Maybe they are role-models after all...
Submitted by Dan Leymaster on Wed, 08/26/2009 - 6:33pm
I’m a big sports fan. I’ll admit it. When the NBA playoffs are happening you can bet I’m flipping from one channel to the next to catch as much of the action as possible. I find it very interesting how often professional athletes are criticized for not being…well, professional. Their off-court antics seem to make the headlines on a daily basis and their on-court behavior might sometimes raise a few eyebrows as well. But my experience has shown me that sales professionals have a lot to learn from athletes about professionalism.
Consider this: Regardless of the sport, athletes show up to practice and put it on the line for their team each and every day. They push themselves. They work on the weaknesses in their game. Many of them seek special help to correct problems they may have. They practice and practice and practice until they get it right. They treat their craft and their profession with the respect it deserves.
Show me a salesperson who does that.
As a rule, salespeople go into each new sale with no more than a cursory overview of their prospective client and little more than a few brief moments of last-minute preparation. No practice. No review of the ‘plays’. No warm-up. Nothing. The results, as you would expect, are less than spectacular. There is a reason why most salespeople hear ‘no’ much more often than ‘yes’, and it has nothing to do with the client’s need (or lack thereof) for their product.
Professional athletes put the time in BEFORE THE BIG GAME. They know that if they don’t get it right, they lose. Shouldn’t the same apply to us?
If I have an appointment coming up, isn’t that the big game for me? Shouldn’t I play to win? Any professional athlete will tell you that playing to win is MUCH MORE than just trying hard during game time. Don’t kid yourself that you ‘gave it your all’ just because you tried everything to close the sale. ANY athlete will tell you the real price is paid BEFORE the game. It’s in practicing and perfecting your skills before the critical moment arrives. It’s in preparing and planning and strategizing so you have the edge over anyone else who might be competing for the same business.
Most salespeople fail because they never pay that price. They enter the game cold, with only a vague idea of what plays the coach may call, or what the defense might do. They’re like the athlete who relies on natural talent to get him through the day. Every once in a while that works. But sooner or later he faces and equally gifted and much harder-working opponent. When that happens he loses badly.
You see, when the critical moment comes, the time for preparation has past. Both athlete and salesperson will look back and wish they had put in more effort beforehand. They will wish they had been better prepared.
Don’t let that happen to you!
If you have been guilty of coasting through sales based on your good-looks and quick thinking, imagine what you could do if you paired those gifts with the proper practice and preparation! You would be unstoppable. You would be the true professional that clients are dying to do business with.
Practice like a pro, play like a pro.
We have more to learn from the athletes we watch on TV than you might think. Put the same kind of professionalism into practicing your craft that they do into practicing theirs, and watch as you become the star player on your team!
By the way, if you think the athlete has an advantage because he has a coach constantly pushing him to new heights…YOU’RE RIGHT! We can help with that! Personal coaching can make all the difference. Let us match you and your team with one of the best sales coaches in the industry, and watch as you close sales like never before!
