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Connecting Sports And Selling
by Gerry Robert
What about Euro'96? Is it as big over in Malaysia as it is in Canada? These "Brits"
(or should I say English) seem to be doing quite well as host nation.
I heard an interesting comment recently by a soccer enthusiast that the English team have all
the skills and potential but are lazy. Are there any sales manager out there who had similar
thoughts about their sales teams? It is quite a common ailment, isn't it?
Recently I wrote about "Motivation" of staff, particularly sales staff, but these last thoughts
about sports and the English team reminded me of a conversation I had recently. Some of you
will know that amongst many good friends I have in Malaysia is my partner and buddy, Terry
Murphy. Like me, he is a sales trainer and consultant, but he also happens to be a "brit"
(I don't hold that against him).
Anyway, we were talking about Euro'96 and also the upcoming Atlanta Olympics and he shared with
me some of his ideas about sports and the "sport of selling". With his permission I will relate
some of these thoughts to you. Terry says...
"I have been training people for many years and before I ever got into the game of selling, in
fact before I was even earning my own living, I qualified as a gymnastics coach, specifically
trampolining." (You wouldn't think so to look at him now as Terry will readily admit that he
carries a little extra weight however...). He goes on, "I consider there are many parallels to
draw between the highly competitive world of selling and competing in any sport. Let me talk
about three aspects:
Heart
Just like winning race horse is often describe as having big heart, so must a successful
sales person. The reason the horse is described this way is not just the increased capacity of
the heart and lungs (cardio-vascular, the "in" phrase we hear so much nowadays) system through
fitness training, but because the 'winner' in any event is the one who is prepared to go the
extra distance, out the extra ounce in; the one who 'wants it' more than the competition. To
succeed in this toughest of human endeavours, selling, you will need 'heart' or 'the will to
succeed'. In other words, mental and emotional stamina.
Of these two, I actually believe that emotional stamina is the deciding factor. With our mind,
"Positive Mental Attitude" and the like, we can indeed overcome many adversities and fight the
good the good fight, but ultimately all the positive thinking in the world will not overcome
an emotional low. If our emotions drive us into a downward spiral it is only the ability to
control the emotions that will bring us out. Some factors that can help here include external
motivation, such as compliments and encouragement from those we respect, or inspiring words
either on tapes and videos or from books, but much of it still must comes from within.
This is actually a fascinating new area of discovery and the subject of some very innovative
work right here in Kuala Lumpur, but more of this another time.
Now when I say 'heart' of course I do also mean it's literal meaning, the 'cardio-vascular'
system. It does mean physical stamina as well as mental and emotional stamina. So how do we
achieve this?
For sportsmen and women, stamina is built through aerobic exercise. By working the heart and
lungs through fast exercise, we train and tone these muscle groups to become stronger and more
efficient.
Now salespeople can certainly learn from this literally. How many of you are physically drained
by the end of the day or week? If you are succeeding and achieving exceptional results, you are
certainly going to need real physical stamina. The modern trend towards fitness therefore has a
very special meaning to the salesperson.
But to use the analogy rather than just encouraging you all to go out and join a fitness club,
how do we train for stamina in selling? Well, let's look at the sports world some more.
Apart from gymnastics, many major sport was rowing when I was young and fit. This sport requires
a full combination of strength, stamina and skill. For stamina training, I would run every day
except Sunday, plus of course my aerobic exercise in the gymnasium, which was called circuit
training in those days. In selling, I consider the comparison is the discipline of repeating
'the moves' every day.
That means if you need to make an average of say five appointments per day to achieve your
sales targets, you firmly discipline yourself to make five per day, every day... never mind if
you have a lucky break and sell a big case or sign an exceptional deal, still make five
appointments that day and the next. This strict discipline translates into stamina. Once this
is a habit, as much as putting your clothes on in the morning, you will find it becomes easier
and easier. And for the sportsman, the fitter he or she is, the easier it becomes to complete
the 'course'.
The idea of repeating an exercise brings me on to the next parallel with sports:
Practice, practice
My rowing coach used to say, "the only thing better than rowing for you to improve your rowing
is rowing". (well, he was a strange, old guy...) but his point is, of course, that nothing
beats practice.
Why do you think lawyers and doctors refer their businesses as practices - because they are
always hoping to get better and eventually get it right!
