Cheering for my favorite football team on a Sunday afternoon is, for me, one of the hallmarks of Fall. Sometimes, however, I find myself yelling at the team more than I do cheering. It’s often because the team that I love didn’t show up for the game that day. In my amateur opinion, they looked like they didn’t show up to win.
Winning via blood, sweat, and tears
It happens in business every day. Success depends on you being prepared to effectively play the game of sales. If an NFL quarterback showed up to a Monday Night Game and told the coach, “I’m ready, coach. I’ve read the book on successful quarterback techniques, and I’m good to go,” what do you think the coach would say? Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? My hunch is he’d be running stadium stairs until his legs gave out. It’s logical to expect that for a star athlete, hours of practice and rehearsal is standard operating procedure. In fact, we get mad when they don’t and we probably wouldn’t keep them on the team very long if that were the case.
Do you have any idea how much money your salespeople cost you because they show up to face a real prospect with real money on the table and weren’t prepared? Every day, salespeople walk into appointments armed with nothing more than skills they’ve only read about or discussed, but never perfected. That’s also assuming your salesperson has at least read a book on the art of sales. Statistically, even reading a book seems to be the exception rather than the norm. Less than 8-10% of salespeople have ever trained with a coach to perfect a skill that is directly connected to their…and your…livelihood.
Anyone else besides me see a problem with that?
The Playbook - Key to Winning
Everybody wants to win. Not everybody wants to do what is required. It’s easy to want what the top sellers in your company have. It’s lazy to expect to get there without paying the price. Ask them what it took to get to where they are now. Then ask yourself if you’re willing to do the same, or more.
Understand the rules of the game, develop your playbook, find a coach, commit to regular practice and study. Do what it takes to better yourself. And whatever you do, please stop showing up for a real game unprepared.
Practice is for the practice field. Real play occurs in the stadium.
If you’re not going to practice, go home.
Tags: Business, Business Development, coaching, football, growth, practice, role play, Sales, Success, win
Categories: Business, Business Development, Sales, Success.
Yeah. Demonstrate your reliability by being prepared always. It really is that important.