perspectives that resonated with the client?

2. HARD DEBRIEF QUESTIONS

Prepare 3-6 questions you want to ask individual members of the team 2-3 days after the presentation.

1. What is your impression of the meeting overall?

2. What were a few things that you are most proud of?

3. What might you have done differently? Remember: The Sales Lead should always answer this question first. By demonstrating your vulnerability, the Sales Lead permits others to be vulnerable too.

Examples of custom questions to add to those above (choose or write your own):

How engaged do you think the client was during your section?
How did it feel to you while you were presenting?
What did you pick up on while presenting? Important information they shared or a sense of what was of greatest interest to them? What did you try to do with the information?
What were the 3 key points you were trying to get across? How well do you think they got it?
When they asked you ……… what do you think their real question/issue was? How do you feel about your answer in hindsight?
How could we have prepared better to have put you in a better spot?