Gauge Political Standings From Feedback

In the storm that is often swirling around a large sales meeting with a prospect, it can be difficult to understand and follow the agenda(s) of each participant.

It is usually the case that the salesperson focuses solely on every word, glance and gesture of the person in the room with the biggest job title.

I was reminded that so much more can be gleaned beyond the big cheese alone in such forums through an article on leadership alluding to ‘feedback mirrors‘. Here’s a sample quote:

“If you see people looking around in meetings, waiting for [the top person] to speak, that’s a telltale sign they aren’t being open”

For salespeople, the inference is that affiliations and positions can be deduced from the length of time it takes for speakers to talk after the boss has spoken, as much as the actual content of their words.

One further item of note from the above referenced article is this summary:

Astute leaders will constantly be asking themselves three questions when it comes to feedback:

1. How do I know whether I am hearing the truth?
2. What can I do to encourage open and honest dialogue?
3. What do I do with the feedback I get?

It’s an interesting perspective on which any sales manager could ponder.