In those days when rowing, we would row for several miles up the river and then down again,
mile upon mile just propelling the boat through the water, then the coach would stop us and we
would practise parts of the stroke. One stroke at a time. Take a stroke, take another stroke,
more comments, freeze in the bitter London winter wind and wait for comments.
"Your back is not straight, you are learning to the right, you are gripping the oar instead of
holding it correctly..." all the finer points of rowing, broken down into miserable cold detail,
movement by movement, action by action. It sounds great fun, doesn't it?
Why did we endure it? I remember many times during these exercises it was so cold that water
would freeze on our oars and form icicles in between strokes.
We endured it because we were getting better, getting closer to winning and building the ability
to perform better than the opposition. And how worthwhile the suffering was when we won.
Rowing as a team, eight of us pumping as one, the boat lifting as each stoke bit into the water,
the boat surging as out adrenaline surged. And the opposition sliding back. Behind us, backs
bent, learning and straining to the side, knuckles white from the agonising grip of defeat.
Ahh, nostalgia is not what is used to be.
And how does this relate to selling? Well, of course I am going to suggest that you will improve
the more sales calls you make, but what about in-between calls.
Role-play, role-play, practice, practice...
Nowadays I often talk about 'coaching' sales rather than training. Because this is the approach
I like, just like those days, so many years ago, on the river Thames in London.
I recommend scripting as much of the sales cycle as possible. Break it down into parts and
practise with colleagues, friends and relatives. When you are practising just a particular part
of your sales cycle or sales skill, it is probably best to work with a colleagues as he or she
is perhaps more likely to be able to understand the exercise and 'play their part'.
But the sales presentation - practise on your wife, husband, brother, sister, anybody and
everybody. The more people you can practise on, the better for several reasons. No one will
feel too put upon if you only ask them once. The greater the number, the more different responses
you will experience. And of course, there is always a chance that if you practise your presentation
on enough volunteers, one of them might actually want to buy what it is you sell!!!
(This is supposed to be a joke. If you hadn't already thought to approach a relative with what
you sell, if they could genuinely be in the market, you really should be shot).
To summarise, to acquire skills in selling your product or service - practise the parts and
practise the whole. If you set yourself the task of making three sales presentations per day,
you should set the number of "practise" presentations you make every day as well. Can you
imagine the Olympics 100 metres champion this year revealing after the medal ceremony, that the
only practise he gets is when competing in international meetings?
The third comparison I make between sports and selling is:
Coaching
As I said earlier, I now talk about being a sales coach rather than just a sales trainer. In
terms of sports, there is often not much difference between trainer and coach. I guess it
depends on the sport.
But the reason I use this distinction in selling is really to make a point. Training in the
world of business often conjures up thoughts of a lecture, a "trainer" standing in front of a
group of people and 'telling' them about a subject. Have you been to training courses like
that? Some people take notes, most just listen or make a pretense of listening (if they are
polite). Very few really learn anything unless they participate in at least some ways.
Imagine - I am in front of a group of children, standing next to a trampoline and my task is
to train them to do a back-somersault. I get their attention and then explain exactly what they
have to do (some of them have never been on a trampoline before). I explain that by bending
their knees (if they get the timing right) they will start to bounce.
When they are bouncing to about 10 feet in the air, they should 'drive' their hips up in front
of themselves, raise their chest to the sky, pull their knees sharply up to their chest and
then expect to see the trampoline approaching them from somewhere 'sort of behind and
underneath them'. I then tell them to go ahead and 'try'.
Meanwhile, I call a doctor to look after the casualties, a physiotherapist to disentangle the
jumbled bodies and a psychiatrist to help unscramble their brains and treat me for my own
insanity.
So the distinction I am trying to highlight when I refer to sales coaching rather than training,
is this: To teach people to do things they either have never done before or are not very good
at, needs explanation, example, exercise, along with feedback, correction and practise.
Remember, my rowing coach did not just tell us how to row once. He didn't even just 'tell' us
many times. He broke it down into parts, monitored us, watched us practise, fedback corrections,
encouraged, cajoled, bullied, praised, explained and was there for us. Do you have a "sales
coach'? No? I recommend you get one. Do you know any sports champions or winning team that do
not have a coach?
Finally, one word of caution I would offer. When I talk about the "competition" in selling,
I do mean the competition. In other words, the other people selling what sell.
Please do not think for one minute that I am referring to "winning" over the prospect or
customer. If you ever believe you are competing against your customer or trying to "beat"
your prospect, both you and your customer will lose.
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