Could the “Match Test” exercise help your team deliver a stronger message of value and uniqueness to your customers? Artwork

Sales Leadership with Jim Pancero

Jim Pancero has been influencing, guiding, and inspiring sales professionals in more than 80 different industries to increase sales, market share and profitability. Jim's combination of humor, larger-than-life personality, outstanding research and real-world examples that hit home, provide even experienced sales pros who think they've heard it all, with strategies and concepts that work! Your sales team will be charged up and ready to go...and your company and customers will reap the rewards. Time with Jim is time well spent. Watch your productivity and profitability soar! https://pancero.com

All Episodes

Sales Leadership with Jim Pancero

Could the “Match Test” exercise help your team deliver a stronger message of value and uniqueness to your customers?

June 29, 2026 • Jim Pancero • Season 5 • Episode 19

0:00 | 0:42

There was an old sales training exercise used for years called the “Match Test.” The test involved a sales rep lighting a match and then, before they burned their fingers, having to deliver their complete message of uniqueness of why a buyer would want to buy from them.

This was a great exercise due to only giving the rep about a minute to deliver their message before burning their fingers. It’s a fun and challenging test to help improve your messaging and positioning.

Think this idea can help your team deliver their message of why, based on all the competitive alternatives available to a buyer, they still would want to buy from you…before they burn their fingers?

Today’s video explains this “Match Test” and how it can help your people develop, and appreciate, a stronger (and shorter) “Why buy from you?” message”…so they can sell even more!

There was an old sales training exercise used for years called the match exercise. And the idea was that a sales rep had to land a match and then before it burned their fingers, they had to complete and deliver their message of uniqueness. Why do I want to buy from you? It was a great exercise because the idea was it made sure that you only had about a minute to deliver your message before you'd burn your fingers. It was kind of a fun test. Do you think this idea might help you work with your sales team that they can deliver their message of why based on all the alternatives I want to buy for you before they burn their finger? Might want to give it a try.