Setting the Stage: CareerBuilder needed its sales teams to become better at closing deals with prospective clients. They approached us about working with a select group of their sales force to teach them improvisational skills that would enable them to excel at their jobs.

Playing our Part: To truly integrate improv skills into a sales approach, we knew that one session wasn’t enough. We designed a series of three workshops — each lasting four hours — that were delivered every other week to two groups of CareerBuilder sales professionals. We started with core skills pertinent to both improv and sales success such as listening, thinking on your feet, collaboration and being flexible with changes as the foundation of the sessions. We then built customized exercises and role-plays to have the participants practice using improv skills in common sales situations such as cold calls and initial meetings. At each session, the groups added to their “improv toolbox” and they completed the program with new ways to identify needs of a potential customer, respond effectively in the moment, and quickly build relationships that lead to sales success and long-term customer relationships.