3 Sales Skills You’ll Pick Up in Improv

Help your sales professionals become better listeners, validators, & collaborators

• In our improv comedy sessions geared toward corporate training, we’ve seen participants gain important skills such as listening, validating, and collaborating.

• Our “Using Humor for Professional Development” workshop is available in-person and virtually, offering a unique event idea for improving sales skills and team dynamics.

• Check out the top improv takeaways from our Founder, Kevin Hubschmann

Laugh.Events Founder Kevin Hubschmann has 10+ years of sales expertise in software and events in addition to his experience on the stage as a stand up comedian and improviser. Here are the top 3 skills he’s seen improv participants gain from participating in our “Using Humor for Professional Development” improv workshops:

1. Listening

“The key to being a great improviser is the same thing that makes you a good salesperson. And it's not pitching the best idea, it's listening,” explains Hubschmann. “In the sales case, it's listening to your customer, and in improv, it's your partner. You have to dictate where the conversation will go in sales, and dictate where the scene is going to go in improv.” If you’re looking for a unique event idea to improve your team’s listen-to-talk ratio, improv could be just what you need. 

2. Validating

A key principle of improv is “Yes, and…” which involves acceptance of others ideas’ in addition to adding your own contributions. “You’re also giving validation, as well,” says Hubschmann. “So it's listening and then you're validating.” Focusing on this skill can equip sales teams to better understand customer challenges and build trust with them.

3. Collaborating

Hubschmann recalled a corporate workshop he observed where sales team members initially came in looking to make each other laugh. “As they kept coming back, they were no longer being individually funny. They were listening to what their partners had to say and they were collectively creating something funny together. And that's a lot of what sales is. While you have to perform individually, everyone has to perform to hit our overall goals.”

Our Using Humor for Professional Development workshop is offered in-person and virtually as a remote group activity. Contact our team to learn more!